KARACHI, Feb 10: Various religious organizations and their hundreds of supporters on Friday staged protest demonstrations throughout the city against the blasphemous cartoons that were published in European newspapers. They set fire to US and Danish flags and voiced demands for severing ties with Western countries.

The Jamaat-i-Islami held demonstrations in various parts of the city on Friday as part of ‘Tahaffuz-i-Namoos-i-Mustafa’ (SAW) and preparations for the million march on March 5.

Hundreds of people who attended the demonstrations severely condemned EU countries for allowing such publications and demanded immediate apologies for the sacrilegious act.

The protesters passed through various routes of the city and set on fire flags of Denmark during demonstrations in districts East, West, North, South and Central. They chanted slogans against EU states and the US and burnt flags of Denmark to express their anger over the blasphemy.

Addressing the protests, the MMA legislators and leaders of Jamaat-i-Islami condemned the EU states for justifying the cartoons as press freedom and refusing to apologize.

They also demanded the government to end diplomatic ties with EU states and appealed to the entire Muslim Ummah to boycott products of these countries.

JI leaders Muhammad Muslim, Shamim Pasha, Kamal Ahmed Farooqi, Safat Ahmed Siddiqui, MNA Muhammad Hussain Mehanti, Nasrullah Shajji, Hamidullah Khan, Muhammad Younas Barai and others led the demonstrations in their respective areas.

The Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, Karachi Division, also took out a rally that marched from Bolton Market to Arambagh. It criticized the EU states for justifying the caricatures as press freedom in the wake of widespread condemnation by Muslims.

They said such sacrilegious acts indicated that those involved were bent upon creating rifts among different faiths and wanted to perturb interfaith harmony.

They pointed out there was no proof in history involving Muslims in defaming others’ sacred figures and said responsible EU governments and newspapers should stop from paving way for the “clash of civilizations.”

A top JUP leader, Shah Muhammad Anas Noorani, said such blasphemous acts were an indication of Europe’s ‘ill mindedness’.

Hundreds of supporters of Pasban Pakistan, Sunni Tehrik and the Islamic National Front in separate protests staged at the Karachi Press Club chanted slogans against EU and the US for letting their newspapers publish blasphemous caricatures with the sole aim of igniting Muslim fury.

They called for pursuance of the responsible newspapers by the International Court of Justice. The protestors tore the Danish flag to pieces.—PPI/Online