Zahid Hafeez Chaudhari, Spokesperson for the Foreign Office, on Friday expressed disappointment at the adoption of a resolution at the European Parliament on blasphemy laws in Pakistan.

In a statement, the spokesperson said "the discourse in the European Parliament reflects a lack of understanding in the context of blasphemy laws and associated religious sensitivities in Pakistan – and in the wider Muslim world". The unwarranted commentary about Pakistan’s judicial system and domestic laws are regrettable, he added.

Hafeez said that Pakistan is proud of its minorities who enjoy equal rights and complete protection of fundamental freedoms as enshrined in the Constitution. He said judicial and administrative mechanisms and remedies are in place to guard against any human rights violations.

While responding to the media queries, Hafeez said:

"Pakistan has played an active role in promoting freedom of religion or belief, tolerance, and inter-faith harmony. At a time of rising Islamophobia and populism, the international community must exhibit a common resolve to fight xenophobia, intolerance, and incitement to violence based on religion or belief and work together to strengthen peaceful co-existence."

FO added that Pakistan and the EU have multiple mechanisms in place to discuss the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, including a dedicated Dialogue on Democracy, Rule of Law, Governance, and Human Rights.

"We would continue to remain positively engaged with the EU on all issues of mutual interest," said Hafeez in the statement.

These comments from FO came after European Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution against Pakistan. The resolution asks for a review of the country's Generalised Scheme of Preference Plus (GSP+) status.

The resolution stated that the EU is seeing an increase in laws in Pakistan that are discriminatory towards minorities and fundamental rights.

The resolution was presented by Renew Europe, a liberal, pro-European political group of the European Parliament, and adopted with a majority of 681 votes against six.

The GSP+ is a special component of the GSP scheme that provides additional trade incentives to developing countries already benefitting from GSP. The GSP+ status granted to Pakistan is conditional to the country showing considerable progress on the implementation of 27 international core conventions.