Pakistan has strongly condemned the despicable act of public burning of the Holy Quran outside a mosque in Sweden on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.

According to the spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, such wilful incitement to discrimination, hatred and violence cannot be justified under pretext of freedom of expression and protest.

The Spokesperson said under international law, States are duty bound to prohibit any advocacy of religious hatred, leading to incitement of violence. The recurrence of such Islamophobic incidents during the last few months in the West calls into serious question the legal framework which permits such hate-driven actions.

She reiterated that the right to freedom of expression and opinion does not provide a licence to stoke hatred and sabotage inter-faith harmony.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan's concerns about the incident are being conveyed to Sweden. She urged both the international community and the national governments to must undertake credible and concrete measures to prevent the rising incidents of xenophobia, Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.

Muslim world has also strongly condemned burning of the Holy Quran outside a mosque in Sweden.

Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia in a statement said these hateful and repeated acts cannot be accepted with any justification.

Morocco has recalled its ambassador to Stockholm and summoned Sweden's charge d'Affaires in Rabat.

Iraq said the incident is ‘a reflection of a hateful aggressive spirit that has nothing to do with freedom of expression’.

Iran echoed Iraq's criticism, calling the act of burning the Quran "provocative" and "unacceptable", while Egypt described it as a "shameful" act which was especially provocative as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha.