France asks citizens to leave amid violent protests
Interior minister says all communities are safe as government prepares formal ban
The French embassy in Pakistan yesterday advised all its nationals and companies to temporarily leave the country after antiFrance violence erupted in over the arrest of a cleric.
Saad Rizvi was arrested Monday for threatening the government with mass protests if it did not expel French envoy Marc Barety over depictions of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes Von Der Muhll said about 400 to 500 French nationals live in Pakistan and they will be able to leave via commercial flights. There was no immediate comment by Pakistan’s foreign ministry.
But interior minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad said French citizens living in Pakistan were safe and security had been provided to them. At a news conference Wednesday, he said the operation against Rizvi supporters was launched when they refused to end their sit-in peacefully. He said a government order was being formally issued to outlaw Rizvi’s party so that it never creates such a situation in the future.
Ban on TLP
The development comes a day after the government announced it would ban Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan, which is headed by Rizvi. The arrest sparked violent protests by Rizvi’s followers, who disrupted traffic by staging sit-ins on highways and later blocked roads in major cities, including Karachi and Rawalpindi. They also blocked a key road when police launched a nationwide crackdown, triggering clashes that killed two policemen.