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West, Islamic bloc clash expected at UN body over Quran desecration

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1 year ago

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  • West likely to oppose Pakistan-led initiative on Tuesday.
  • Rights must be protected, not religion: Western diplomat.
  • OIC initiative stokes tensions with Western states.

GENEVA: In the wake of a condemnable incident of the desecration of the Quran in Sweden, the Human Rights Council is set to debate a contentious draft proposal on religious hatred on Tuesday (tomorrow).

The initiative has underscored major rifts in the UN body and challenged human rights protection practices.

Pakistan presented a draft resolution on behalf of the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the council, describing the incident in Stockholm last month as “offensive, disrespectful and a clear act of provocation” that incites hatred and constitutes a human rights violation.

The draft — which condemned “recurring acts of public burning of the Holy Quran in some European and other countries” — has stoked opposition from Western diplomats who argue it aims to safeguard religious symbols rather than human rights.

“We don’t like the text,” one Western diplomat said of the draft, which will be presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday. 

“Human rights are supposed to be attached to individuals, not to religions.”

The OIC initiative also stokes tensions between Western states and the Islamic organisation at a time when the group has unprecedented clout in the council, the only body made up of governments to protect human rights worldwide.

Nineteen OIC countries are voting members of the 47-member council, and other states, such as China, have aligned with their draft resolution.

It remains to be seen whether Pakistan will succeed in rallying all OIC countries behind it. 

A Saudi-led effort to end a Yemen war crimes probe prevailed in 2021.

“If the resolution passes, as seems likely, it will strengthen the impression the council is flipping and the West is losing ground on key debates such as the boundary between free speech and hate speech, and whether religions have rights,” said Marc Limon, director of the Geneva-based Universal Rights Group.

“This could make the council explode in acrimony.”

The European Union has urged parties to reach a consensus on the issue.

“Defamation of religions has been a difficult topic for decades within the UN,” an EU diplomat said in negotiations last week.

“The question where to draw the line between freedom of expression and incitement to hatred is indeed a very complicated one.”

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Drugs worth $1 million are seized by the Pakistan Navy in the North Arabian Sea.

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3 days ago

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Pakistan Navy Ship PNS MOAWIN, according to ISPR, used naval air assets to perform a boarding operation on a suspicious boat and confiscate the drugs that were concealed in the ship’s hidden compartments.

An estimated one million US dollars is the international market value of the narcotics that were seized.

International shipping lanes were being used to deliver this shipment of drugs.

Within the region’s maritime borders, the Pakistan Navy is always engaged in stopping all types of illicit activity, ISPR continued.

A spokesperson for the ANF Headquarters stated that earlier, during seven operations, another security unit of the nation’s anti-narcotics unit (ANF) seized more than 149 kg of drugs valued at more than Rs 40 million and detained four drug dealers.

He reported that 30 capsules containing heroin had been found in the stomach of a traveler at Peshawar International Airport who was headed to Jeddah.

Another operation resulted in the arrest of a suspect after 31 inebriated tablets were found in a package close to an Islamabad park.

150 grams of ice were found in a package that was shipped to Australia via a Karachi courier service.

90 kilograms of opium and 10 kg of heroin that had been concealed for smuggling were found during an operation in the Balochistani district of Chagai.

In the fifth operation, 45 kg of hashish was found in an uninhabited part of Balochistan’s Coastal Line Pasni. Three kilograms of hashish were found in Hyderabad on a suspect.

During the seventh operation, 500 grams of ice and 1 kilogram of heroin were found in the custody of a biker who was stopped close to the Iqbal Shaheed Toll Plaza Attock.

Additional investigations are underway, and cases have been filed under the Narcotics Control Act against the arrested suspect.

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Outsourcing of Airports: Deputy Prime Minister Commits to Transforming Aviation into a Profitable Sector

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5 days ago

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Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has instructed the implementation of all feasible measures to render aviation a viable industry and to enhance service quality for travelers.

He provided these directives while presiding over a meeting in Islamabad concerning the outsourcing of airports and the advancement of the aviation sector.

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Punjab Food Authority Seals Mini-Factory Manufacturing Counterfeit Milk in Nankana Sahib

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5 days ago

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The Punjab Food Authority’s food safety team has sealed a mini-factory manufacturing counterfeit milk and has destroyed thousands of liters of contaminated milk.

The Punjab Food Authority spokeswoman stated that the team executed the operation in the Sayeddwala region of Nankana Sahib.

The food safety team conducted a raid on the milk plant, where counterfeit milk was being produced using hazardous and banned substances.

The crew secured the factory, confiscated the goods, and filed a case against the plant owners at Syedwala Police Station.

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