Lashing out at Britain for its 'insensitive' move to award knighthood to controversial India-born author Salman Rushdie, Pakistan has sought the scrapping of the decision and an apology from it.

The government also asked Islamic countries to break diplomatic ties with Britain if it refuses to rescind its move to honour the controversial writer and apologise for it.

"The Islamic countries should break diplomatic relations with Britain unless it apologises and withdraw the title," Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Ejaz-ul-Haq said in the National Assembly on Monday.

Striking a hardline posture on the issue, Haq, the son of former military ruler Zia-ul Haq, said suicide attack would be legitimate if it meant to protect Prophet Muhammad.

"Suicide attack on anyone committing blasphemy is justified," Haq was quoted as saying by Dawnews TV in Islamabad.

But apparently at the instance of Pakistan Foreign Office, he retracted his statement later in the Assembly saying he did not justify suicide attacks but only spoke about the reasons why they occurred.

Haq also asked Muslims to boycott British diplomats, forcing their government to withdraw the 'Sir' title to Rushdie.

Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said the decision is 'obviously insensitive to the sentiments of Muslims around the world' and that Rushdie had 'insulted and maligned' Muslims. She said Islamabad would convey its sentiments officially to London [Images].

"We deplore the decision of the British government to knight him," Aslam said.

Britain's move would undermine efforts to bring harmony and fostering dialogue among civilizations, she said.
 
Western nations are accusing the Muslims of terrorism and extremism but they are themselves indulged in decisions, which are aimed at hurting the sentiments of the Muslims, he said.

Britain's decision to give award to Rushdie is a serious matter and a challenge to 1.5 billion Muslims across the world, he said.

"If the Muslims did not show unity, such problems will increase and the time can come when Rushdie reach the British House of Lords," he added.

Earlier, the Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution protesting the decision and demanded its withdrawal asserting that Rushdie in 'Satanic Verses,' a novel published in 1988, used derogatory words against Prophet Muhammad.

As criticism mounted across the Pakistan political spectrum for granting knighthood for Rushdie, Britain defended its decision saying that the writer was honoured for his literary contribution.

'Every year the Queen honours people for their contributions. Some of them may be controversial figures but they are people who have made substantial achievements in their respective fields,' a British High Commission statement issued here said.