Pakistan: debate in Parliament on the expulsion of the French ambassador

The Pakistani parliament will debate on Friday 23 April whether to expel the French ambassador, the government seeming to have succeeded in appeasing the protests which, last week, had degenerated into deadly clashes with the police.

Read also: In Pakistan, the Islamists are unleashed against France

The extremist Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) party has been behind a violent anti-France campaign since Emmanuel Macron defended the right to cartoon in the name of freedom of expression.

The French president spoke during the tribute to a teacher killed on October 16 after showing satirical cartoons to his class, in the wake of the republication of representations of the Prophet Muhammad by the weekly

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Blasphemy

A resolution calls for a debate on the expulsion of the French diplomat, for the condemnation of blasphemy in the West and for the unity of Muslim countries on this issue. She also asks that the authorities offer a place in the cities for the next demonstrations. Tabled by a majority deputy, it should be replaced by a stronger text from the opposition but not binding.

Supporters of the TLP demonstrated last week after the arrest on April 12 of its leader who called for a march between Lahore and Islamabad (North) to demand the expulsion of the French ambassador.

As the protests gathered momentum, the French embassy called on its nationals to leave the country, which few seem to have done.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who negotiated an end to the protests with TLP officials, said 5 police officers and eight protesters were killed.

Read also: France targeted by Islamist fury

On Tuesday, the elders of the party gave up any further action and on Friday, the situation seemed appeased.

assured the Minister of Information, Fawad Chaudhry, at a press conference on Wednesday. In the past, Prime Minister Imran Khan has been accused of being conciliatory with the TLP for fear of alienating Pakistani conservatives. On Monday, he called on the TLP to put an end to the violence, believing that the expulsion of the French ambassador would only have negative consequences for Pakistan, in particular on its economic relations with Europe.

Islam in its rigorous interpretation prohibits any representation of Muhammad and the issue of blasphemy is particularly sensitive in Pakistan, where it transcends party boundaries.