Pakistan today summoned the acting American envoy to lodge a “strong protest” against an anti-Islam film and demanded that the US government take immediate steps to remove the “blasphemous” video from YouTube.
“The US Charge D’Affaires Ambassador Richard Hoagland was summoned today by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a strong protest was lodged with him over the blasphemous video posted on YouTube attacking the personage of the Holy Prophet Mohammed,” said a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.
Hoagland was told that the “US Government should immediately take measures to remove the sacrilegious video from YouTube and take action against its author“.
The Foreign Office further told Hoagland that the film — Innocence Of Muslims — amounted to “an attack on 1.5 billion Muslims and a premeditated and a malicious act to spread hatred and violence among people of different faiths“.
“He was reminded that all faiths need to promote inter—religious harmony and tolerance. The intentional spread of hatred among faiths is an attack on humanity itself,” the statement said.
The statement quoted Hoagland as reiterating that his government and the US leadership had “strongly condemned the video“.
The video “was disgusting and was the act of one aberrant individual”, he was quoted as saying.