Islamabad announced that it had summoned the French ambassador to Pakistan on Monday to complain about
President Emmanuel Macron's “
systematic Islamophobic campaign
” after he defended the freedom to publish religious cartoons in France.
The summons came as small demonstrations against France were held in Pakistan on Monday, where Prime Minister Imran Khan accused Mr. Macron on Sunday of "
attacking Islam
".
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The French ambassador was summoned "
to express Pakistan's concerns about the systematic Islamophobic campaign under the cover of freedom of expression
" in France, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, spokesman for the French government, told AFP. Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Contacted Monday, the Quai d'Orsay had not yet responded to AFP.
Last Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron had said that France would not renounce "
caricatures
", including those of the Prophet Muhammad, during a tribute to Professor Samuel Paty, recently beheaded after showing some of them to his students.
Blasphemy is an inflammatory issue in Pakistan, where even unproven allegations of offending Islam can lead to assassinations and lynchings.
"
President Macron could have played appeasement
", had tweeted Sunday Imran Khan, ex-cricket champion and playboy, who now presents himself as a very pious Muslim.
“
It is unfortunate that he chose to encourage Islamophobia by attacking Islam rather than terrorists who practice violence, be they Muslims, white supremacists or 'Nazi ideologues
,' he continued.
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The Pakistani prime minister also announced on Sunday that he had written to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking him to block Islamophobic content, after the platform announced in mid-October that it would ban content denying the Holocaust.
“
Given the recurring defamation of Muslims on social media, I would ask you to ban Islamophobia and hatred against Islam on Facebook, as you did for the Holocaust,
” he wrote.
Contacted by AFP, a representative of Facebook said Monday that the company was against "
all forms of hatred, including hatred towards the Muslim community
."
A few dozen people gathered on Monday in several large Pakistani cities, including Quetta (South West) and Peshawar (North West).
Protesters demanded a boycott of French goods and religious leaders called for larger protests on Friday.
In Lahore (East), a tricolor flag was burned.
