Countrywide protests against blasphemous Charlie Hebdo caricatures
The new issue of Charlie Hebdo has sparked heated condemnation from some Muslim-majority countries.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk / AFP) – Religious parties across Pakistan are protesting against blasphemous caricatures published by satirical French weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo this week, Dunya News reported.
Tens of thousands of religious party activists took to the streets in different cities including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar to protest against the provocative content.
In Karachi, Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba marched from Teen Talwar towards French consulate. The situation worsened when police resorted to tear gas shelling and aerial firing to disperse the protestors. Reportedly, two people were injured during the clashes who have been shifted to nearby hospital.
On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami activists took out a rally from Mahabat Khan Mosque in Peshawar.
In addition to rallies by religious parties, lawyers in central Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces also boycotted court proceedings to display their displeasure over the sketches.
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.
The rallies come a day after the National Assembly 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."
Like many other Muslim nations, Pakistan has condemned last week s deadly rampage at the office of Charlie Hebdo which killed 12 people, including editors, cartoonists and two policemen.But the authorities have also condemned the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).
