Thousands protest against Charlie Hebdo in Pakistan

Thousands of people marched in Pakistan today against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo as anger remains high in the Muslim majority country over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

The march through the streets of Karachi is the biggest in a series of demonstrations against the magazine, whose Paris offices were attacked on January 7 by Islamist gunmen, killing 12 people.

An intelligence official overseeing the rally told AFP that the protesters numbered in the "thousands", still a relatively small turnout in a city of 18 million people.

Protesters carried green flags printed with the prophet's mausoleum and chanted anti-Charlie Hebdo slogans as they marched.

"Down with Charlie Hebdo, down with the blasphemers," they shouted.
Many carried placards demanding blasphemers be killed.

One of the protest leaders, Sarwat Ejaz Qadri, demanded that the Pakistan government cut diplomatic ties with France.

"Their ambassador should be declared persona non grata and must be expelled from the country," Qadri said.

In the southwestern city of Quetta, some 400 activists of Markazi Jamiat-e-Ahl-e-Hadith, a Sunni Muslim organisation, held a demonstration in front of the press club and burned a French flag.

The demonstrators, many of them children, carried placards condemning the satirical magazine and shouted slogans including: "Let blasphemers be hanged, we will not tolerate anyone ridiculing our prophet."

In eastern city of Lahore, around 2,000 from different groups including labour unions and a body that represents government clerical staff, also held a demonstration condemning the publication of the cartoon.

The protestors chanted slogans including "Down with France, France should tender an apology".

Across the border in Afghanistan, around 50 people gathered outside the French Embassy in Kabul to protest against the magazine, chanting "France you are the devil".