Death toll rises in Pakistan video protests
At least 17 reported killed as demonstrators clash with police, while nation
holds "Love the Prophet Day" marches.
Last Modified: 21 Sep 2012 15:13
Reports say more than 17 people have died as demonstrations against an
anti-Islam video erupted across Pakistan, a day after protesters tried to storm
the US embassy in the capital, Islamabad.
Tens of thousands of Pakistanis took to the streets across the country after
the government called an impromptu public holiday to let people protest under
the banner of "Love the Prophet Day".
In Karachi, armed protesters among a group of 15,000 fired on police, killing
two, as at least 10 protesters were killed. The crowd also burned six cinemas,
two banks, a KFC and five police vehicles.
Crowds armed with clubs and bamboo poles converged on the Firdaus picture
house, "smashing it up and setting furniture ablaze", according to Gohar Ali, a
police officer.
Witnesses said a separate rampaging crowd stormed the Shama cinema, notorious
locally for showing films considered to be pornographic.
In the Pakistani city of Peshawar, police fired on rioters who were torching a
cinema. Mohammad Amir, a driver for a Pakistani television station, was killed
when police bullets hit his vehicle at the scene, said Kashif Mahmood, a
reporter for ARY TV.
At least four protesters and one police officer were killed in the northwestern
city, along with 40 injured and two cinemas and two shops torched.
In the capital Islamabad, some 19 protesters and eight police were injured. And
in Lahore, at least five protesters were wounded.
Police on alert
"The people here are angry because they do not want this anti-Islam video to be
supported by the United States," said Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from
Islamabad.
"Despite the fact that the American president has said that they have got
nothing to do with it, the people here are very angry."
"The people want the government to be able to launch a protest, and they are
saying they will not go home unless they get to the US embassy."
In Karachi, police told AFP news agency they had been on maximum alert and that
bomb-disposal squads were sweeping planned locations of protests.
"All the entry and exit points of the city are heavily guarded. Helicopters are
on stand-by for aerial surveillance," Fayyaz Laghari, provincial police chief,
said.
"We have deployed our maximum police force to the sensitive parts of the city
to ensure security during protest rallies today."
All the major political parties and religious groups had announced protests for
Friday, as did many trade and transport organisations.
The previous day, the US embassy became the latest target of protesters angry
at the YouTube video. The total number of protesters touched 5,000 with the
arrival of protesters carrying the flags of anti-American Islamist groups.
At least 50 people were injured as police fired tear gas and live rounds
towards the crowds.
US launches PR blitz
Against this tense backdrop, the US has bought time on Pakistani television
stations to run a series of ads in an effort to assuage Muslim feelings of hurt.
The US hopes the ad would show that the country had no involvement with the
controversial internet video.
The US embassy in Islamabad spent about $70,000 to run the announcement, which
features clips of Barack Obama, the US president, and Hillary Clinton,
secretary of state, underscoring US respect for religion and declaring the US
government had nothing to do with the video.
Obama is shown saying: "Since our founding, the United States has been a nation
that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious
beliefs of others."
Clinton then says: "Let me state very clearly, the United States has absolutely
nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its contents. America's
commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our
nation."
"In order to ensure we reached the largest number of Pakistanis, some 90
million as I understand it in this case with
these spots, it was the judgment that this was the best way to do it."
Addressing a media briefing on the ad campaign, Victoria Nuland, state
department spokeswoman, said the aim was "to make sure that the Pakistani
people hear the president's messages and the secretary's messages".
The announcement aired as the US asked its citizens to avoid non-essential
travel to Pakistan.
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