Advertisement

Three Die as Protests Continue Over Cartoons

Share
Special to The Times

Three people died Wednesday during violent protests in two Pakistani cities over caricatures of the prophet Muhammad published in Western newspapers.

Demonstrators continued to ransack foreign companies and franchises across Pakistan as the death toll from protests this week rose to five.

Authorities said that two people died Wednesday in Peshawar, capital of North-West Frontier Province, and that one person was killed in the city of Lahore.

Advertisement

In Peshawar, an 8-year-old boy was slain by a stray bullet, and an electric cable that was snapped by gunfire killed a 25-year-old man, police said.

A doctor at one of the state-run hospitals in the city said 50 people were brought to the emergency ward with injuries. Four police officers also were injured when tear gas shells exploded in their hands as they prepared to fire them at the mobs.

In Lahore, a Punjab University employee was killed in crossfire between students and police.

The caricatures of Muhammad were originally printed in a Danish newspaper in September. They were reprinted recently in several Western countries by publications whose editors say they are defending freedom of the press. Many Muslims view such images as blasphemous.

In Peshawar, Wednesday’s violence erupted when tens of thousands of people went on a rampage, dragging the U.S. flag through the streets and torching shops and offices. In many parts of the city, protesters opened fire as riot police tried to disperse them.

“We will not forgive Danish dogs for publishing cartoons against our holy prophet,” said a banner in the city’s main square. Roads were littered with burning tires and bricks.

Advertisement

Students from madrasas, or Islamic schools, and Afghan refugees also joined the protesters, who shouted slogans such as “Down with America and its allies!” and “Death to Denmark!”

Rioters set fire to gas pumps, movie theaters, shops and banks. In addition, they damaged 16 buses owned by a South Korean transportation company, Sammi Daewoo; offices of the Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor; and fast-food restaurants of the American chain KFC.

“The protesters are rudderless. To my knowledge, it was the worst agitation in the history of Peshawar,” said Saeed Khan Wazir, senior superintendent of police, who was commanding the security forces. He said more than 200 protesters had been detained for damaging property.

The North-West Frontier Province government closed all educational institutions for one week to prevent more protests.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz appealed for calm and said government officials would not allow anyone to disturb law and order.

Aziz said the provincial governments had been directed to take whatever steps necessary to protect the life and property of citizens, and stressed that “antisocial elements” must be identified and dealt with sternly.

Advertisement

“The government will not allow vested interests and criminal elements to take the law into their hands and create problems for the people,” he said.

Authorities said the protesters were mobilized by the student wings of Islamic parties, which form the official opposition in Pakistan’s parliament and govern two provinces. The parties have called for a nationwide strike on March 3.

Small protests also occurred in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, and other cities Wednesday, but the most violent were in Peshawar.

President Bush is scheduled to visit Pakistan in early March during an official trip to South Asia that will include a stop in neighboring India.

*

Ali reported from Peshawar and Zaidi from Islamabad.

Advertisement