ISLAMABAD: People from different walks of life held protests on Friday to observe a “Day of the Sanctity of Quran” as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had called the nation to record their protest against the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden.
In the capital Islamabad, a protest was organised by lawyers outside the Supreme Court. Lawyers took out a rally holding copies of the Holy Quran. Members of Rawalpindi’s Bar protested at Kachehri Chowk and demanded the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador from Pakistan.
People belonging to various political parties and Islamic religious parties held protests in different parts of Islamabad and Rawalpindi after Jumma prayer. They carried placards and raised slogans against the Swedish government.
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A rally of protesters including traders started from Aabpara Islamabad after Jumma prayer and culminated at the Islamabad Press Club. They carried placards and staged a protest outside the Islamabad Press Club.
In Rawalpindi, protesters took out a rally from Moti Masjid to Fawara Chowk in which a large number of citizens participated and raised slogans against the Swedish government.
Protesters announced to boycott Swedish products and demanded the government expel the Swedish ambassador.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also took out a rally on Murree Road against the act in which party leaders, Hanif Abbasi, Rahat Qudosi, and Sardar Naseem Khan participated.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also raised the issue and said in a tweet that the incident “is an act of blatant provocation to try inflame sentiments and undermine Islam as a religion of peace, tolerance, and acceptance.” “The desecration of the Quran in Sweden is another example of the rising Islamophobic mindset that seeks to dehumanize and denigrate our faith,” he said.
The foreign minister added that “Pakistan will be raising this issue at the UNHRC urgent debate in Geneva on behalf of the OIC Group on July 11 on the premeditated acts of desecration of the Holy Quran”.
Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman voiced similar concerns, saying that the incident “not just dehumanizes our religion but also deliberately seeks to provoke Muslim sentiment”.
Reporter from Lahore adds: In Lahore, the Mall road remained centre of protests organised by different parties including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Markazi Muslim League, Tehreek-e-Labaik, Jamaat-e-Islami and others. Political activists, traders, youths and people from different walks of life participated in these protests.
Speakers in these rallies said this despicable act is a conspiracy against Islam and Muslims, which are intolerable. They urged Islamic countries to forcefully raise their voice against the recent despicable incident of desecrations of the Holy Quran in Sweden at all forms, including the United Nations, so that nobody can dare commit such a crime in future.
Moreover, special representative to the Prime Minister Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi has said there should be legislation at the United Nations to criminalize the desecration of divine books and holy books.
Talking to the media here on Friday, he said all segments of the society while rising above differences should come out and hold peaceful rallies to condemn the desecration of Holy Quran in Sweden. “We should give the message that we are united for the sanctity of divine books and holy personalities,” he said. He said it is part of our faith that we respect all the Holy Prophets and the divine books.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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