ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday welcomed President Vladimir Putin’s statement about Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), saying, it reaffirmed his message that “insulting our Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) is not freedom of expression.”

“We Muslims, especially Muslim leaders, must spread this message to leaders of the non-Muslim world to counter Islamophobia,” Imran Khan said in a tweet posted on his social media account.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that insulting Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) did not count as freedom of expression.

“Insults to the prophet [Holy Prophet (PBUH)] are a “violation of religious freedom and the violation of the sacred feelings of people who profess Islam,” President Putin was quoted by the Russian News Agency TASS as saying on Thursday during his annual news conference.