Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lawyers protest against Charlie Hebdo cartoons
Lawyers protest against blasphemous content published by French magazine.
PESHAWAR (Web Desk) – Lawyers across the province boycotted courts on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council’s call to protest against blasphemous cartoons published by satirical French weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo, Dunya News reported on Friday.
The legal fraternity demanded that the federal government should formally lodge a strong protest with France over this publication.
Western countries must not infuriate Muslims with such acts in the name of “freedom of expression,” lawyers said.
They also urged other Muslim countries to raise their voices against it.
Earlier on Thursday, Pakistani Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the "blasphemous caricatures" published in Charlie Hebdo.
The resolution tabled by Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique urged the international community, including Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the European Union, to act against the publication of such material.
The resolution claimed that such cartoons were a conspiracy to create "misunderstanding among civilizations.”
Lawmakers, led by Rafique, also marched outside the Parliament and raised the slogan, "In the service of Prophet Muhammad, we are willing to die." Dozens of parliamentarians, including women, participated in the march.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also condemned the French magazine by issuing a statement from Riyadh that cautioned the publication against using Freedom of speech to hurt religious sentiments of communities and urged the international community to discourage the publication of such "provocative material."
