KARACHI: Religious parties in Karachi protested against the potential reopening of Nato supply routes in Pakistan on Friday afternoon.
The Jamaat-e-Islami led a rally in Gulshan-e-Iqbal from Baitul Mukarram mosque to Hasan Square, while Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) protested at Karachi Press Club.
JuD protesters held placards proclaiming that "Pakistan will be defended by jihad" and "We hate Nato forces".
JuD organiser Hafiz Kalimullah said, "We are with the mujahideen", as he accused US and Nato of atrocities in Afghanistan and condemned the recent desecration of the Holy Quran in Afghanistan.
JuD's Professor Mehmoodul Hasan said, "Resuming Nato supply is a bargain of our faith."
"We do not call this trade, we call this a dishonour. We will not let this happen."
A hundred to 150 people, carrying JuD flags, chanted slogans against the US, India and Nato.
Hasan threatened that containers carrying Nato supplies would not reach their destination.
Engineer Naveed Qamar, the head of JuD in Karachi, said parliamentarians should abandon the idea of reopening Nato supply routes.
"Keep the supplies closed, the Pakistani nation is with you," Qamar said, addressing parliamentarians. He said the Difa-e-Pakistan Council is writing letters to members of parliament urging them not to change their decision.
"This bill (on recommendations about US ties) will be presented on March 26. On March 27 we will rally outside the parliament and record our protest."
"Be brave," he said, addressing Afghans and Pakistanis. "The US cannot ruin you."
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Samiul Haq) leader Maulana Abdul Manan also spoke at the event and asked the crowd who elected their representatives.
"America!" responded protesters. "No, its you who elected them. This is not an American government, this is a government of Muslims in Pakistan. Do not be friends with the US."
"Every non-believer is an enemy of Pakistan," he declared.
Protesting the reopening of Nato supply routes is the current issue of choice for religious-political parties, but the logistics of the protests haven't been smooth.
According to a spokesperson, JuD's protest was slightly delayed because their leadership and members had gotten stuck in traffic jams caused by Jamaat-e-Islami's rally and a rally by the Sindh nationalist party Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz at Tibet Centre.
COMMENTS (58)
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@US CENTCOM:
We,all know WHY you,Americans went to Afghanistan.You do not need repeting youerself!
The mountains of this country are full of copper,nickel,iron ores,gold ores,waiting to be digged out.
Such a wealth...and the "primitive"(in your eyes) Afghani do not know how to get rich.
Oooooooooh! Have we forgot the poor,OPRESSED,depressed Afghani women,who are slaves of their families?!
You,the FREEDOMFEIGHTER on this Mother Earth went to Afghanistan to liberate these lost souls!
"JuD’s Professor Mehmoodul Hasan said, “Resuming Nato supply is a bargain of our faith.”
Why on earth do these people feel the need to drag faith into everything? :S :S
The people of Pakistan will not allow NATO supply from Pakistan, this s democracy the rule which people decide under the authority provided by Allah will be imposed
http://syedowais.blogspot.com/
they will rise and shine.....they are at least standing..... every pakistani should follow them.... they will rise with great honor coz they are following greate concept.Defeat to India, NATO.
@US CENTCOM:
I hope you're not another impersonator!
If US State Department were to publish the names of Visa Lottery participants from Pakistan, can anyone guess how many of these holy ones would be on the list? JI and it's spritual father Zia opened the door for every type of fighter for it's Afghani Jihad. Seems that Mullah's memory is inversely related to the length of his beard.
They might hate NATO,the Americans;the Argentinians,the Bulgarians....fact is,their governments signed contracts and they have to be obliged.
PACTA SERVANTA SUNT...that is what you lern in the first term of the Law School.
As I do not know the conditions of the contracts,probably ONLY a withdrawl from Afghanistan,which we,here,in Germany will appreciate,will terminate these contracts.
@Realist: So you agree with my point that JUD and JI are terrorists group?
@DevilHunterX:
LOL. Just go and start a rally in favour of NATO then. Lets see how long you survive on the streets.
@Maj David Nevers, Sir, these protestors are deep state sponsored actors. They are immune to reason.
