International
K.M. Chaudary / AP
Pakistan police fired tear gas and water cannon at about 200 protesters outside the French consulate in the southern port city of Karachi on Friday when a demonstration against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo turned violent.
At least three people were wounded, including an AFP photographer who was shot, according to The Express Tribune, a Pakistan newspaper.
It was the first time people's anger over the cartoons lampooning Islam's Prophet Muhammad spilled into violence in Pakistan.
Charlie Hebdo's first edition since the attack, published on Wednesday, featured a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover.
In Karachi, mostly students gathered outside the consulate on Friday afternoon shouting slogans, and the standoff quickly turned violent. Police had sealed of several streets leading to the area.
A Reuters reporter said some of the protesters appeared armed with guns and he saw them firing shots after security forces used water cannon and tear gas to stop the crowd advancing on the consulate.
A photographer with French news agency AFP was wounded the clashes, police said.
"AFP photographer Asif Hasan suffered wounds resulting from gunshots fired by ... protesters, police have not opened fire," Abdul Khalique Shaikh, a senior police officer in southern Karachi, told Reuters.
Pakistan has condemned the Paris massacre but many people in this overwhelmingly Muslim country view the magazine's prophet caricatures as a profound insult. In addition to Karachi, largely peaceful protests were organized after midday prayers in the eastern city of Lahore and the capital of Islamabad to denounce the weekly.
Friday's protests came days after dozens of people in the northwestern city of Peshawar paid tribute Tuesday to the brothers who carried out the Charlie Hebdo murders.
Local cleric Maulana Pir Mohammad Chishti led some 60 people in prayers as worshippers called the pair “martyrs,” the Express Tribune reported.
Aurangzeb Alhafi, a professor of Islamic Studies who attended the gathering, told AFP that there was a double standard with how Europe treats speech attacking Islam.
“If freedom of expression stops at the mention of the Holocaust, then it should also stop at the honor of our Prophet,” Alhafi said, referring to France's Gayssot Act, a law that prohibits Holocaust denial.
Similar rallies against Charlie Hebdo's new cover were held across the Muslim world. Most of the protests passed peacefully despite concerns that the gatherings would unravel into violence.
In the Jordanian capital, Amman, clashes erupted after Friday prayers between about 2,000 protesters organized by the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition group, and security forces. Riot police used batons to disperse the protesters as they tried to march to the French Embassy.
The crowd chanted slogans against Charlie Hebdo and Jordanian officials for taking part in the Paris unity march. The Jordanian royal house denounced the latest publication of Charlie Hebdo for its front cover, saying publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad was "irresponsible and far from the essence of freedom of expression," though King Abdullah and Queen Rania took part in the Paris march in solidarity with the victims of the terror attack.
In Istanbul, about 160 men held funeral prayers Friday to honor the Kouachi brothers. They shouted, "God is great," and held a banner showing former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's picture on one side and the Kouachi brothers superimposed over the Parisian skyline on the other.
In Sudan, several hundred Muslim worshippers marched briefly after Friday prayers in downtown Khartoum, demanding the expulsion of the French ambassador from the country.
Saudi Arabia's top council of senior clerics on Friday condemned Charlie Hebdo's latest depiction of the prophet and said it only serves extremists looking to justify murder and terrorism.
Qatar said it strongly condemned the French weekly's act and urged Western media "to respect others and their beliefs" and refrain from acts of intolerance and extremism.
Al Jazeera and wire services
PESHAWAR: While last week's attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo sparked global outrage, dozens of people in Peshawar paid tribute Tuesday to the brothers who carried out the murders.
The small-scale event was led by local cleric Maulana Pir Mohammad Chishti.
Twelve people were shot dead — including a Muslim cop Ahmed Merabet — when two militants had stormed into the Charlie Hebdo offices in reaction to disrespectful cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) published by the magazine.
Charlie Hebdo (Charlie Weekly) is well known for courting controversy with satirical attacks on political and religious leaders.
More on this: 12 dead in shooting at Paris offices of satirical magazine
Last week, the Foreign Office had condemned the deadly shooting at Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.
FO spokesperson Tasneem Aslam had said that Pakistan deplores all forms of terrorism and extends condolences to the government of France and its citizens for the loss of life.
Aslam had also said that Pakistan's stance over blasphemous cartoons is very clear. While strongly condemning the attack, she added that Pakistan in the past had moved a resolution in the United Nations and the world needs to get out of Islamophobia.
Aslam had further said, "we are confident that the international community will persist in standing firm against terrorism and that the culprits behind terrorist activities will be brought to justice."
PESHAWAR: While last week's attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo sparked global outrage, dozens of people in Peshawar paid tribute Tuesday to the brothers who carried out the murders.
The small-scale event was led by local cleric Maulana Pir Mohammad Chishti.
Twelve people were shot dead — including a Muslim cop Ahmed Merabet — when two militants had stormed into the Charlie Hebdo offices in reaction to disrespectful cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) published by the magazine.
Charlie Hebdo (Charlie Weekly) is well known for courting controversy with satirical attacks on political and religious leaders.
More on this: 12 dead in shooting at Paris offices of satirical magazine
Last week, the Foreign Office had condemned the deadly shooting at Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.
FO spokesperson Tasneem Aslam had said that Pakistan deplores all forms of terrorism and extends condolences to the government of France and its citizens for the loss of life.
Aslam had also said that Pakistan's stance over blasphemous cartoons is very clear. While strongly condemning the attack, she added that Pakistan in the past had moved a resolution in the United Nations and the world needs to get out of Islamophobia.
Aslam had further said, "we are confident that the international community will persist in standing firm against terrorism and that the culprits behind terrorist activities will be brought to justice."
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