AFP photographer Asif Hassan
Karachi:
At least three people were injured on Friday in clashes between anti-Charlie Hebdo protesters and police outside the French consulate in Pakistan's Karachi, officials said, including an Agence France-Presse photographer who was shot in the back.
The protest by the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party was one of several staged across Pakistan by Islamist groups after Friday prayers against the depiction of the Prophet Mohammed by the French satirical magazine.
"Three injured were brought to the hospital, two were minor injuries and one photographer was serious," said Doctor Seemi Jamali, a spokeswoman for the city's main Jinnah hospital, referring to AFP's Asif Hassan, 38.
"The bullet struck his lung, and passed through his chest. He is out of immediate danger and he has spoken to his colleagues," she continued, adding that Mr Hassan was hit by what appeared to be a live round.
The others injured were a policeman and a local TV cameraman who were discharged after receiving first aid.
Senior police official Abdul Khaliq Sheikh told AFP that the violence began when some 350 protesters were prevented by police from approaching the French consulate, in the southern part of the sprawling metropolis.
"When the police tried to stop them they started firing," he said, adding that the police responded with tear gas and water cannon to disperse the protesters.
Police said Hassan and the other journalist did not appear to have been deliberately targeted but were caught in crossfire when protesters shot at the police.
A witness at the scene backed the police account, though the religious party blamed the police.
"Police are responsible for those wounded during the protest including Asif Hasan," said Hafiz Bilal Ramzan, head of the party's student wing.
The rallies come a day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif led parliament in condemning the cartoons in Charlie Hebdo, whose Paris offices were attacked last week by Islamist gunmen who killed 12 people.
The protest by the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party was one of several staged across Pakistan by Islamist groups after Friday prayers against the depiction of the Prophet Mohammed by the French satirical magazine.
"Three injured were brought to the hospital, two were minor injuries and one photographer was serious," said Doctor Seemi Jamali, a spokeswoman for the city's main Jinnah hospital, referring to AFP's Asif Hassan, 38.
"The bullet struck his lung, and passed through his chest. He is out of immediate danger and he has spoken to his colleagues," she continued, adding that Mr Hassan was hit by what appeared to be a live round.
The others injured were a policeman and a local TV cameraman who were discharged after receiving first aid.
Senior police official Abdul Khaliq Sheikh told AFP that the violence began when some 350 protesters were prevented by police from approaching the French consulate, in the southern part of the sprawling metropolis.
"When the police tried to stop them they started firing," he said, adding that the police responded with tear gas and water cannon to disperse the protesters.
Police said Hassan and the other journalist did not appear to have been deliberately targeted but were caught in crossfire when protesters shot at the police.
A witness at the scene backed the police account, though the religious party blamed the police.
"Police are responsible for those wounded during the protest including Asif Hasan," said Hafiz Bilal Ramzan, head of the party's student wing.
The rallies come a day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif led parliament in condemning the cartoons in Charlie Hebdo, whose Paris offices were attacked last week by Islamist gunmen who killed 12 people.
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