Geert Wilders, the far-right Dutch politician, has cancelled a cartoon drawing contest of the Prophet Muhammad after alleged death threats and large-scale protests in Pakistan.

The decision to cancel the contest, which was to be held in the Dutch parliament in November, was greeted with joy in Pakistan. An Islamic party had organised demonstrations in Lahore and Islamabad. On Wednesday about 10,000 supporters of the Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan party called for the expulsion of the Dutch ambassador and for diplomatic ties with the Netherlands to be severed.

Drawing the Prophet Muhammad is seen as blasphemous in parts of the Islamic world and is deeply offensive to some Muslims.

Mr Wilders, the firebrand leader of the Party for Freedom, has lived under round the clock protection for years because of his anti-Islam rhetoric. A 26-year-old man, reportedly from Pakistan, was arrested this week in The Hague after making an alleged death threat against Mr Wilders.

“To avoid the risk of victims of Islamic violence, I have decided to not let the cartoon contest go ahead,” he said.