ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has given a call for countrywide strike on Friday (July 7) to express outrage over desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden last week.

According to the SCBA, its members will recite the Holy Quran at 11am on the Supreme Court’s main entrance. It will be followed by a march against the desecration.

Abid Zuberi, the SCBA president, and Muqtedir Akhtar Shabbir, its secretary, said in a statement that the Islamophobic act in Sweden had deeply offended and hurt the sentiments of Pakistan’s legal fraternity and Muslims across the world. Such incidents cannot be condoned as an exercise of the right to freedom of expression, the SCBA office-bearers said.

“Time and again we have witnessed such hateful actions against Islam, either through disrespect of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) or the Holy Quran.

“Unfortunately, despite a number of similar incidents in the past, the international community has failed to take measures against such Islamophobic acts, This has caused such actions to amplify and become more fierce over the years,” Mr Zuberi and Mr Shabbir added.

“It is the international community’s duty to take cognisance of such incidents and to put an end to acts of religious intolerance.”

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2023