AROUND 10,000 hard-line Islamists who marched towards Pakistan’s capital to protest against a far-right Dutch lawmaker’s plans to hold a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest have been stopped by police.

Spokesman for the Tehreek-i-Labaik group, Eijaz Ashrafi, said the protesters refuse to disperse, and that police will have to “kill us” to stop the march.

The Dutch government has distanced itself from the contest but says it is committed to the right to free speech.