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Govt announces countrywide protests on July 7 against desecration of Holy Quran in Sweden

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  • PM Shehbaz announces observing “Youm-e-Taqaddus Quran” on Friday.
  • PM decided to convene a joint session of parliament over the incident. 
  • Premier appeals to nation to participate in the protest rallies.  

The federal government has announced holding nationwide protests on Friday (July 7) against the recent incident of desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden.

The despicable act of the public burning of a copy of the holy book in Stockholm on the occasion of Eid ul Adha sparked worldwide protests and outrage. A man set a copy of the sacred book ablaze outside a mosque in the Swedish capital.

Presiding over a meeting in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday decided to stage countrywide protests over the incident and appealed to all the political parties and the nation to partake in the rallies.

“Speaking with one voice, the whole nation will give a message to the evil minds,” said the premier. He maintained that the nation will observe the “Youm-e-Taqaddus Quran” on Friday.

In addition to this, the premier decided to convene a joint session of parliament to devise a national strategy over the Sweden incident.

“The sentiments and feelings of the nation should be fully expressed through the forum of parliament,” the PM added. The joint session will unanimously pass a resolution against the recent incident of desecration of the holy book in Sweden, the premier added.

Earlier today, amid worldwide protests and outrage over the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden, the United Nations Human Rights Council announced to hold its urgent session to address Islamophobia and religious hatred after Pakistan’s request.

Addressing a press briefing, a spokesperson for the Geneva-based UN Council said that the session will discuss the rising religious hatred in the world.

The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, which is meeting in session until July 14, will change its agenda to stage an urgent debate, following a request from Pakistan.

“The UN Human Rights Council will hold an urgent debate to ´discuss the alarming rise in premeditated and public acts of religious hatred, as manifested by the current desecration of the Holy Quran in some European and other countries´,” council spokesman Pascal Sim told reporters, citing the wording of the request.

‘Despicable act’

Last week, Pakistan strongly condemned the “despicable act” of the public burning of a copy of the Holy Quran.

“Such wilful incitement to discrimination, hatred and violence cannot be justified under the pretext of freedom of expression and protest,” a statement issued by the Foreign Office in condemnation of the abhorrent incident read.

The FO stated that international law binds all the states to prevent and prohibit any advocacy of “religious hatred” that leads 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.”

The FO, on Pakistan’s behalf, reiterated that the right to freedom of expression and opinion does not provide a license to stoke hatred and sabotage inter-faith harmony.

It said that the concerns regarding the matter were being raised with the government of Sweden.

It also urged the international community and the national governments to undertake credible and concrete measures to prevent the rising incidents of xenophobia, Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.

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Microsoft and BlackRock are set to establish a $30 billion fund for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

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AI models, particularly those employed in deep learning and extensive data processing, necessitate considerable computer power, resulting in increased energy usage.

The computational demands of AI have compelled technology firms to interconnect thousands of chips in clusters to attain the requisite data processing capacity, resulting in a significant increase in the demand for specialized data centers.

The investment entity, termed Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership, seeks to improve AI supply chains and energy procurement, according to BlackRock and Microsoft.

MGX, the investment firm supported by Abu Dhabi, will serve as a general partner in the fund, while Nvidia (NVDA.O), a manufacturer of AI chips, will provide its expertise.

The collaboration is expected to generate a total investment potential of up to $100 billion, inclusive of loan funding, according to the corporations.

The investments will primarily be in the United States, with the remainder allocated to partner countries, as stated by the firms.

The Financial Times initially reported on the development.

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The price of gold declines in Pakistan.

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The price of 10 grams of 24 karat gold declined by Rs. 257, falling to Rs. 229,510 from Rs. 229,767, while the price of 10 grams of 22 carat gold reduced to Rs. 210,384 from Rs. 210,620, according to the All Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association.

The prices of per tola and ten-gram silver remained constant at Rs.2,950 and Rs.2,529.14, respectively.

The Association reported a decline in the international gold price by $18, falling from $2,587 to $2,569.

On September 16, gold prices in Pakistan continued to rise, reflecting the increase in the international market, as reported by the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA).

The local market witnessed a surge in the price of gold per tola, increasing by Rs1,700 to reach Rs268,000. Likewise, 10-gram gold was transacted at Rs229,767 following a rise of Rs1,458.

Simultaneously, the global rate was noted at $2,587 per ounce, while silver prices remained consistent at Rs2,950 per tola.

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Prior to the Lahore demonstration, PTI seeks LHC against arrests.

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The petition requesting protection against the arrests of its workers and leaders prior to the event set for September 21 was submitted by Sheikh Imtiaz and Yasir Gillani.

The petition asserted that law enforcement is apprehending party members throughout Punjab, infringing upon their fundamental right to assemble for a rally.

The petitioners sought a court order to compel the authorities to cease arrests and for the march to occur peacefully.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is set to have a demonstration in Lahore on September 21.

Previously, multiple PTI MNAs, including party chairman Barrister Gohar, were apprehended by Islamabad police subsequent to the Sangjani demonstration in Islamabad.

Barrister Gohar and Sher Afzal Marwat were apprehended outside, while Zain Qureshi and Sheikh Waqas Akram were detained within the Parliament House.

Furthermore, law enforcement apprehended Owais Ahmed Chatha, Syed Shah Ahmed, Sahibzada Hamid Raza of the Sunni Ittehad Council, Yousaf Khan, Maulana Naseem Shah, and Ahmed Shah Khattak.

Sources indicated that Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq permitted the detention of PTI Members of the National Assembly outside the premises of the house. The situation occurred after police submitted a copy of the FIR filed against the PTI legislators for breaching SOPs during the public protest on September 8.

Furthermore, three complaints have been filed in Islamabad under the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill, alleging breaches of the event’s NOC. The FIR identifies 28 individuals, including PTI officials Barrister Gohar Ali, Sher Afzal Marwat, Shoaib Shaheen, Omar Gul, Zartaj Gul, Aamir Mughal, Seemabia Tahir, and Raja Basharat.

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