May 9, 2005	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 29, 1426

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ISLAMABAD, May 8: Pakistan on Sunday expressed deep dismay and called for an inquiry into reports that copies of Holy Quran were desecrated at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. “The government of Pakistan is deeply dismayed by a news item carried by the latest edition of Newsweek magazine about the reported desecration of the Holy Quran,” foreign office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani told AFP.

He described as “highly objectionable and regrettable, treatment meted out to the detainees at Guantanamo Bay detention centre.” The report in the US-based magazine said detainees at the camp kept copies of the Holy Quran in toilets in order to annoy prisoners, Mr Jilani said.

An official statement earlier said that the reported “act of sacrilege has shocked people of every faith” around the world. “The government of Pakistan condemns the incident and demands that an inquiry should be conducted to bring to justice the perpetrators of this shameful act,” he added.