PARIS (FRANCE) – Citing serious threats to French interests in Pakistan, two diplomatic sources of the country has advised French citizens to temporarily leave Pakistan after violent clashes.
The diplomatic sources said that a message had been sent overnight to French citizens and companies following threats by hardline Islamist group Tehrik-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) to target French interests. French nationals have been advised to leave the country and while the companies have been asked to shut down activities temporarily “due to the serious threats to French interests in Pakistan”.
“It’s a serious situation and we know that in Pakistan things can escalate quickly,” said one of the diplomatic sources.
Thousands of Pakistani Islamists had clashed with police earlier this week in protest against the arrest of their leader ahead of rallies denouncing French cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad as it is blasphemous for them.
Relations between Paris and Islamabad have worsened since the end of last year after President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to a French history teacher who was beheaded by an 18-year-old man of Chechen origin for showing cartoons of the Prophet in a class on freedom of speech.