Check acts of sacrilege, urges Pak.

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

LAHORE, MARCH 24. Pakistan today expressed concern at what it termed as ``repeated incidents'' of burning of copies of the Holy Quran and other acts of sacrilege and urged the Indian Government to prevent recurrence of such acts.

A statement by the Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad came hours after the special envoy of UNESCO, Mr. Pierre Lafrance, expressed ``utter indignation'' against all actions in the shape of retaliation against sanctity of Muslim holy places and holy books.

In an obvious reference to the recent controversy in India over the alleged burning of the Holy Quran by a group of demonstrators in New Delhi, who were protesting against the destruction of Buddha statues in Afghanistan, the UNESCO envoy said ``one of UNESCO's missions is to try and foster peace for people of different beliefs which is a pre-requisite for peace in the world''.

The Indian Government has ordered a probe into the alleged incident.

In a separate statement, the Pakistan Government alleged that there was ``unprovoked and indiscriminate firing'' by Indian forces on peaceful rallies in different parts of Kashmir on Friday.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Long-term U.S. assistance to Gujarat opposed
Next     : India, U.K. sign MoU on customs