Sindh Assembly condemns Sweden desecration act

Resolution passed by the House demands summoning of Swedish envoy to lodge protest

KARACHI:

The Sindh Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday, strongly condemning the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden.

The resolution, initiated by PPP MPA Sharmila Faruqui, expresses solidarity with the global Muslim community in their distress. It sheds light on the prevalent issue of Islamophobia in Western society, emphasising that such sacrilegious acts undermine religious harmony and tolerance.

The resolution specifically addresses the recent incident of public burning of a copy of the Holy Book in Stockholm during Eidul Azha, which sparked worldwide protests and outrage.

It unequivocally condemns this act as a deliberate assault on the sacred beliefs of Muslims, resulting in their marginalisation, discrimination, and profound anguish. "Such sacrilegious acts undermine religions' harmony and tolerance leaving the Muslim community feeling marginalised, discriminated against and deeply hurt. This was a premeditated attack on the Muslims ideological borders," the resolution said.

The resolution further commends the convening of an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) session to address Islamophobia and calls upon the federal government to engage with the Swedish government and international community in order to ensure appropriate actions and legislation to prevent such incidents in the future.

Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani apprised the assembly of his efforts in conveying the sentiments of the members regarding the desecration incident. He informed them that he had written a letter to the Swedish ambassador and lodged a formal protest on behalf of the Sindh Assembly.

During the session, MPAs from various political parties, including MQM, Jamaat-e-Islami, TLP, and GDA, expressed their unwavering support for the resolution and strongly denounced the despicable incident. They urged the summoning of the Swedish ambassador, lodging of a protest, and the implementation of measures to safeguard the sanctity of the Holy Quran.

Speaking on the occasion, MQM-Pakistan MPA Mohammad Hussain said that the desecration of Holy Quran was held under the supervision of the Swedish government. "We demand to summon the Swedish ambassador and lodge a protest with him on the issue," he said.

Jamaat e Islami MPA Abdul Rashid termed the incident a war against the Muslims. "This is not only to hurt the emotions of Muslims, but it's a declaration of war against us," he said.  He was of the view that Muslims living in the world were ready to render their sacrifices for the protection of the Holy Quran. "After India, France and Denmark, now the Swedish government is inciting their people to commit such crimes. This all is done under the supervision of the government," he remarked.

Grand Democratic Alliance MPA Nand Kumar Goklani suggested cutting off diplomatic and economic ties with Sweden until it takes the actions against the culprits involved in it and publically render apology for the incident.  "No religion can permit such a gruesome incident," he lamented.

PPP lawmaker Imdad Pitafi in his speech called the Holy Quran burning an act of Islamophobia and suggested the Muslims living in the world to focus on research and development detaching the reliance on western countries.

Power issues

Furthermore, the assembly addressed the pressing issue of prolonged power outages in Karachi and other districts of Sindh.

MQM lawmaker Mohammad Hussain drew attention to the severe power crisis affecting various areas and called for immediate action against power utility companies. The concerns raised encompass both urban and rural regions of Sindh, significantly impacting the lives of residents.

He said that Landhi, Liaquatabad, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Lyari, Malir and other areas of Karachi bear the brunt of power outages. "The power crisis deepens with each passing day. Not only in Karachi, but people living in rural areas of Sindh suffer the same situation. Is there any way to take action against the power utilities," he said.