The Hindu : Front Page : Pakistan condemns knighthood to Rushdie

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 19, 2007
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Pakistan condemns knighthood to Rushdie

Nirupama Subramanian

ISLAMABAD: There is uproar in Pakistan against the British government’s knighthood to writer Salman Rushdie, with both politicians and the government denouncing it as an insult to Muslims.

Rushdie is a hated figure in Pakistan for his Satanic Verses, a book denounced by the Islamic world as “blasphemous.”

The National Assembly, Pakistan’s Parliament’s lower house, saw rare unity on Monday when a resolution condemning the knighthood and demanding its immediate withdrawal was adopted unanimously.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afgan Khan Niazi moved the resolution that asked Britain to refrain from hurting the sentiments of Muslims. “This house strongly condemns the title of Sir awarded to Salman Rushdie," Mr. Niazi said, reading out the text of the resolution.

The resolution said that the award to Rushdie would encourage others to commit blasphemy.

An opposition leader representing the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal,

said while the west made calls for inter-religious harmony, it continued to hurt the feelings of Muslims. The MMA has called for a nation-wide protest against the award to Rushdie.

“Certainly, Salman Rushdie has tried to insult and malign Muslims. We deplore the British government’s decision to knight him.” Ms. Aslam, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said.

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