11 police freed after violent anti-blasphemy protests in Pakistan as Muslim hardliners demand official boycott of France

Pakistan’s interior minister

Pakistan’s interior minister has confirmed that 11 police officers who were taken hostage by Islamist radicals during violent anti-France demonstrations last weekend have been released but more talks are needed to resolve issues.

In a series of video messages published on Monday, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said that the “first round of talks concluded in a successful manner,” adding that the 11 police officers taken hostage had been released. Ahmad said that there would be further talks with the now-banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) group in order to resolve matters concerning their demand that the state boycotts France over blasphemous cartoons and a crackdown on Islam.

Continue reading https://on.rt.com/b6d0