ISLAMABAD: People in Pakistan held on Friday nationwide demonstrations to protest last week’s burning of a copy of the Holy Qur’an in Sweden, which has drawn a strong reaction from the Muslim world.
Major rallies were being held in the eastern city of Lahore and Karachi, the commercial hub of the country. In the federal capital of Islamabad, lawyers holding copies of the Qur’an protested outside the Supreme Court, while worshippers held demonstrations outside mosques after the Friday prayers.
Supporters of Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party were holding rallies in major cities, including Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta, across the country to protest the desecration of the Holy Qur’an.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced this week that his country would hold the ‘Yaum-e-Taqaddus-e-Qur’an’ (day to observe the sacrosanctity of the Qur’an) on July 7, while Pakistan’s parliament on Thursday condemned a resolution the desecration of the holy book.
“Never has anyone heard or seen the Bible being desecrated or burnt here,” PM Sharif said, calling on the Swedish government to clear its stance regarding the matter. “We respect all religions so that no one points a finger at our religion or the holy book.”
Anger has grown in the Muslim world since Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old refugee from Iraq, on June 28 desecrated the Qur’an and set fire to its pages in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque. The act came during the major Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha.
Countries throughout the Middle East and beyond have 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.”
The Pakistani foreign office said on Thursday it had raised the matter with the Swedish envoy to Islamabad.
“Like in the past we have raised our concerns on this incident with the Swedish authorities,” FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during a weekly press briefing.
“I can confirm that, yes, we have raised this with the Charge d’Affaires of Sweden in Islamabad and our dialogue with Sweden will continue.”
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) also said this week it had decided to hold an “urgent” session to discuss desecration of the Holy Qur’an in Sweden after Pakistan requested it on behalf of several member countries of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
