ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has strongly condemned the desecration of the holy Quran in Sweden, stressing that such wilful incitement to discrimination, hated and violence cannot be justified under the pretext of freedom of expression and protest.

In a statement issued here, the Foreign Office, said that the recurrence of such Islamophobic incidents during the last few months in the West calls into serious question the legal framework which permits such hate-driven actions.

“We reiterate that the right to freedom of expression and opinion does not provide a license to stoke hatred and sabotage inter-faith harmony”, it added.

It further stated that Pakistan’s concerns about the incident were being conveyed to Sweden and urged the international community and the national governments to undertake “credible and concrete measures to prevent the rising incidents of xenophobia, Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred”.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023