Mammoth Million March in Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi, Mar 9 :Tens of thousands of protestors Sunday staged a huge rally near the capital Islamabad and asked the government to oppose the American possible attack plan in the UN Security Council, of which Pakistan is a non-permanent member.

The religious parties’ alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) has organized the Million March against US war on Iraq which started with larger participation by women and children from all walks of life.

Carvans from different other areas of the country, including NWFP, reached the spot, where the march began and passed through different streets and areas of the city. The main purpose of the march was to condemn the possible US attack against Iraq.

The number of the participants of the march express the degree of anti-American sentiments in Pakistan. Protesters marched through the streets and chanted slogans against the US. MMA leaders Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Shah Ahmed Noorani, Javed Hashmi and Maulana Fazalur Rehman addressed the march and warned the US over its war designs against Iraq. PTI leader Imran Khan also participated in the march.

Vice President of the MMA and JI Ameer Qazi Hussain Ahmed said that US attack on Iraq would be considered an attack on Pakistan. He said the rulers of the Islamic world have become toady of the US. He said US would not want to see Muslim world independent and it wants to occupy their sovereignty. He said the US was a devilish force which would destroy the Muslim countries one by one. He said people of Rawalpindi have shown their hatred towards the US administration by assembling in large number during the March.

Speaking on the occasion, head of the MMA, Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani said that the people gathered here wanted to tell the US that they were with their Iraqi brethren. He warned US if she attacked on Iraq, she will meet the same fate as the Russian met. He urged the newly-elected Parliament to help expel US agencies from the country. He made it clear to the rulers that Pakistanis would not allow US to use their soil against any Muslim country. He said that the people of Pakistan are with Iraqi people and would not leave them alone if US attacked them.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, another leader of the MMA said that Ummah now should rise against the hegemonic designs of the US. “US is imperialistic force which is trying to snatch the independence of the Muslim world,” he said adding that US was trying to occupy the oil resources of the Islamic world.

Maulana Samiul Haq, the central leader of the MMA warned the rulers to distance away from the US if they wanted to save themselves from wrath of the people of Pakistan. He said General Musharraf has become a US agent and was trying to sell Pakistan.

Among others, Liaquat Baloch central leader of MMA, President PML (N), Makhdoom Javed Hasmi President Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan Hafiz Muhammad Idrees, Abdul Gahfoor Haidri and Abdul Jalil Naqvi spoke on the occasion .