Pakistan: Parliament to vote on expelling French ambassador
April 20, 2021
The expulsion is a main demand of a radical Islamist party. Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan has rallied over the publication of cartoons depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.
Anti-France protests in Pakistan have gained momentum in recent weeksImage: AFP/Getty Images
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Pakistan's government will ask parliament to vote on whether to send home the French ambassador, the interior minister said on Tuesday.
The Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) group has been protesting for months since French President Emmanuel Macron defended the right of the press to republish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Such depictions are considered blasphemous by some Muslims.
The TLP had agreed to "call off its protest sit-ins from the entire country" after long negotiations, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said.
Pakistan's ambassador to Germany, Dr. Mohammad Faisal, told DW in an interview, however, that the group was not determining government policy.
"Any decision that would be taken would be by the Parliament. Pakistan is a democracy, so the will of the people is reflected in a democracy in the Parliament," he said.
Pakistan's anti-France protests — in pictures
The government is set to ask parliament to vote on whether to expel the French ambassador, following a week of violent clashes. Despite a ban on the Tehreek-e-Labaik party, it is still maintaining a widespread following.
Image: REUTERS
French ambassador risks expulsion
Traders shout anti-France slogans as they walk through a closed market on April 19, 2021. Pakistan's government is expected to ask parliament to vote on whether to expel the French ambassador, in a move widely seen as a bid to appease the radical Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan party.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Protesting the arrest of Saad Rizvi
Supporters of the TLP throw stones towards police firing tear gas to disperse them, at a protest in Lahore on Monday, April 12. TLP supporters have been protesting the arrest of their leader, Saad Rizvi, after he called for protests to push the government to expel France's ambassador over depictions of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
Image: K.M. Chaudary/AP/picture alliance
Mourning deaths on both sides
People attend the funeral of a supporter of the banned TLP, who was killed during a protest in Lahore. The government has banned the Islamist party, which is known for instigating disruptive street protests in response to what it deems to be violations of the blasphemy law. The ban was implemented after multiple police officers were killed and over 100 people injured.
Image: REUTERS
Officers and protesters killed in clashes
TLP supporters chant slogans in Lahore on April 19. The group has been protesting since French President Emmanuel Macron defended the right of the press to republish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Police in Lahore said at least six officers were killed, while 11 others were held hostage for several hours at a mosque. The TLP says several of its supporters also died in clashes.
Image: REUTERS
Strike shuts down major cities
A hawker on a bicycle rides by a closed wholesale cloth market during a nationwide strike called for by the TLP, in Karachi, on April 19. Many powerful clerics in the country voiced their support for the strike, which saw markets and public transport closed in Karachi, and internet services suspended in Lahore.
Image: Akhtar Soomro/REUTERS
French told to leave Pakistan
A TLP supporter hurls stones towards police in Lahore, on April 13. Last week, the French embassy advised its citizens to temporarily leave the country. The hashtag #FrenchLeavePakistan" was trending with tens of thousands of tweets last week, as anti-French sentiment continued to brew over the contentious cartoon, published in 'Charlie Hebdo.'
Image: REUTERS
Widespread following despite government ban
Protesters display a pile of used teargas canisters which, according to them, were fired by the police. Although the government banned the TLP, its campaign continues to find support even among mainstream religious groups. The TLP had, however, agreed to "call off its protest sit-ins from the entire country" after long negotiations, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said.
Image: REUTERS
Criticism over official handling of protests
Protesters receive medical aid at a mosque in Lahore. Prime Minister Imran Khan's government has been heavily criticized for mishandling the protests and not acting swiftly against violent protesters. Protesters are also calling for a boycott of French products, and for the release of 26-year-old leader Saad Rizvi.
Image: REUTERS
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What has been happening in Pakistan?
Anti-France protests called by the TLP turned violent last week after arrest of the group's leader, Saad Rizvi, who had called on supporters to march on the capital and demand the French envoy be expelled.
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Police in Lahore said at least six officers were killed. Eleven others were held hostage for several hours at a mosque. The TLP says several of its supporters also died in clashes.
Although the government banned the TLP on Wednesday, its campaign continues to find support even among mainstream religious groups. A call for a nationwide strike was widely heeded on Monday in Lahore and Karachi.
Blasphemy is a major political issue in Pakistan and allegations that Islam has been insulted can lead to protests and lynchings.
Auto rickshaws in Karachi did not operate during a strike called by TLP on MondayImage: AFP/Getty Images
Why is France the target of protests?
The TLP has waged an anti-France campaign ever since Macron vehemently supported the right of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to republish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Macron made his remarks after a young Muslim killed a school teacher in France who had shown the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class in lessons dealing with the subject of free speech.
Charlie Hebdo had republished the cartoons to mark the start of a trial over a deadly Islamist attack on its offices in 2015 for the original publication of the images.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan warned in a televised address on Monday that expelling the French envoy could damage his country's trade ties with the European Union.
