Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

French embassy advises citizens to leave Pakistan

French embassy advises citizens to leave Pakistan

French nationals and companies in Pakistan were advised by their embassy on Thursday to temporarily leave after violent anti-France protests paralysed large parts of the country.

Anti-French sentiment has been simmering for months in Pakistan since the government of President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for a satirical magazine's right to republish cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed -- deemed blasphemous by many Muslims.


On Thursday the Pakistan government banned an extremist political party whose leader had called for a march on the capital to demand the expulsion of the French ambassador.

Saad Rizvi, leader of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), was detained hours after the Tuesday call, bringing thousands of his supporters onto the streets in cities across the country.

Two police officers died in clashes during which water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets were used.

"Due to the serious threats to French interests in Pakistan, French nationals and French companies are advised to temporarily leave the country," the embassy said in an email Thursday to French citizens.

"The departures will be carried out by existing commercial airlines."

Extra security personnel were deployed to the French embassy -- inside a guarded diplomatic enclave closed to the public -- and shipping containers placed as fortifications around its outer wall.

"Our police and rangers are capable of handling the situation," Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told a press conference later Thursday.

"All the French citizens are safe here and there's no threat to them."

Still, Ludo Van Vooren, a French citizen living in Islamabad, told AFP he was assessing the embassy's advice.

"We are a little shocked and reflecting on what to do," he said.

"Following the incidents of the last few months, we haven't been panicking, but we are very vigilant. Now we are trying to work out if things have changed."

Last year around 445 French citizens and more than 30 companies were registered in Pakistan, according to a French government website.

- Global rallies against France -

The TLP is notorious for holding days-long, violent road protests over blasphemy issues, causing major disruption to the country.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in conservative Pakistan, where laws allow for the death penalty to be used on anyone deemed to have insulted Islam or Islamic figures.

Successive governments have a long history of avoiding confrontation with hardline Islamist groups, fearing any crackdown on religious parties could spark wider violence.

"We are in favour of protecting the Prophet's honour, but the demand which they are seeking could have portrayed Pakistan as a radical nation worldwide," Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told a news conference on Wednesday.

On Twitter, the hashtag "#FranceLeavePakistan" was trending with more than 55,000 tweets as of Thursday afternoon.

Anger erupted in Autumn last year when the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo republished cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

Macron's subsequent defence of free speech triggered anger across the Muslim world, with tens of thousands in Pakistan, neighbouring Iran and other Muslim countries flooding the streets and organizing anti-French boycotts.

TLP supporters brought the capital Islamabad to a standstill.

At the time, Prime Minister Imran Khan, a populist leader who has been known to play to Pakistan's hardline religious base, blasted Charlie Hebdo for re-publishing the cartoons, saying "wilful provocations" should be "universally outlawed".

He accused the French president of attacking the Muslim faith and urged Islamic countries to work together to counter what he called growing repression in Europe.

Weeks later, a Pakistani man attacked the former offices of the magazine in Paris, wounding two people.

More For You

Air India flight crash

Debris of Air India flight 171 is pictured after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025.

Getty Images

Leicester to observe silence for Air India crash victims during Rathayatra festival

A MINUTE of silence will be observed in Leicester on Sunday, June 22, to remember those who died in the recent Air India crash. The silence will take place during the inauguration of the annual Rathayatra festival of chariots in the city centre.

Organisers from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness confirmed the silence will be held at 11.20am, followed by traditional Hindu performances from Gujarat at Gallowtree Gate, outside Sports Direct.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

The discount is funded and distributed by energy companies across England, Scotland and Wales, but the government decides who qualifies. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock)

Millions more to get £150 off energy bills under new Warm Home Discount rules

MILLIONS of households in Britain will receive £150 off their energy bills this winter after the government changed the eligibility rules for the Warm Home Discount.

People on means-tested benefits will now automatically qualify for the discount, regardless of their property's size or energy score. This change is expected to extend support to 2.7 million additional households, including nearly a million with children.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sisters drown in Snowdonia pools during trip with friends

Haleema Zahid

Sisters drown in Snowdonia pools during trip with friends

TWO sisters studying at the University of Chester have drowned in mountain pools while visiting Snowdonia with university friends, an inquest has heard.

Hajra Zahid, 29, and Haleema Zahid, 25, were pulled from the water at the Watkin Pools at Eryri in the Nant Gwynant area of Gwynedd on June 11.

Keep ReadingShow less
Croydon couple dies in Air India crash after baby shower trip

Vaibhav Patel and his wife Jinal Goswami

Croydon couple dies in Air India crash after baby shower trip

A YOUNG couple from Croydon were among those killed in last week's devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, it has been confirmed.

Vaibhav Patel, 29, and his pregnant wife Jinal Goswami, 27, died when their flight crashed just moments after takeoff on June 12. Goswami was seven months pregnant with the couple's first child, reports said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Iran-Israel-clash-Reuters

Smoke rises following an Israeli attack in Tehran on June 18, 2025.

Reuters

Israel hits nuclear reactors in Iran; hospital struck in retaliation

ISRAEL launched airstrikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities on Thursday, while Iranian missiles damaged an Israeli hospital, escalating the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue its campaign until Iran's nuclear programme is destroyed. “The tyrants of Tehran will pay the full price,” he said.

Keep ReadingShow less