Islamabad: The government of Pakistan has condemned a minister for his offer of a reward for the death of the US-based producer believed to be behind an anti-Islam video.
Islamabad’s distancing comes after Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, the federal railways minister, offered a $100,000 bounty for the death of the California-based maker of the video on Saturday.
Bilour also invited members of the Taliban and al-Qaeda to take part in what he called a “noble deed”.
“I announce today that this blasphemer who has abused the holy prophet, if somebody will kill him, I will give that person a prize of $100,000,” he said.
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said that Bilour was likely acting on his own and his bounty offer should not be taken as an official government action.
“Let’s not forget that this is a minister that has destroyed the Pakistani railways,” Hyder said.
Bilour is considered by some in Pakistan to be partially responsible for the deteriorating situation of the country’s railways.
The producer of the film, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, is reportedly a 55-year-old Egyptian Copt and convicted fraudster, out on parole, who lives in Los Angeles.
Bilour’s announcement came after more than 5,000 protesters, including hundreds of women, marched towards the parliament in Islamabad, chanting: “We love our Holy Prophet” and “Punishment for those who humiliated our Prophet.”
About 500 people from the group Jamaat-ud-Dawa also staged a protest in front of the US consulate in the eastern city of Lahore, chanting: “The US deserves only one remedy – jihad, jihad.”
The protests were peaceful, in contrast to the previous day’s demonstrations.
Religious groups said they were also planning demonstrations in Karachi, the scene of the worst violence on Friday, after the funerals of some of the more than 20 people killed in that day’s protests.
Outrage continues
Authorities in Bangladesh on Saturday fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who defied a ban on demonstrations against the film, which was made in the US.
The clash erupted after the protesters from an alliance of 12 Islamist parties tried to hold a rally in central Dhaka despite a 24-hour ban on gathers in the area, Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman told the AFP news agency.
“They defied our ban and tried to stage a protest against the anti-Islam film. At one stage, they started pelting stones at policemen,” he said, adding that police arrested several people including some leaders of the group.
In Nigeria, thousands of people have gathered to demonstrate against the video in the northern city of Kano.
They called on the US to stop insulting Muslims and chanted “Death to America, death to Israel and death to the enemies of Islam.”
Police were deployed to the rally, which was organised by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a pro-Iranian group that adheres to the Shia branch of Islam.
The low budget film, “Innocence of Muslims,” has incited a wave of bloody anti-US violence in cities in more than 20 countries.
“We are out today to express our rage and disapproval over this blasphemous film,” Muhamad Turi, a protest leader and member of the Islamic Movement.
“This protest is also aimed at calling on the US government to put a halt to further blasphemy against Islam.”
Demonstrators carried pictures of US President Barack Obama, as well as American and Israeli flags as they marched towards a palace owned by the Emir of Kano, the top religious figure in the city of roughly 4.5 million people.
Others were seen waving Iranian flags.
Kashmir school
Hundreds of burqa-clad young girls in Srinagar city of India’s northern Jammu and Kashmir state lambasted the film, shouting slogans against the US and the film’s maker.
The protest was held inside a primary school, where girls wearing black, white or green burqas held placards and banners, shouted slogans in praise of the Prophet Mohammad and against the US.
“This movie that has been made is outrageous and intolerable,” said Firdousa, one of the protesters.
Anger has also been stoked by the publication in a French magazine of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday published cartoons portraying Muhammad naked, further fuelling earlier protests.
About 500 Palestinians on Saturday staged what banners proclaimed a “Festival of the followers of Muhammad” in east Jerusalem in protest against the French cartoons and the anti-Islam film.
Police did not intervene in the rally, which included a marching band, according to an AFP journalist.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
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