ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday congratulated the Muslim world as the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously adopted a “landmark resolution” introduced by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), designating March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. 
This means the day will now be cemented as an annual reminder of the need to combat Islamophobia across the world. 
Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN, Munir Akram, introduced the resolution in the UNGA on Tuesday, exactly three years since a right-wing extremist murdered over 50 Muslims at two mosques in New Zealand. 
“I want to congratulate the Muslim Ummah today as our voice against the rising tide of Islamophobia has been heard and the UN has adopted a landmark resolution introduced by Pakistan, on behalf of OIC, designating 15 March as International Day to Combat Islamophobia,” PM Khan said on Twitter. 

“Today UN has finally recognized the grave challenge confronting the world: of Islamophobia, respect for religious symbols and practices and of curtailing systematic hate speech and discrimination against Muslims,” he said in another tweet. 
“Next challenge is to ensure implementation of this landmark resolution.” 

The adoption of the resolution follows years of discussions, initiated in Makkah, Saudi Arabia in 2019 following the New Zealand mosque attacks, about the need for an international day to combat Islamophobia. 
At the time, OIC members had “stressed the necessity to combat hate and fear of Islam and Muslims.” 
Introducing the resolution, Ambassador Akram said Islamophobia was a reality and its manifestations — hate speech, discrimination, and violence against Muslims — were proliferating in several parts of the world. 
“Such acts of discrimination, hostility and violence toward Muslim individuals and communities constitute grave violations of their human rights and violate their freedom of religion and belief. They also cause great anguish within the Islamic world,” he said. 
Akram cited the words of the UN’s special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, who said: “Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, institutional suspicion and fear of Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim has escalated to epidemic proportions.” 

He said women and girls had often found themselves at the sharp end of this hatred. “The gender aspect of Islamophobia is also gaining prominence, with girls and women being targeted due to mode of their dress and the general notion that Muslim women are oppressed and thus must be liberated.” 
The ambassador warned that Islamophobia was a “poorly understood” phenomenon that often intersected with anti-immigrant and anti-refugee sentiment. 
As such, he said, it was “essential” to promote information about this “disturbing global trend” that could reach the very top of governments in many parts of the world. 
Separately, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the resolution reflected the sentiments of more than 1.5 billion Muslims around the world. 
“Prime Minister Imran Khan was the first Muslim leader to raise the issue of Islamophobia at the UN in his maiden address to the UN General Assembly on 27 September 2019,” he said in a statement. 
“The prime minister has since been regularly advocating the need to effectively combat the scourge of Islamophobia at various regional and international forums.” 
Pakistan wanted to build bridges and promote respect for all religions and beliefs, Qureshi said. 
“I reiterate Pakistan’s call for a global dialogue among civilizations under the ambit of the United Nations to promote peaceful co-existence and interfaith harmony,” he added.