ISAMABAD: Thousands of Muslims in Pakistan rallied on Friday to protest last week’s burning of the Quran in Stockholm following a call by PM Shehbaz Sharif to “send a strong message to Sweden.”
The biggest anti-Sweden rallies were held Lahore and Karachi, where thousands of people gathered on main roads before dispersing peacefully. In the capital, Islamabad, lawyers holding copies of the Quran protested in front of the Supreme Court, while worshippers outside mosques held small rallies, demanding the severing of diplomatic ties with Sweden. A group of minority Christians in the northwest also held a rally to denounce the incident.
In a televised speech in parliament the previous day, Sharif asked why Swedish police allowed the burning and urged his supporters “to send a strong message to Sweden” by taking to the streets. A similar call for protests was issued by former prime minister Imran Khan.
The biggest anti-Sweden rallies were held Lahore and Karachi, where thousands of people gathered on main roads before dispersing peacefully. In the capital, Islamabad, lawyers holding copies of the Quran protested in front of the Supreme Court, while worshippers outside mosques held small rallies, demanding the severing of diplomatic ties with Sweden. A group of minority Christians in the northwest also held a rally to denounce the incident.
In a televised speech in parliament the previous day, Sharif asked why Swedish police allowed the burning and urged his supporters “to send a strong message to Sweden” by taking to the streets. A similar call for protests was issued by former prime minister Imran Khan.