LAHORE: Hundreds of people staged a protest in Muslim-majority Pakistan on Tuesday to voice outrage over the torching of the Holy Quran in Sweden over the weekend.

Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan on Saturday set fire to a copy of the Islamic holy book in front of Turkiye鈥檚 embassy in the Swedish capital, stoking the anger of Ankara which said it would not support the Scandinavian country鈥檚 bid for NATO membership.

Protesters chanted 鈥淪hame on Sweden鈥� at the rally in the megacity of Lahore, heeding a call from local political parties.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted on Sunday: 鈥淭he garb of the freedom of expression cannot be used to hurt the religious emotions of 1.5 billion Muslims across the world. This is unacceptable.鈥�

Furious that Paludan was allowed by police to carry out the protest, Ankara canceled a visit by Sweden鈥檚 defense minister and summoned Stockholm鈥檚 ambassador.

The incident was condemned by Sweden鈥檚 Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who tweeted: 鈥淔reedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy. But what is legal is not necessarily appropriate. Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act.鈥�

鈥淚 want to express my sympathy for all Muslims who are offended by what has happened in Stockholm today.鈥�

Blasphemy and insults to Islam are galvanizing issues in Pakistan which has regularly raised its concerns of rising Islamophobia across the world on the international stage.

Demonstrations against Paludan鈥檚 burning of the Holy Quran broke out in Iraq on Monday and Indonesia summoned Sweden鈥檚 envoy on Tuesday over the incident.