ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday called upon the international community to take notice of the recent wave of Islamophobic incidents that took place across Sweden and the Netherlands.
The violence began on Thursday after a demonstration organised by Rasmus Paludan, leader of Denmark’s radical political party Hard Line (Danish: Stram Kurs).
Paludan, who had permission for a series of demonstrations across Sweden during the Easter weekend, is known for Quran burnings. He planned and carried out the Islamophobic demonstration, posting a picture of himself on social media with a burning Quran and declared intentions of burning more.
40 people have so far been injured in riots. Some 26 police and 14 members of the public were injured, a spokesperson for the police said, adding that police had arrested 26 individuals, including four minors, in the southern city of Linköping and eastern Norrköping where the violence began on Friday.
There would be “more to come” as police analyse footage, the spokesperson added.
“The people of Pakistan and Muslims around the world are deeply hurt by the recent incidents of Islamophobia in Sweden and the Netherlands,” Sharif said in a tweet.
He said the international community must condemn these incidents and stressed taking steps to check such “abhorrent behaviour”.
People of Pakistan and Muslims around the world are deeply hurt by the recent incidents of Islamophobia in Sweden & the Netherlands. The international community must condemn these incidents & take steps to check such abhorrent behaviour. We must stand united against Islamophobia.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) April 19, 2022
He also emphasised standing united against Islamophobia.
Earlier, in a statement, the Foreign Office said that “these mindless provocative Islamophobic incidents served no purpose other than hurting the sensitivities of over 1.5 billion Muslims living all over the world”.
“Such actions are not covered under legitimate expressions of the right to freedom of expression or opinion, which carry responsibilities under international human rights law, such as the obligation not to carry out hate speech and incite people to violence,” it added.
