Four killed, hundreds wounded in clash with police as radical Islamists move to march on Pakistan’s capital

Four constabulary officers were killed and hundreds injured aft equipped members of a hard-line Islamist radical clashed with Pakistani information forces Wednesday adjacent the northeastern metropolis of Lahore during a protestation implicit a French newspaper’s publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.

The unit occurred during a objection led by the outlawed Islamist radical Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistan extracurricular the superior metropolis of Punjab province, arsenic they prepared to march connected the nationalist capital, Islamabad. More than 250 radical were injured successful the clash, according to Usman Buzdar, Chief Minister of Punjab, who vowed “strict action” against those progressive successful the incident.

The Islamists were equipped with automatic weapons and fired straight connected information forces attempting to power the crowd, constabulary said.

It is the latest of respective deadly protests organized by the radical successful Pakistan since French President Emmanuel Macron honored a teacher who was beheaded past twelvemonth successful France aft helium showed a people the cartoons depicting Muhammad.

French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo archetypal published the cartoons, immoderate of which primitively appeared successful a Danish newspaper, successful 2006. The rubric reprinted them past twelvemonth to people the opening of a proceedings implicit a deadly onslaught connected its Paris bureau successful 2015 by 2 gunmen who had pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. Twelve people, including 9 journalists from the newspaper, were killed.

For galore Muslims, depictions of the prophet are blasphemous, and a telephone by Paris for “reform” of Islam sparked protests crossed the Muslim world past year. In Pakistan, demonstrators person demanded the expulsion of France’s ambassador to the country, and the merchandise of Tehrik-e-Labbaik’s leader, who was detained earlier this year.

The French embassy successful Islamabad didn’t instantly instrumentality a petition for comment.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s authorities has declared Tehrik-e-Labbaik a proscribed enactment and treats it arsenic a militant group, not a governmental entity. Analysts accidental the radical has exploited profoundly emotive issues similar blasphemy against the prophet to triumph fashionable support.

Three constabulary officers were killed successful a abstracted clash involving Tehrik-e-Labbaik members past week, Reuters reported. Pakistan’s Interior Ministry has since ordered paramilitary Rangers to beryllium deployed nether anti-terrorism laws. The Islamist group’s followers truthful acold stay undeterred, vowing to proceed their protestation each the mode to Islamabad, which is much than 200 miles from Lahore.

Rao Sardar Ali Khan, a elder constabulary official, told reporters Wednesday that the authorities would not let the extremist radical to “sabotage” instrumentality and order, noting that the slain officers, too, were “lovers of our Prophet, Muhammad.”

Authorities person since placed shipping containers to artifact introduction and exit routes to districts on the engaged road to Islamabad, Reuters reported.

Hussain reported from Islamabad, Pakistan.