Rallies were taken out across the country on Friday to protest of the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden as the nation observed “Youm-i-Taqaddus-i-Quran” (Quran Sanctity Day).
Last week, a man had desecrated the Holy Quran in Sweden’s capital Stockholm, resulting in strong condemnation from several Muslim states, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the European Union, Pope Francis and the Swedish government, among others.
Earlier this week, a joint session of Parliament had passed a resolution urging Sweden to take “appropriate steps” against the perpetrators involved while the government had designated today as Yaum-i-Taqaddus-i-Quran to express outrage over the incident.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also on the nation to record their protest. Meanwhile, protests have been taking place in the country during the past week, including by political parties, lawyers and the Christian community.
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.
