Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker cancels blasphemous caricatures contest

Published August 30, 2018
Contest was to have been held at the tightly guarded offices of his Party for Freedom in the Dutch parliament building. —AFP/File
Contest was to have been held at the tightly guarded offices of his Party for Freedom in the Dutch parliament building. —AFP/File

Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders has cancelled the planned caricatures contest following "death threats and concerns other people could be put at risk".

In a written statement issued on Thursday night, Wilders said he has decided "not to let the cartoon contest go ahead.”

Wilders, who has for years lived under round-the-clock protection because of death threats sparked by his fierce anti-Islam rhetoric, said he does not want others endangered by the contest he planned for November.

The contest was to have been held at the tightly guarded offices of his Party for Freedom in the Dutch parliament building.

Meanwhile, the Dutch government had been at pains to distance itself from the contest. Prime Minister Mark Rutte last week questioned Wilders' motive for organising the contest.

The announcement regarding the cancellation of the contest comes shortly after Prime Minister Imran Khan issued a statement saying the act was hurting the sentiments of Muslims living all around the world.

Read: PM Khan urges Muslim world to register ‘strong protest’ against caricatures contest

PM Khan urged all Muslim countries to use the platform of United Nations to convey to the western world how Muslims feel when their religious sentiments are repeatedly hurt by disrespecting the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry termed it a victory of the Pakistani nation, saying it was made possible by diplomatic efforts on the directives of PM Khan.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi holds media talk.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi holds media talk.

Soon after the announcement, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi held a media talk accompanied by Tehreek-i-Labbaik leaders and requested them to call off their protest and disperse peacefully following the cancellation of the blasphemous contest.

The foreign minister congratulated the nation and Muslim Ummah on their moral victory and termed the cancellation of the contest a victory for Pakistan on the diplomatic front.

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.