Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemns burning of Islam’s holy book in US, says it’s a serious setback to efforts to promote harmony in world

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday denounced the burning of Islam's holy book by a pastor in the United States, saying it was serious setback to efforts to promote harmony in the world.

The Christian preacher Terry Jones, who after international condemnation last year canceled a plan to burn copies of the Qur’an to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, supervised the burning of the book in front of a crowd of about 30 people at an obscure church in Florida on Sunday, according to his website.

"I, at the outset strongly condemn, on behalf of the people of Pakistan and on my own behalf, the deliberate desecration of the Holy Koran by a fanatic in Florida," Zardari said at the beginning of his annual address to the parliament.

"It is a serious setback to efforts at promoting harmony among civilized community throughout the world," he said urging the United Nations to address the matter for the sake of harmony and peace in the world.

The US ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter also condemned the burning of a copy of Qur’an in Florida. "The deliberate destruction of any holy book is an abhorrent act," he said in a statement. "This is an isolated act done by a small group of people that is contrary to American traditions."