Twenty three people dead. More than 150 injured. A church, several police and private vehicles and cinema houses torched. Banks and shops looted and vandalized. Infrastructure worth millions of rupees damaged.
All in the name of a religion that preaches peace and tolerance and shuns violence.
Friday’s protests across the country against the blasphemous anti-Islam film, which has already set the Muslim world on fire, were a far cry from how followers of the religion of peace ought to react.
As the nation went ahead with marking the Youm-e-Ishq-e-Rasool (SAW), horrific incidents of violence, arson and sabotage were reported from across the country throughout the day.
The calls for peaceful demonstrations from the government, political and religious leaders apparently fell on deaf ears, as the countrymen up in protests for a sacred cause resisted no evil temptation of acting like an unruly mob.
Karachi
Worst reports came from Karachi, where 18 people, including four policemen, an SHO among them, were killed and a church reportedly vandalized besides other acts of violence that appeared meager in face of the tragic loss of human life and an uncalled for attack on many people’s symbol of faith – an act exactly being protested against by Pakistanis.
The protesters reportedly threw stones at a church on Drigh Road but there was no serious damage.
Unruly mobs also set ablaze five cinemas, 12 vehicles, including seven police mobile vans, branches of five private banks, three restaurants and two police checkposts to vent their anger against the hate film.
Several political and religious parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, Jamaatud Dawa, Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat, Sunni Tehreek and various student organizations took out rallies after Friday prayers and headed towards the US Consulate.
Roads leading to the consulate and other foreign properties had already been blocked by placing containers, while all commercial centers and fuel stations remained shut for business. The city’s entry and exit points were also under high security and helicopters were also busy in aerial surveillance, besides deployment of thousands of security personnel.
All major rallies converged at PIDC and tried moving forward towards the US consulate.
The protesters managed to remove containers placed at PIDC to march towards the US Consulate, forcing police to fire in the air to scare the crowd away. However, the police firing provoked the mob, resulting in violence.
Twelve vehicles, including four police mobile vans, were set ablaze at PIDC and areas around the US Consulate, and building of three private banks on Shahrah-e-Faisal, three restaurants and two police checkposts near Metropole Hotel were also set on fire.
Three police vans were also torched outside the Chief Minister’s House.
The protesters also targeted fire brigades and ambulances.
Other clashes erupted in Sohrab Goth and on the Super Highway. Protests turned violent at Sohrab Goth, Gurumandar and Khudadad Chowrangi when police tried to stop their progress.
The first tragedy was reported when three people were injured in firing incidents in Steel Town during the clashes between police and protesters.
As the news of clashes spread, more riots erupted in other parts of the city. Angry protesters blocked the National Highway in Karachi, with thousands of protesters coming on to the road and pelting stones at passing vehicles.
The first casualty was reported from Sohrab Goth, where a policeman succumbed to injuries. Four protesters and a policeman were injured in clashes at Netty Jetty Bridge. The policeman succumbed to injuries on the way to a hospital.
Media personnel and rescue workers were also tortured by the protesters, leaving four cameramen injured.
Eight dead bodies were brought to Jinnah Hospital, four to Civil Hospital and three to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
Some of the protesters did not hesitate looting and vandalizing public and private properties as well. A group attacked the mobile phones market in Saddar and looted two shops. Another mob looted a shop at PIDC, as another tried to make away with an ATM.
Later at night, a crowd attacked the Mangophir police station, killing a sub-inspector, and leaving several others injured.
Peshawar
Protesters in Peshawar and rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were no less violent, where eight people, including a driver of a private TV station’s vehicle, were killed and St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Mardan Cantt burnt down during demonstrations.
More than 50 others were left slightly or seriously injured. The deaths were caused when police opened fire to stop unruly protesters from violence.
Earlier, several hundred protesters in Peshawar set ablaze two cinemas and the city’s chamber of commerce and damaged several buildings, shops and vehicles.
Later in the day, tens of thousands of protesters converged at one of the city’s neighborhoods and called for the execution of the hate film’s producer.
Lahore
Though no casualties were reported in Lahore, the protests were no less intense.
Massive crowds of people gathered at Circular Road, The Mall and other major roads and burnt tyres, chanted anti-US slogans and demanded hanging of the film’s producer.
Protesters on The Mall and Garhi Shahu pelted stones at police.
Some demonstrators were arrested while trying to scale the wall of US Consulate.
Major demonstrations were also held in Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Chakwal, Jhelum and many other cities across Punjab.
Islamabad
Protests across the federal capital also turned violent in several areas as crowds tried to march on and police attempted to thwart their progress. Police fired tear gas and warning shots to keep demonstrators away from the US embassy and the Diplomatic Enclave. At least 55 people, including nine policemen, were injured in various clashes.
Though the protests intensified after Friday prayers, groups of people had started ransacking various establishments much earlier. A toll plaza near Railways Carriage factory in Islamabad was ransacked and set on fire. Clashes were witnessed at Faizabad, where an enraged crowd looted and then burnt down a CNG filling station. Protestors also pelted stones at the Tarnol police station and set a taxi on fire.