Manend Team 
ISLAMABAD, (MANEND NEWS): Prime Minister Imran Khan says he
has launched a campaign at the international level to put a permanent
stop to blasphemous acts taking place in the western world.
PM Imran Khan was addressing a ceremony in Islamabad on Monday
in connection with the ground-breaking of Margalla highway. Prime
Minister Imran Khan lamented that political and religious parties in
Pakistan “misused” Islam to deal damage to the country and said he
had started a campaign with heads of other Muslim countries to
present the case of the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) honour on
international forums.
The prime minister said: “in our country it is a great misfortune that
many times our political parties and religious parties use Islam
wrongly and use it such that they deal damage to their own country.”
He said that the people of Pakistan loved the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) and nowhere in any country had he seen “the kind of
attachment with religion and love for Prophet (PBUH) as in our
country”.
“So I am saddened that many times this love is misused. Does the
government not worry about this? That when there is disrespect of
Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) honour then aren’t we pained?” he questioned,
adding that who could decide how much or how less someone loved
the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The prime minister said that such actions did not benefit Islam in any
way and no loss was dealt to the country in which the blasphemous act
was committed. Instead, only Pakistan suffered a loss, he said.
“Violent protests in Pakistan will make no difference to the country
where the blasphemous act has occurred.”
He vowed to introduce a campaign which would seek to join heads of
the Muslim countries so that the issue can be taken up on international
forums, such as the European Union and United Nations.
He said that there will come a time when people in Western countries
will think twice about disrespecting the Holy Prophet (PBUH). “When
we begin a campaign by bringing together all Muslim countries […] it
will make a difference and change will come in the West. Otherwise we
will continue vandalising the country and it will make no difference to
the Western world.”
The premier said that through this campaign, a permanent solution
would be found to the issue so that no one sitting abroad can insult
the honour of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
“I promise the nation that if there’s anyone who will run a global
campaign on this issue, it is me. This campaign is already underway.
We will bring the heads of the Muslim countries together and present
our case in the United Nations and the European Union in order to be
heard in an effective way,” the prime minister pledged.
“Our campaign will make a difference. At some point, people in the
West will think twice before insulting the honour of our Prophet
(PBUH),” he added. PM Imran Khan stressed that such a campaign is
the only long-lasting solution. that will stop western nations from
harming the sentiments of Muslims around the world.
“Destruction [of public and private property] in our own country is no
answer to this solution. The West doesn’t care. We are harming our
own country,” he said.
Commenting on the Margalla Highway project, the prime minister said
there had been concerns among some that construction would cut
through the middle of the Margalla Hills National Park.
He said he had received a briefing from the chairman of the Capital
Development Authority and this concern was “completely wrong”.
Instead, he said, the Margalla Hills National Park would be protected
due to the construction of the road since it “will become a kind of
wall”.
“There has been rapid encroachment in our green areas and parks in
the past 20 years. Once this road is built, the national park will be on
that side and it will be protected.”
He said that the project would also benefit tourism by reducing traffic
jams on routes leading to popular tourist destinations, and will direct
traffic from Lahore and other cities in Punjab to outside the city.
“There is need for us to improve the infrastructure in Islamabad,” he
said, adding that the capital’s population had increased 1.5 times in
the last 20 years. Infrastructure, he said, should grow with with the
population.
PM Imran Khan said that Islamabad was a city like no other with
plentiful rainfall, pleasant weather, proximity to the Himalaya
mountains and greenery. “The people of Islamabad specially care for
and worry about the environment,” he said, adding that the incumbent
government also shared those concerns.
He said that the majority of Pakistan’s forest cover had reduced since
the country’s inception and only 600 million trees had been planted.
The premier said this would have repercussions for upcoming
generations in the form of climate change.
He said that due to global warming, Pakistan would face water
shortage. “Most of our water comes from glaciers in the mountains.
We are going to face a lot of issues in the future once those glaciers
melt and the climate becomes warmer.
“We must ensure that our environment, green cover and trees sustain
the least amount of damage,” he said. Imran Khan said the Highway
project will not only ensure protection of Margalla Hills National Park
but also promote tourism by ensuring easy access to Galiyat like
picturesque sites.
