ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said Russian President Vladimir Putin is the first Western leader who has demonstrated empathy and sensitivity to Muslim sentiment for their beloved Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
Taking to Twitter, the premier shared that he spoke to President Putin to express gratitude for his emphatic statement that freedom of speech could not be a pretext to abuse our Prophet PBUH.”
PM Khan appreciated Russian president’s statement in which he said that insulting the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is not “freedom of expression.”
The PM had earlier tweeted that “I welcome President Putin’s statement, which reaffirms my message that insulting our Holy Prophet (PBUH) is not ‘freedom of expression’.”
Talking about the matters discussed in the recent telephonic conversation between the two leaders, the PM said that they spoke about ways to move forward on trade and other mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. Premier said that they have also invited each other to visit their countries.
The background
Earlier, according to Russian news agency TASS, Putin had said that insulting Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) does not count as freedom of expression. Putin’s views came during his annual press conference, wherein he stressed the importance of “artistic freedom without hindrance to religious freedom”.
Insults to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) are a “violation of religious freedom and the violation of the sacred feelings of people who profess Islam,” Putin had said.
The Russian president had also expressed his disapproval of websites posting photos of Nazis.
TASS, quoting Putin, said that such acts “give rise to extremist reprisals”, an example of which is the attack on the office of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris after it published blasphemous cartoons of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Putin had praised artistic freedom in general but warned that it is one that has its limits and must never infringe on other freedoms.
