⁍ Around 3,000 protesters gathered in Islamabad, about half a km (less than a mile) from the fortified diplomatic enclave where the French Embassy is.

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⁍ Roads leading to the enclave were blocked using shipping containers and barbed wire and were guarded by riot police.

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⁍ Protesters managed to climb over the blockades – prompting police to fire teargas.

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⁍ No one was injured and protesters later moved back towards a gathering spot originally agreed with the authorities.

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– Pakistani police fired tear gas at protesters Friday who broke through security blockades in Islamabad in a failed attempt to demonstrate at the French Embassy against the printing of images depicting the Prophet Muhammad. No one was injured and protesters later moved back towards a gathering spot originally agreed with the authorities, police said. Muslims around the world have protested against France and President Emmanuel Macron, who has vowed to stand firm against what he described as attacks on French values and freedom of expression by radical Islamists. Around 3,000 protesters gathered in Islamabad, about half a mile from the fortified diplomatic enclave where the French Embassy is, according to a Reuters witness. Roads leading to the enclave were blocked using shipping containers and barbed wire and were guarded by riot police, but protesters managed to climb over the blockades—prompting police to fire teargas. “We needed to fire teargas shells when the protesters tried to violate their agreement,” a police official said, referring to an agreement with protest leaders that they would not progress beyond a certain point. The protest was organized by a traders’ association, which has already announced that it would take French products off shelves across the country, and came on the day Pakistan is celebrating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. Protests were also held in the cities of Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar.