FILE PHOTO: A Muslim woman wearing a hijab walks through a street near St Anthony's Shrine, days after a string of suicide bomb attacks across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 29, 2019. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo
Sri Lanka's minister for public security, Sarath Weerasekera, said on Saturday it would"definitely" ban the full face covering worn by some Muslim women on national security grounds, pending cabinet approval. "The government will initiate a broader dialogue with all parties concerned and sufficient time will be taken for necessary consultations to be held and for consensus to be reached," it said in a statement.The statement follows criticism from Pakistan's ambassador to Sri Lanka, Saad Kattak, who said in a tweet on Monday a ban"will only serve as injury to the feelings of ordinary Sri Lankan Muslims and Muslims across the globe".
Several Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, are among the 47 nations that will vote on Sri Lanka's human rights record at a United Nations session in Geneva next week.
Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)