ISLAMABAD: Thousands of Shia Muslims protested today to condemn Saudi Arabia’s execution of a leading cleric Nimr al-Nimr, as fury over the killing spread.

The 56-year-old Shia cleric was put to death along with 46 Shia activists and Sunnis who the Saudi interior ministry said were involved in al Qaeda killings. Some were beheaded, others were shot by firing squad.

In Lahore, around 1,500 took to the streets, calling Nimr’s execution a gross human rights violation, while in Karachi about a thousand men, women and children shouted slogans against the royal Saudi family.

Similar protests also took place in several districts of Sindh and capital Islamabad, where about 500 people gathered to call on the UN to intervene to stop Saudi Arabia from targeting Shia Muslims.

Amid the rallies, Saudi foreign minister Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir, who was scheduled to arrive in Islamabad Sunday evening, postponed his visit.

“The visit was postponed at the request of the authorities of Saudi Arabia,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding the trip would take place on January 7.