The decision was made in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here to discuss the issue of the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden.

It was decided that protest rallies would be held on Friday across the country to condemn the act.

PM Shehbaz appealed to the nation, including all the political parties, to participate in the protest to convey a united message to the mischievous minds.

Besides, the government would also convene a joint session of the parliament on July 6 to formulate a national strategy on the issue and represent the “nation’s sentiments and feelings through the parliamentary forum”.

The joint session would also adopt a resolution to condemn the desecration of the Holy Quran.

The prime minister, also the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, instructed the party to participate in the Yaum-e-Taqaddus-e-Quran and hold countrywide rallies.

He told the meeting that the sanctity of the Holy Quran was a part of the Muslims’ belief for which all of them were united.

He said that the “astray minds were toeing a nefarious agenda of fanning the negative trend of Islamophobia”.

PM Shehbaz said that nations and leadership believing in peace and co-existence should contain the violent forces infested by Islamophobia and religious biases.

He was of the view that the “violent mindset” targeting religion, sacred personalities, beliefs and ideologies were in fact the “enemies of world peace”.

The forces believing in peace and interfaith harmony should play their role at the international level to get rid of such negative trends, the premier said.