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Karachi: Protesters called on Friday for ties with Denmark to be severed over the republication of one of several cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) that led to violence in Muslim countries two years ago.
Rallies were held in Karachi, Quetta, Multan, Hyderbabad, and the capital, Islamabad, where protesters shouted slogans against Denmark and burned US and Danish flags.
"The Danish ambassador should be expelled and Pakistan should immediately end diplomatic ties with that country," Abdul Gafoor Nadeem, an activist of a militant group, told a gathering of about 700 people in Karachi.
"We also demand an immediate ban on Danish goods in Pakistan."
The cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) were first published in Danish newspapers in 2005 and sparked violent protests across the Muslim world in 2006 in which at least 50 people were killed, including five in Pakistan.
This month, Danish newspapers reprinted one of the cartoons.
Separately, a group of up to 50 Christians held a rally in Karachi where speakers said the publication of the cartoons was an attempt to disrupt world peace and hinder efforts for interfaith harmony.
Last weekend, authorities ordered internet service providers to block the popular YouTube website after it ran material deemed insulting to Islam.
Authorities justified the order to prevent access in Pakistan, saying it was necessary to avoid unrest in the overwhelmingly Muslim country of 160 million people. The ban was lifted on Wednesday after YouTube removed the material.
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