Thousands of protesters staged new demonstrations on Saturday against the US-made anti-Islam film, as the country tottered back to normalcy after Friday’s violent protests that claimed at least 25 lives.
More than 5,000 protesters marched towards the parliament in Islamabad, including hundreds of women, chanting “We love our Holy Prophet (PBUH)” and “Punishment for those who humiliated our Prophet (PBUH)”.
Around 500 people from Jamaatud Dawa staged a protest outside the US Consulate in Lahore, chanting “The US deserves only one remedy – jihad, jihad”.
The protests were peaceful, in contrast to the previous day’s demonstrations.
Religious groups said they were also planning demonstrations in Karachi, the scene of the worst violence on Friday, after the funerals of some of those killed during the protests.
Protests against the film “Innocence of Muslims”, which mocks Islam, have erupted across the Muslim world and tens of thousands took to the streets across Asia and the Middle East on Friday as Western missions closed amid fears of violence.
Anger has also been stoked by the publication in a French magazine of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
On Friday the violence was worst in Pakistan with witnesses estimating that nationwide rallies mobilized more than 45,000, mainly members of right-wing religious parties and supporters of banned terror groups, although the numbers were still small in a country of 180 million.
Eighteen people were killed in Karachi on Friday.
The combined total of injured in Karachi, Peshawar and in Islamabad was 229.
Karachi, the country’s financial capital, bore a deserted look on Saturday as the city was still to recover from Friday’s shock. There was thin traffic in Karachi while the routes leading to the US consulate remained blocked. Hotels and shops were also closed.
Transporters also announced staying off the roads due to fear of more protests.
Business activities resumed in other cities, including Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar.
