Thousands of protesters take to Pakistani streets to condemn Charlie Hebdo cartoons insulting Prophet Mohammed

Thousands of Pakistani protesters rallied in anti-France demonstrations across Pakistan as anger swelled over a French magazine Charlie Hebdo's decision to republish cartoons insulting Prophet Mohammed. Earlier this week satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo reprinted the controversial images to mark the beginning of the trial of the alleged accomplices in the attack. The publication's move sparked condemnation from Pakistan's foreign ministry along with calls from Islamists to hold protests following the prayers, spurring thousands to mass in cities where they called for boycotts and the French ambassador's expulsion. 'We need to send a strong message to the French that this disrespect to our beloved prophet will not be tolerated,' protester Muhammad Ansari said during a demonstration in the eastern city of Lahore. Images of the Prophet are proscribed in Islam. Insulting religion under Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws can carry the death penalty. The demonstrations were largely led by the Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan. Dozens of men gathered in the northern city of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, yelling slogans that included 'Stop barking, French dogs' and 'Charlie Hebdo, stop'. 'The government of Pakistan should immediately end its diplomatic relations with France as a protest,' Sunni cleric Mohammad Zaman said at the rally. The protest ended peacefully after the men stomped on a French flag, dowsed it in petrol and then set it ablaze. In a video message, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said he strongly condemned Charlie Hebdo's action and that he had lodged a protest with the French ambassador in Islamabad. 'The published caricatures have hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims,' he said. 'I hope that this despicable act will not be repeated and those responsible for it will be taken to a court of law.'