By Aamir Latif
KARACHI
Hundreds of thousands took to the streets across Pakistan on Sunday to protest against the caricature of Prophet Muhammad by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, published on Jan. 14.
Chanting "Down with France," "Down with Charlie Hebdo," thousands of supporters of Jamat-e-Islami, or JI, the country's mainstream religious party, packed Karachi's famous University Road.
The organizers claimed that over 150,000 attended the rally. However security agencies estimated the figure to be between 80,000 and 100,000.
Thousands more gathered at the mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, to register their protest against the caricature. Carrying black and white flags of Jamat-ud-Dawah, a group of which the bank accounts have recently been frozen by the Pakistani government, they demanded that Pakistan sever diplomatic ties with France.
Jamat-ud-Dawah is on a UN list of proscribed organizations.
Rallies also took place in Lahore, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Multan and several other cities.
Two gunmen attacked the Parisian offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Jan. 7, killing 12 people, including the editor-in-chief, two policemen and several cartoonists.
The magazine had published several times prior to the attack satirical cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
On Jan. 14, a week after the murders, Charlie Hebdo published a cover showing the Prophet Muhammad, dressed in white, shedding a tear and holding a “Je suis Charlie (I am Charlie)” sign, below the headline "All is forgiven."
The following days, protests similar to Sunday's had erupted in Pakistan.
