JI minority wing leaders demand expulsion of French envoy

A group of activists belonging to the Christian community and leaders of the minority wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami demanded of the federal government on Thursday to expel the French ambassador in protest against the French president’s blasphemous comments he had made last year.

Addressing a joint press conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq, the Christian leaders along with JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman strongly condemned the French ruling regime for hurting the sentiments of almost two billion Muslims across the globe.

The speakers urged the government to have some courage and “come out of the hysteria of economic setbacks”. On the occasion, JI leader Rehman said the difference between the exports to France and the imports from that country was not so big as to cause a collapse of the economy.

The JI leader said the French government had hurt the sentiments of billions of people on earth but it was not ashamed of it. “The entire world needs to realise the nefarious mentality behind what happened in France on the state level.”

Unfortunately, ruling parties in the country were trying to push the matter under the carpet, he said, demanding of the major political parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and Awami National Party, to clear their position on the issue.

Rehman also held the PTI government responsible for mishandling the protests against the French move by the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, and demanded of the government to shun efforts to sabotage the resolution presented in the lower house of parliament. JI leaders Muslim Pervez, Younus Barai and Zahid Askari, JI Minority Wing leaders advocate Younus Sohan, Samuel Nazir and Pervez Barkat, and representatives of the community, including Pastor Salman Manzoor, Pastor Amjad Farooq, Pastor Robin Raz, Pastor Mohsin Iqbal, M. Sahotra, Pastor Arshad Khan, Pastor Jamal Rajput, Harez Gul and Saleem Manzor, attended the press conference.