NA defers debate on French envoy’s expulsion indefinitely

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Friday again deferred debating the fate of the French ambassador for an indefinite period.

A resolution tabled on Wednesday called for the National Assembly to debate whether to expel the French envoy, for the assembly to condemn Western blasphemy, for Muslim nations to unite on the issue, and for authorities to provide space in cities for future protests.

But Friday’s session descended into rowdiness after members disagreed on how to proceed — with some chanting anti-French slogans and others displaying a poster calling for the envoy to be booted out. The speaker adjourned the session indefinitely.

Still, the resolution appears to have taken the steam out of an anti-France campaign waged for months by the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). Supporters of the party protested violently across the country last week when its leader was arrested after calling for a march on the capital to demand the French envoy’s expulsion.

As the protests grew, the French embassy recommended all its citizens leave the country — a call that appeared to go largely unheeded.