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10 000 march against cartoons
16/02/2006 12:03 - (SA)
Karachi - About 10 000 people shouting "God is Great" marched through Karachi on Thursday and burned effigies of the Danish prime minister in Pakistan's fourth straight day of protests over cartoons of Prophet Muhammad, said police.
About 5 000 police and paramilitary forces, wearing helmets and wielding guns and shields, were deployed along the 3km route of the rally through the city centre, said Mushtaq Shah, chief of police operations in the southern city of Karachi.
There were no immediate reports of violence at the protest, organised by Jamat Ahl-e-Sunnat, a small Sunni Muslim group.
Demonstrations against the cartoons published in European newspapers have turned violent in other Pakistani cities this week, leaving at least five people dead.
Shah estimated 10 000 people joined the Karachi protest, which was joined by students and supporters of Jamat Ahl-e-Sunnat.
"God's curse"
They burned flags and effigies of the prime minister of Denmark, where the cartoons were first published, and chanted, "God's curse be on those who insulted the prophet", while they continued to inflict damage themselves.
Traffic was diverted to other streets, and the government ordered educational institutions to close for the day. Most shops in the city, a hotbed of Islamic militancy, were shut and most public transport was off the roads.
"We fear troubles, that is why we have not opened shops today," said Mohammed Shoaib, owner of a shop selling watches in the city's main Saddar bazaar.
Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf and visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday appealed for European and other Western nations to condemn the cartoons, saying freedom of the press did not mean the right to insult the religious beliefs of others.
Gun-wielding youths
"I hope the EU countries and those which are directly involved in printing of these blasphemous sketches will take stock of the situation and condemn it," said Musharraf.
On Wednesday, a protest by more than 70 000 Pakistanis in the northwestern city of Peshawar dissolved into deadly riots by stone-throwing and gun-wielding youths, who targeted foreign businesses.
Ameer ul-Azeem, a spokesperson for United Action Forum, an opposition coalition of religious parties that have organised most of the protests in Pakistan, said television footage of violent attacks by protesters on embassies in other countries had prompted Pakistanis to do the same.
He appealed for people to avoid violence in more demonstrations the coalition plans for later this month, but didn't expect people to follow his advice. "At least, there will be one violent protest in every village, town and city," he said.
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