Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Muslims supported the Russian leader's words about the Prophet Muhammad, the Kremlin press service said Monday.
"Imran Khan stressed the broad support in Pakistani society and in the Muslim world in general for the statements of the Russian president at the annual press conference on December 23 [2021] on the inadmissibility of committing under the pretext of freedom of expression any actions humiliating the dignity of any religious, national or social group," the statement said.
The Kremlin added that Putin recalled in this context that Russia has historically been a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state in which peoples professing different religions, including Islam, have traditionally coexisted and interacted.
"Just talked to President Putin and first and foremost expressed my gratitude for his strong statement that freedom of speech cannot be an excuse to insult our Prophet Muhammad," Khan wrote in turn on his Twitter page. "He is the first Western leader to show empathy and sensitivity to Muslims' feelings for their beloved prophet," he added. Khan invited Putin to visit Pakistan. Putin in turn invited the Pakistani prime minister to visit Russia.
The two sides also discussed the development of bilateral ties, including in the areas of energy and the fight against COVID. "The parties discussed the development of Russian-Pakistani ties in various fields, including trade and economic, energy and humanitarian spheres, as well as the fight against the spread of coronavirus infection," the report said.
The leaders agreed to continue contacts, the Kremlin added.
At a large press conference last December, Putin said that insulting the Prophet Muhammad is "a violation of freedom of religion and a violation of the sacred feelings of people who practice Islam." He noted that such behavior "gives rise to other, even more violent extremist manifestations," and cited the attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris following the publication of the cartoons as an example.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS