Shahbaz Sharif speaks during an event. File

Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), burned the Holy Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.

The move was deplored by Pakistan, the UAE, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia among several other Muslim countries.

In his condemnation of the abhorrent act, Shahbaz termed it unacceptable, saying that the "garb of freedom of expression can't be used to hurt religious emotions of Muslims." He said that the despicable act cannot be condemned in words.

"No words are enough to adequately condemn the abhorrable act of desecration of the Holy Quran by a right-wing extremist in Sweden. The garb of freedom of expression cannot be used to hurt the religious emotions of 1.5 billion Muslims across the world," the premier wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the act, stressing that it hurt the sentiments of the 1.5 billion-strong Muslim community across the globe.

Türkiye and several Arab countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait denounced the Holy Quran's desecration.

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan had criticised the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden.

Taking to Twitter, the PTI chief said he denounced in strictest terms the recent incident, while saying the United Nations accepted the resolution regarding countering Islamophobia last year with the support of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

He added the UN’s resolution made it clear that the hate speech against Islam and its leaders did not fall under the ambit of freedom of speech 

Outgoing Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi also strongly condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden.

Elahi condemned everything and said the following: "It is the worst and most reprehensible conduct to desecrate the Holy Quran. Such occurrences have no place in a civilised society. Since no one could ever imagine the holy book being desecrated."

Continuing to express his views in this regard, Elahi said, "Respecting the Holy Quran is an integral part of every Muslim’s faith. Such an incident is extremely unbearable in the name of freedom of expression."

Agencies