Protest held to condemn Sweden incident

Hundreds of people staged a protest in the country on Tuesday to voice outrage over the desecration of the holy Quran in Sweden over the weekend by Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan on Saturday in front of Turkey's embassy in the Swedish capital.

Protesters chanted "Shame on Sweden" at the rally in Lahore, heeding a call from local political parties.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted on Sunday: "The garb of the freedom of expression cannot be used to hurt the religious emotions of 1.5 billion Muslims across the world. This is unacceptable."

Furious that Paludan was allowed by police to carry out the protest, Ankara cancelled a visit by Sweden's defence minister and summoned Stockholm's ambassador.

The incident was condemned by Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who tweeted: "Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy. But what is legal is not necessarily appropriate. Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act."

"I want to express my sympathy for all Muslims who are offended by what has happened in Stockholm today."