Posted on August 15, 2005

Copenhagen Residents Against Naming Road Pakistan

Syrian Arab News Agency, Aug. 15

COPENHAGEN: Residents of Copenhagen have objected to a decision of the city municipal corporation to name a road in the city after Pakistan. The mayor of the Copenhagen Municipal Corporation made the decision two years ago during a Pakistani fair held in front of Town Hall. At the time, Pakistani and other foreigners living in the area gladly accepted the decision, but locals were worried about what road would be renamed Pakistan. The concern has now changed into protests, as the locals of the area where a road is being named Pakistan have objected to the mayor’s decision. They said that they did not want to hear or even see the name in their area. They also said they did not want a nameplate inscribed with the word Pakistan being fixed on any road in their area. Quarrels and scuffles have been taking place between the locals and foreigners in the area every day. After the London bomb blasts, anyone wearing the shalwar kamiz and sporting a beard is seen with suspicion by the locals.