KARACHI: Lawmakers from the both sides of the aisle in the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday condemned desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden, asking the federal government to end diplomatic and trade ties with the European country.

Adopting identical resolutions unanimously against the abhorrent act of public burning of a copy of the Holy Book in Stockholm, they said the entire Ummah was saddened and offended and demanded strict action against the culprits.

Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, who initiated the proceeding after a delay of over two hours, deferred all business on agenda as Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) member Sharmila Faruqui rose to move the resolution.

Later, Muhammad Hussain Khan of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Syed Abdul Rasheed of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) Mufti Muhammad Qasim Fakhri and Nand Kumar Goklani of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) also moved identical resolutions, which were clubbed by the chair.

The speaker also condemned the heinous act of violating the Holy Quran’s sanctity and called for effective measures from the federal government to stop such incidents in the future.

The TLP’s resolution also demanded from the federal government to close down Swedish mission in Islamabad and end trade with the northern European country in in protests against the incident.

The resolution tabled by Ms Faruqui read: ““The House unequivocally condemns the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden and expresses its solidarity with the global Muslim community in their distress. This house condemns the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden that has deeply saddened and offended Muslims worldwide, highlighting the prevalent issue of Islamophobia in the western society.”

It added that the despicable act of the public burning of a copy of the holy book in Stockholm on the occasion of Eidul Azha sparked worldwide protests and outrage. Such sacrilegious acts undermined religious harmony and tolerance, leaving the Muslim community feeling marginalised and discriminated against.

“This house also acknowledges and appreciates the convening of the OIC [Organisation of Islamic Cooperation] session for providing a platform to compile recommendations and devise a collective future strategy to counter Islamophobia. This house urges federal government to take this issue to the Swedish government and the international community to ensure legislation and appropriate actions so that such actions are not repeated in the future,” the resolution read.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Faruqui said that the desecration was a premeditated attempt against Muslims’ ideological borders. “Over two billion Muslims across the globe have been deeply hurt after the heinous act,” she said and demanded strict action against the perpetuators.

MMA’ Syed Abdul Rasheed said that the leaders of Muslim countries were not able to react against such acts accordingly, asking the federal government to summon the Swedish ambassador.

He also asked Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to take up the matter at every appropriate forum in an effective manner.

Muhammad Hussain of the MQM-P said that the desecration of the Holy Quran was done outside the mosque when the Muslims were offering Eid-ul-Azha prayer. “The desecration cannot be allowed under the garb of freedom of expression,” he said.

TLP Parliamentary Leader Mufti Qasim Fakhri said that such incidents were happening in Western countries on regular basis. He demanded the federal government to end diplomatic and trade ties with Sweden.

Abdul Razzaque of the GDA said that everyone’s sentiments had been hurt by this heinous act.

PPP’s Sohrab Sarki, Parveen Basheer Qaimkhani, Imdad Pitafi, Giyan Chand Israni, Lal Chand Ukrani, Surrendra Vellasai, Munawwar Wassan and Mukesh Kumar Chawla; MQM-P’s Mangla Sharma, Rabia Khatoon, Rana Ansar and Rashid Khilji; and two dissident members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Deewan Sachand and Karim Bux Gabol also spoke.

The house unanimously adopted The Sindh Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and The Partnership (Sindh Amendment) Bill, 2022 while The Sindh Social Protection Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and The Sindh Goth-Abad (Housing Scheme) (Amendment) Bill, 2023 were introduced and sent to standing committee.

Later, the house was adjourned to Thursday (today).

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2023