ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced a nationwide protest in the country July 7 to protest the desecration of the Holy Qur’an in Sweden, the premier’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party announced on Tuesday, days after a copy of the holy book was burnt in the Swedish capital of Stockholm.
Salwan Momika, 37, a refugee from Iraq, last week desecrated the Qur’an and set fire to its pages in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque. The act, coming during the major Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha, drew widespread condemnation in the Muslim world.
Countries throughout the Middle East and beyond denounced the burning, some recalled their ambassadors, and foreign ministries summoned the Swedish ambassadors to their countries to hear official protests. The European Union also condemned the incident, terming it “offensive,” “disrespectful” and an “act of provocation.”
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during an important meeting today, has announced that Pakistan will hold a Yaum-e-Taqaddus-e-Quran (day to observe the sacrosanctity of the Qur’an) on July 7,” the PML-N said in a statement on Twitter late Tuesday.
“There will be a nationwide protest against the incident in Sweden and PM Sharif has appealed to the entire nation, including all political parties, to participate in the protest.”
The prime minister, according to the statement, called a joint session of the parliament on Thursday to draw up a national plan of action against the sacrilegious incident.
“The sentiments and feelings of the nation regarding the incident will be fully expressed through the forum of the parliament and a joint resolution will be passed in this regard during the session,” it added.
During the meeting, Sharif stressed that honoring the Holy Qur’an was part of Muslims’ faith, therefore the entire nation was united in that cause.
“Misguided minds are following a nefarious agenda by spreading the negative trend of Islamophobia,” the statement quoted PM Sharif as saying.
“Peace-loving nations and leaders around the world, who believe in coexistence, should block the path of violent forces propagating Islamophobia and religious prejudices.”
On Tuesday, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) also announced that it would hold an “urgent” session to discuss desecration of the book this week.
Pakistan had requested for the debate on behalf of several member countries of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), including countries that were current members of the Human Rights Council.
