Tensions between France and the Muslim world have been continuing to remain poisoned after the controversy over caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) which led to anti-France protesters rallying at the street of Muslim countries against the French president, while ties with Pakistan have been strained and France has now recalled its citizens from Pakistan due to ongoing protest in the country.
Ongoing anti-France protest
Several major cities in the country were witnessed large-scale protests against the arrest of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief in Lahore as a “pre-emptive measure” ahead of the party’s April 20 deadline to the government.
The TLP had set a deadline for the government in October 2020 when a teacher in France who had shown blasphemous sketches of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in class was decapitated, while the person responsible for the action was killed by French police as they attempt to nab him.
Consequently, the caricatures were displayed in protests across France, with one caricature featured on the facade of a building in one city. France upheld the freedom of speech, with President Emmanuel Macron criticizing Islamists in the country, which provoked angry reactions from the Muslim world.
PM Imran Khan along with other leaders from the Muslim country condemned the hardline stance of Macron and angry protests ensued. The Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Rizvi was detained hours after making his demands, bringing thousands of his supporters to the streets in cities across Pakistan.
On Wednesday, Pakistani authorities moved to ban TLP whose leader had called for the expulsion of the French ambassador. During the protest two policemen killed and several others injured in the clashes.
French advises citizens to leave Pakistan
The French embassy in Pakistan has advised its all nationals and companies to temporarily leave the country after violent anti-France protests paralyzed large parts of the country.
Due to the serious threats to French interests in Pakistan, French nationals and French companies are advised to temporarily leave the country, the embassy said in an email to French citizens. The departures will be carried out by existing commercial airlines, it said.
Pakistan’s relations with France
The demand for French ambassador deportation from the country risks a serious diplomatic rift between Pakistan and France at many stages. The measure could jeopardize Pakistan’s worldwide reputation and the country’s ties with several western countries.
The expulsion of the French diplomat from Pakistan under the pressure of the religious parties will have severe consequences, which will not only roughly affect the bilateral ties but extend to important international forums, including the Security Council and the European Union, of which France is a permanent member.
International affairs experts say that in the past there have been deep ties between Pakistan and France, but in the recent past due to the closeness of India, France does not have the same relations with Pakistan as before.
France has been assisting Pakistan in providing military equipment in addition to loans and aid, so the deportation of the French ambassador is not only complicated but has a direct impact on Pakistan’s international reputation and relations.
Pakistan is France’s fifth-largest Muslim trading partner. Bilateral trade between the two countries is equivalent to 1.4 billion Euros. About 32 major French companies do business in Pakistan.
These companies are mostly active in Pakistan in the fields of energy, medicine, transport, environment, public works and civil engineering. 185 French companies are members of the Pakistan-France Business Alliance and France is a major buyer of Pakistani products which could be an effect due to current tension.
Consequences of severing ties
In short, the deportation of the French envoy will irritate a strong reaction not only from France but also from other Western countries because any country that relents under pressure from a group and accepts their demands cannot have an independent foreign and domestic policy.
More notably, the diplomatic rift could impact the country’s chances at clearing the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), of which France is a key member. Pakistan has been reeling under acute economic stress and making grim efforts to get rid of itself of the FATF grey list. France was also one of the countries opposing the removal of Pakistan from the grey list last February.
The government should resolve the standoff in the present or in the future with peaceful negotiations and public consultations, and not take any step that harms the interests of the country.
The publication of blasphemous sketches is an issue not only in Pakistan but of the entire Muslim Ummah. Muslims do not tolerate the insolence of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) they always openly speak out against it.
The OIC must address the fact that the whole Muslim world is being condemned for the actions of a few (the Charlie Hebdo attackers) who resort to extremism.
