Daily Times

Pakistan Friday observed ‘Yaum-e-Taqaddus-e-Quran’ to lodge a strong protest against the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden — a country that has repeatedly allowed such vile acts.

Rallies were organised across country to protest the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden as the nation observed “Youm-i-Taqaddus-i-Quran” (Quran Sanctity Day). Rallies were held in major cities after Friday prayers with citizens expressing their anger at the incident in Sweden.

Religious organisations and members of civil society staged a demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club. On the occasion, protesters said that the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden had hurt the sentiments of Muslims across the world. They also called on the government to summon the Swedish envoy to record Pakistan’s strong protest.

Another rally was also organised in Chagai and Dera Bugti, where protesters carried placards and chanted slogans.

In Lahore, Jamaat-i-Islami’s Ziauddin Ansari addressed a rally and said that the ruling coalition had only passed a resolution in the National Assembly condemning the incident. He called on the government to call a meeting of the OIC and to expel the Swedish envoy from the country He also told participants to boycott Swedish products.

Rallies were also taken out in parts of Karachi, including Bolton Market, main M. A. Jinnah Road and Dawood Chowrangi, disrupting traffic in the city. Separately, several rallies were held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district. Political parties, including the PTI, PML-N and the JI, staged protests in Bisham, Karora, Alpuri, Puran and Chakesar. The leaders said the intention behind the act was to hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims across the globe. Noting that such incidents had been taking place in Europe repeatedly, the called for European nations to take measures to stop these occurrences. These countries must draw a line between the freedom of expression and hurting the Muslim community’s religious beliefs, the leaders stressed, demanding action from the Swedish government against the person who burnt the Holy Quran last week. They also demanded the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador from Pakistan as a means to register the country’s protest over the incident.