After Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), All Pakistan Muslim League and Fazlur Rehman’s faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, it is now Difa-e-Pakistan Council’s (DPC) turn to take over Karachi’s landscape to advertise its upcoming event.
Even though Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) is the ‘host’ party for the event, Jamatud Dawa (JuD) seems to have taken it upon itself to aggressively promote the rally, scheduled for February 12 at the ground opposite Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum.
Dozens of billboards, posters and banners have been put up, and activists have been painstakingly painting an advertisement on a flyover on behalf of the Ahl-e-Sunnat wal Jamat (ASWJ), formerly known as Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a banned militant outfit.
A committee set up by the DPC has been meeting delegations of ethnicity-based groups, traders, lawyers and doctors to elicit their support for the rally.
Difa-e-Pakistan Council is a coalition of over 40 religious and political parties that has been vocally demanding the government keep Nato supply routes closed and withdraw its decision to grant India the status of most-favoured nation.
While he declined to provide any estimates of how many people they expected to turn up, JuD’s Karachi spokesperson Ahmed Nadeem said they hoped the Karachi event would be bigger than the ‘historic rallies’ the council has held in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan.
“We have received a no-objection certificate for the venue,” Nadeem said, referring to the controversies that bogged down the PTI when it sought permission to hold its rally at the same venue.
A delegation met JUI-F’s Karachi Secretary General Aslam Ghori, but Ghori said the visit was not political. “They came to offer condolences for my father’s death. There was no talk of this [event].”
Ghori reiterated that JUI-F’s central leadership has decided not to join the DPC. “Other than Nawaz Sharif, everyone who was part of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad is part of this council,” he explained, referring to the coalition of religious-political parties formed in 1990. “Hamid Gul (former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence) was leading them then, and he is leading them now too. We were not part of the Ittehad then, and we are not part of this council now.” However, it is widely believed that the JUI-F has refused to join the DPC because it has still not made peace with Jamaat-e-Islami after the collapse of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal.
Hameed Gul is one of the speakers at DPC, along with Sheikh Rashid and the late General Ziaul Haq’s son Ejazul Haq among others.
The event is scheduled to start at 11 am on Sunday and will wrap up by Maghrib prayers.
The DPC has also been promoting the rally online through a newly launched website and the microblogging website Twitter.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2012.
COMMENTS (20)
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The kind of people gathered in fact for Tabbah Pakistan Rally.
I hope and pray DeP will emerge as the voice of oppressed muslims, the shaheed of jamia hafsa, our shaheed ullama maulana tariq azzam and the likes. Finally it seems like, after more than half a century, the Muslims have a voice.
Allah ho akbar. Islamic tsunami will roll over the world! Love you difa e pakistan!!
These are the same Mullahs who apposed the very idea of the creation of a new Muslim nation state (Pakistan) and some parties are banned militant outfits who have been involved in the blood of innocent people...Now they are out to defend Pakistan... wow how IRONIC...:(
Strange. PTI did not join?
@Abba Jee: @Sajida: @Beatle: We already have a very strong Army so there was no need to introduce this product. Why don't we consider this appearance as "Difa-e-Halwa".
DPC is the pro Pakistani entity and the need of the hour. The government should feel threatened because it continues to act against the national interest and now a large pressure group has formed to bring down the hammer on anyone who pushes this country further. I pray for these people though I know there are many stooges among them and many whose sole purpose is to keep their constituents busy in a wild goose chase....this genie will get out of the bottle and they won't be able to suppress it...I hope. We need the public to storm Awaan-e-Sadar, the National Assembly, the Supreme Court and GHQ and let them know we're not going to take this any longer!
By the way, how come a BANNED militant org was allowed to hold a public jalsa under gov protection ?
So THE STATE OF PAK supports terrorism ?
Well whats so scary for Pakistan?
A foreign country is attacking and killing civilians so why write an article when someone in this small weak country is trying to stand up to the imperialist and terrorist country which attacks any country based on lies of its liar CIA or Liar Presidents which has been proven as everybody knows!!!
Pakistan is now having two extreme poles. Let us see who wins the next election.
these people want to label pakistan as a terrorist state.they want to push us back into the stone age.rather than preaching hatred they should focus on the basic needs of the people.the question is can we defeat western nations militarily..
Why scared? This is how Pakistan was meant to be! If you don't like it, get out. Pakistan was always meant to be a Islamic theological state! If Pakistan was supposed to be a secular country, then why create a new country for Muslims?
@Aftab kenneth Wilson: :Very scarey picture for the future of our country...this is not scary, Pakistan was created on the same sentiments...
Best of luck to PDC. PDC parties are the only non-corrupt and sincere Pakistani parties. May Allah help them to save Pakistan and get rid of all the liberal fascist western stooges that has been ruling our Islamic republic since the late 90's
GOOD Attempt...and theres nothing scary...DPC should merge with other religious identities to raise the voice of united islamic front on the behalf of pakistanies and founding ideology of pak...Secular fascits like to bark...let them..!!! Voice of ppl cannotr be suppress...As Demon-cracy is Best revenge..:D
These people are crazy and dim. Those who know which rich Arabs are funding them should provide list to US so they can hold Saudis accountable. This is part of their continuing effort to try to religiously colonize Pakistan. America has given Saudi pass because of the dollar/oil deal. But this is so blatant maybe this will force US to hold Saudi feet to the fire. The rich Saudis should go after own government which is in cahoots with US. JI and company fails to have the intelligence to figure that out. They should ask Saudi why they are in league with US on one hand and fund Jihadis on the other. Height of hypocrisy! Hameed Gul is a spent force who is a baffoon only to happy to make noise to get some notice..
Very scarey picture for the future of our country.
in a new face now ,the anti nationals are trying to project themselves . Be careful before joining them .
A bunch of failed, rejected religious and political fanatics propogating violence and hatred. None of these ever gained anything, nor are they going to get any, except an attempt to remain in the news.