Hawzah News Agency - (Islamabad - Pakistan) - Pakistan has strongly condemned the decision of a French magazine, Charlie Hebdo, to re-publish deeply offensive caricature of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri in a statement said such a deliberate act to offend the sentiments of Muslims cannot be justified as an exercise in press freedom or freedom of expression.

“Pakistan condemns in the strongest terms the decision by the French magazine, Charlie Hebdo, to re-publish deeply offensive caricature of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH),” he said in a tweet.

He further stated such actions undermine the global aspirations for peaceful co-existence as well as social and inter-faith harmony.Charlie Hebdo is a French left-wing magazine with a history of publishing derogatory and anti-religious in content. It had published caricatures of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in 2012 and 2015 that provoked Muslims to start demonstrations around the globe.

Earlier Pakistan Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri warning against a new wave of Islamophobia in Europe had strongly condemned the recent incidents of desecration of Holy Quran in Sweden and Norway.