RAWALPINDI: Faizabad area of Rawalpindi turned into a battleground on Monday after police and a myriad number of Tehreek e Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) activists clashed here.

The riot began after police fired teargas shells on the people who were holding protest against the blasphemous caricatures in France and its President Emmanuel Macron’s support for them.

More than 25 police men and scores of TLP workers were wounded in the clash and later shifted to hospital for medical treatment.

Earlier the police had asked shopkeepers on Murree Road to shut down their shops and had warned them of strict action in case of not compliance with the order. The entrance routes of Islamabad and Rawalpindi have been closed by placing containers.

On Nov 5, shop owners in Rawalpindi had shut down major markets of the city to hold protest on the Murree road against the publishing of the blasphemous sketches in France and its support by President Emmanuel Macron.

The rally had started from the Fawara Chowk, from where the protestors proceeded to Committee Chowk and then to Teeli Mohalla. Holding banners and placards in their hands, the participants had condemned the blasphemous caricatures. The rally was jointly organized by the Anjuman Tajiran Raza Bazaar, Anjuman Tajiran Commercial Market, Pharmaceutical Trade Association, Anjuman Tajiran Moti Bazaar, and Sarafa and Jewellers Association.