Pakistan, injuries in protests against Charlie Hebdo. Paul Bhatti: risk of violent drift
Karachi (AsiaNews) - In Pakistan, but not only, there is a very real risk "of a violent drift" fueled by extremist movements that "exploits and manipulates" people, promoting "in an anti-Western" events that could become threatening. Speaking to AsiaNews, Paul Bhatti former Federal Minister for National Harmony and leader of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), comments on the marches held yesterday in several cities of the Asian country against the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.
In response to the
attack in which 12 people were killed, including the director and leading
cartoonists, the magazine published
a new
edition again with an image of Muhammad on its'
cover. However, the cartoon has sparked the ire of extremist
leaders and governments of Muslim-majority nations, who speak of a "fresh provocation" against Islam.
Yesterday in the streets of Karachi there were heavy
clashes between police and demonstrators,
who wanted to penetrate the French consulate to deliver
a letter of protest. The officers
used tear gas, batons and water cannons to disperse the crowd. The march, in the southern metropolis like
in other cities of Pakistan, was promoted by the Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist party inspired the
country.
Some people were injured in the clashes. These included an AFP photographer
who received gunshot wounds and in a serious condition. Police sources
report that several protesters took to the streets armed and opened fire "first"
on police. Previously, in a strongly symbolic gesture parliamentarians
in Islamabad approved a resolution condemning the cartoons of Charlie
Hebdo of Mohammed; several Assembly members took to the streets with citizens to protest the cover, considering
it offensive.
Speaking to AsiaNews,
Paul Bhatti said
that "this wave of terrorism is affecting the whole world." On the one hand there is a problem of "freedom of expression", on the other hand there is "an ideology that has nothing to do with religion, but
exploits the faith" for their own purposes and terrorist purposes. The Pakistani Catholic leader while not endorsing cartoons
that are an "abuse of freedom of satire" and " bother
me too ", recalls the need to "fight"
those who use religion "to attack".
In Pakistan there is a big problem of "illiteracy," says
the leader of APMA, involving "50% of
the population"; it "sees
enemies everywhere" and extremist movements "capture the sympathy and the consent of
these people, abusing their ignorance,
their poverty." The fear of
a violent drift is very real,
he concludes, because there are fringes that "want
to exploit these events to stir up
even more confrontation."
With a population of more than 180 million people (97 per cent Muslim),
Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world, the second largest
Muslim nation after Indonesia. About 80 per cent of Muslims are Sunni, whilst
Shias are 20 per cent. Hindus are 1.85 per cent, followed by Christians (1.6
per cent) and Sikhs (0.04 per cent).
Already in 2006 the Asian nation was the scene of massive demonstrations against the publication by a Danish newspaper of cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad which offended Muslims. (DS)
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04/11/2020 12:37
20/10/2020 09:40
