Afghan prez slams Charlie Hebdo cartoon as 'insult to Islam'

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani today condemned the decision by French magazine Charlie Hebdo to show a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed - considered as un- Islamic by Muslims - on its cover following a deadly attack on its offices by Islamist gunmen.

Ghani blasted the cartoon as "an insult to the sacred religion of Islam and the Muslim world", a statement from the presidential palace said.

The satirical magazine's new cover has angered many Muslims worldwide, sparking protests from Pakistan to Niger, as such depictions are widely considered forbidden in Islam.

"President Ghani on behalf of the Afghan nation condemns this insulting act, and termed it desecrating the religious values," the palace said, describing the magazine's decision to publish it as "irresponsible".

Wednesday's issue of Charlie Hebdo was the first since brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi gunned down 12 people at the magazine's Paris offices on January 7.

Ghani had strongly condemned the bloody assault on the magazine, branding it "heinous"