"Incidents in Europe including republication of blasphemous sketches by Charlie Hebdo are recent examples," Khan said. Charlie Hebdo, known for its irreverent humor and absolutist belief in free speech, has repeatedly stirred anger in the Islamic world by publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Twelve people were killed in an attack by Islamist gunmen on Charlie Hebdo's office in Paris on January 7, 2015. In a defiant gesture timed with the trial this month of accomplices to the massacre, Charlie Hebdo reprinted some of the caricatures. Blasphemy is an especially sensitive issue in Pakistan, which has seen mob or vigilante killings of people accused of disrespecting Islam.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 26, 2020 06:11 UTC