Shehbaz wants those who desecrated Quran punished

ISLAMABAD/DUBAI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Monday strongly condemned the recent desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden and demanded immediate action against the culprits.

In a statement, he said it was not the first incident of its kind rather in the past too such horrific acts had taken place. He said the Swedish government should take notice of these Islamophobic acts.

Shehbaz expressed satisfaction over the emergency session of the OIC on the latest act of desecration in Sweden.

He said the OIC in its statement has not only demanded action against the perpetrators but also demanded necessary action to avert such spiteful incidents in future.

He said Pakistan fully endorsed the OIC’s stance and hoped the needful would be done so that such acts would not recur.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis has condemned the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden, saying the vile act had “angered and disgusted” him and he refused to acknowledge the act as a form of freedom of speech.

The comments came in response to the latest incident of Quran’s desecration in Sweden when a man set a copy of the sacred book ablaze outside a mosque in the country’s capital city last week.

“Any book considered holy should be respected to respect those who believe in it,” the pope said in an interview in the United Arab Emirates newspaper Al Ittihad, published on Monday.

“I feel angry and disgusted at these actions.

“Freedom of speech should never be used as a means to despise others and allowing that is rejected and condemned.”

The abhorrent incident resulted in strong condemnation from several states, including Turkey, whose backing Sweden needs to gain entry to the Nato military alliance.

While Swedish police have rejected several recent applications for anti-Quran demonstrations, the courts have over-ruled those decisions, saying they infringed on freedom of speech.

On Sunday, an Islamic grouping of 57 states said collective measures are needed to prevent acts of desecration of the Quran and international law should be used to stop religious hatred.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has summoned Sweden’s ambassador to denounce the desecration of the Holy Quran outside a Stockholm mosque that sparked a diplomatic backlash across the Muslim world, state media reported early Monday.

The kingdom — home to the holiest sites in Islam, in Makkah and Madina — had already condemned Wednesday’s incident in which an Iraqi citizen living in Sweden, Salwan Momika, 37, stomped on the holy book and set several pages alight.

Meanwhile, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) took out a rally in the federal cabinet on Monday to register its strong protest against the desecration of the Holy Quran.

Through a resolution, the JI Secretary General Amirul Azeem called upon the Swedish Embassy in Islamabad to take immediate action, in collaboration with the Pakistani government, to investigate the incident, ensure justice was served, and work towards preventing such acts in the future.

“We the Pakistani citizens express our profound concern and condemn in the strongest possible terms the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden on 28th June in front of Stockholm grand mosque under the protection of judiciary in the name of freedom of expression,” the resolution said.

JI central naib ameer Mian Muhammad Aslam, Islamabad ameer Nasarullah Randhawa and traders’ leader Muhammad Kashif Chaudhry also led the charged protestors who were carrying party flags and banners and raising slogans.

The rally starting from F-6 Markaz ended near the Swedish embassy.

The JI leadership expressed surprise that how the judicial system of civilized and democratic state of Sweden allowed the unnecessary and unreasonable desire of a violent person which had hurt more than one billion Muslims.

“This resolution aims to convey our collective outrage and demand for a thorough investigation into the incident, as well as a commitment to preventing such acts in future in Sweden. Strong Condemnation,“ the text of the resolution said.