Four dead in Niger, journalist shot in Pakistan in Charlie Hebdo protests

KARACHI, Pakistan, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Protests over the publication of the image of the Prophet Muhammed by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo led to the deaths of four people in Niger and a photojournalist getting shot in Pakistan.

Protests took place Friday across the Muslim world outside French cultural centers and consulates.

Four people died and 45 people were injured in the city of Zinder, Niger. Three civilians and one police officer were among the dead, said Nigerian Interior Minister Massaoudou Hassoumi.

Protesters torched the French Culture Center and held demonstrations outside churches in Niger's second city.

A protest outside the French consulate in Karachi on Friday also turned violent, with reports that an Agence France-Presse photographer was shot.

Country-wide protests were organized Friday by Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, an Islamic political organization and social conservative movement, in response to "the publication of blasphemous cartoons of the Holy Prophet" by Charlie Hebdo.

"If such highly provocative and uncalled for acts of blasphemy were not stopped, the world peace would be threatened and added that the producers of the arms and ammunition would be successful in their nefarious designs to plunge the world in another war," Jamaat-e-Islami said in a statement posted to its website quoting Emir Sirajul Haq.

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain has condemned the depiction of the Prophet by the press and issued a statement Friday reiterating that freedom of expression does not permit religious insult.

In Karachi, about 200 protesters clashed with police, who used tear gas and a water cannon to try to disperse the crowd. Some protesters attempted to enter the French consulate to deliver a written complaint about the Charlie Hebdo cartoons but were blocked by police near the main entrance.

Three people were reportedly injured, including AFP photographer Asif Hassan who was shot in the chest. It is unclear how he and the other two were injured. Hassan is recovering at a nearby hospital.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he was concerned by news of Hassan's injury and said he was praying for his recovery.