ISLAMABAD: Protests against French magazine Charlie Hebdo were held across the country on Sunday as thousands of people in almost all major cities chanted slogans against its printing of controversial sketches.

Workers from both religious and political parties gathered in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta and many other cities and burnt effigies of French president Francois Hollande and of cartoonists at the magazine along with French flags.

More than 2,000 people marched in Karachi, where the Jamaat-i-Islami organised a rally at the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam.

Also read: Protests in Muslim countries against controversial sketch

A delegation of Christian pastors also took part to show solidarity with their Muslim countrymen.

Elsewhere in Karachi, dozens of members of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) rallied against the magazine and the French government.

A delegation visited the residence of the French consul general to submit a resolution demanding Paris ban the magazine “for spreading religious hatred in the world”, a PTI spokesman said.

In Lahore, around 6,000 people attended a rally held by various groups. Speakers urged Pakistan to sever ties with France.

In Quetta, protesters trampled the French flag before burning it, along with pictures and effigies of the French president.

Around 200 people in Islamabad gathered outside the National Press Club and burnt effigies of the cartoonists.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2015

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