LAHORE, March 3: As the opposition parties are protesting against the publication of sacrilegious cartoons, a five-member parliamentary delegation is leaving for Brussels on Saturday to take up the issue with top representatives of EU countries.

Religious affairs minister Ejazul Haq will lead the delegation. Dr Attiya Inyatullah (PML), Dr Farooq Sattar (MQM), Asad Murtaza Gilani (PPP-Patriots) and Mushtaq Victor are other members of the delegation.

The delegation will inform the EU representatives how the cartoons had hurt the sentiments of Muslims all over the world. They will brief them about the protests held by various parties in Pakistan, and the Friday strike observed across the country.

The delegation members will call for steps to ensure that such a provocative act is not repeated by any newspaper.

The opposition was also extended an invitation for the visit, but it was turned down.

Ejazul Haq told Dawn on Friday that after returning to Pakistan, he would pay a special visit to Jeddah to inform the OIC secretary-general about the outcome of the talks.

Islamabad, he said, was also trying to convene a meeting of OIC foreign ministers to discuss the matter and decide the line of action the Islamic countries should follow.

Pakistan’s ambassadors in New York and Geneva are already in contact with the envoys of OIC states to find a solution to the problem, which has hurt feelings of over a billion Muslims across the world.