Pakistan clashes over Hebdo cartoon

Protesters have been out on the streets in several Pakistani cities this week.

Pakistani police have clashed with crowds protesting over an image of the Prophet Muhammad published in French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, a week after gunmen carried out a massacre at its offices.

The protest was part of a nationwide rally called by the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party.

On Thursday, Pakistani politicians passed a motion condemning Charlie Hebdo for publishing the latest cartoon.

Religious leaders openly called for journalists at the magazine to be hanged, and several religious groups called for protests after Friday prayers.

In Karachi, at least three people were injured during the clashes between police and about 200 protesters, who were mostly student activists from Jamaat-e-Islami.

The protesters had tried to get inside the French consulate.

Protest leaders said they wanted to hand a written protest to consulate officials, but were stopped by police near the main entrance.

 Police used batons, water cannon, tear-gas shells and fired shots in the air to disperse the protesters.

Two journalists and a policeman were reportedly hurt in the clashes, though it was not clear how they sustained their injuries.

The area is now quiet, and protesters have been forced away from the consulate.

Pakistan also erupted in protests in 2006 over reports that a Danish cartoonist had published images of Muhammad.