Islamabad: Pakistan's Parliament today unanimously adopted a resolution condemning Britain's decision to award a knighthood to India-born internationally acclaimed author Salman Rushdie and demanding its immediate withdrawal.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afgan Khan Niazi moved the resolution in the National Assembly, urging the European countries, particularly Britain, to avoid the actions hurting the sentiments of Muslims. It demanded that the British Government immediately withdraw the knighthood awarded to 59-year-old Rushdie. The resolution, adopted unanimously, pointed out that there is a need to maintain peace in the world and for that purpose negotiations for inter-faith harmony are imperative.

Iran also yesterday condemned the UK's decision to confer the Knighthood on Rushdie. "The decision to honour one of the most disgusted persons in the Islamic societies, was a clear proof of Islamophobia among high-ranking British officials," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.

Rushdie, 59, was issued with a death fatwa by Iran's supreme religious leader late Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 after his book The Satanic Verses offended section of Muslims worldwide.