ISLAMABAD  -  Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General, Hissein Brahim Taha yesterday commend­ed Pakistan’s efforts to combat and counter Islamophobia. Foreign Min­ister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari spoke to OIC Secretary General, Hissein Bra­him Taha over the telephone.

The call was made against the backdrop of recurring incidents of the desecration of the Holy Qu­ran in Sweden and other European countries. Condemning the despi­cable acts, which were clear viola­tions of international law, the for­eign minister (FM) briefed the OIC secretary general about the resolu­tion adopted by the Parliament of Pakistan in a joint sitting on July 6 2023, and observance of ‘Youm-e-Taqaddus Quran’ across Pakistan on 7th July 2023, reflecting the as­pirations of the people of Pakistan to safeguard the sanctity of the Holy Quran. The foreign minister appre­ciated the urgency with which OIC was responding to these reprehen­sible acts under the stewardship of the secretary-general. 

He commended the OIC for holding an Open-ended Extraordinary Meet­ing of the OIC Executive Committee on 2nd July 2023, in Jeddah, and is­suance of comprehensive communi­qué after the meeting. The Foreign Minister Bilawal also welcomed the OIC decision for holding emergency ministerial meeting on this issue and briefed the secretary-general about his telephone calls to the foreign ministers of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye in this regard, the foreign ministry said in a statement.