@Muslim Pakistani: The "liberals" are thinking about all the innocent Pakistanis who have been murdered by religious extremists in terrorist strikes in crowded marketplaces. Are you thinking about them? Are the "backward mullahs" thinking about them? It's easy to grow a beard, raise pants above ankles, and then scream and froth about drones. Things become a bit more complicated when you open your eyes and look at the mayhem which has been wrought by the terrorists. Of course, first you have to open your eyes.
@indianatheist:
In that case drones should also be raining down on Hindutva strong holds in India, shielding terrorists are we? Shame.
trust me there was/is/will be no policy from PAK that secure pak as sovereign state those rallies are to value their demands : $$$... I hate USA doesn't mean I support their opponent I want peace. US killed more innocents then militants and they must know each innocent killing will produce more militants and they are actually multiplying
Have we not said this before, that this is not a war against Islam or the Muslims of Afghanistan and Pakistan? This war is against terrorism, and those individuals who create and support terror. Period! We came to Afghanistan with a mission to free the region of al-Qaeda terrorists who have been terrorizing the world for decades. We, with the help of Pakistani and Afghan security forces, have broken the backs of these terrorists groups. They are on the run. We hope to soon clear up the few safe havens they still operate from. It is important that we normalize relations with all parties, so together we can complete our mission of freeing the region from terror that has besieged it for decades.
Maj David Nevers DET-United States Central Command www.centcom.mil/ur
I can only imagine that if the US were to open up a Green Card lottery, these mullahs and religious extremists would be one of the first ones to line up at the embassy and file their paperwork!
No wonder, here in the US, we have so many extremists clerics that live in the US but love to talk about how much they despise Amrekia...talky about irony.
@MUSLIM PAKISTANI: Drone strike are continuing and will continue even if NATO supplies through Pakistan are currently stopped. The problem is terrorism that US will always fight with or without you. In fact Pakistan is risking its economy and stability by trying to shield terrorists who don't care if you get blown to piece while praying in a mosque.
@Asif ilyas khattak: Thanks for the confirmation.
Jud Jui we don't like you either in our planet.Give the devil his due share:
NATO/USA will never give you anything in return.
What did Pakistan gain so far by giving them free supply routes?
Musharraf has been responsible for the unwritten agreements with USA/NATO that have given permission to NATO/USA to kill and bomb Pakistanis with impunity and that is the thanks they give to you for helping then with the only supply routes that are financially viable to fight this so-called war on terror.
Do not expect anything to change with any formal agreements with the arrogance that the west enunciates when dealing with poor third world countries- the colonial mind set that is never going to change until you put your foot down.
So will the liberal extremists finally start thinking about the poor Pakistanis that are being killed in waziristan drone strikes and the poor Afghans that will be eventually killed when the NATO supply route is restored and more ammo makes its way there? Or will the liberal extremists once again choose to ignore the warning in response to their baseless hatred of 'backward mullahs' and make a sacrifiial lamb of the poor Pakistanis and Afghans? Easy to support NATO and drones when youre sitting in the safe confines of your home miles and miles away. About time Pakistani liberals learn to be real liberals instead of just anti-religious fanatics bent on killing anyone who remotely comes across as a mullah supporter.
They are real pakistani's
"“Every non-believer is an enemy of Pakistan,” he declared."........quite a common sentiment in Pakistan. Nothing new here.
“Every non-believer is an enemy of Pakistan,” I guess china has the most number of Non-Believers in the World :/
JuD, JI please pay Pakistan's foreign debts. Thanks.
@Realist: No you are in minority. Majority Pakistanis hate terrorists.
look at them, true believers. stop using bad words against them. they are protectors of islam, warriors of allah.
@Pakistani Hindu:
You are in a minority. We who love JUD and JI are in majority.
Supply line will be open.
Protest will be there .
Protesters will be delt with iron hand just as happend in case of Red-Star operation .
Election will be delayed.
A care taker Govt. Will be imstalled to conduct a free and fare election .
That is what I see the future developments in Pakistan or again the army will capture the power .
Rent a crowd rally by establishment.
@Farhan Khan: "Pakistani People have to decide whether they are with US or against them? If we are against US, we are with Taliban"
I guess by Taliban you meant the Afghan Taliban NOT TTP since US does not care about TTP, it is Pakistan's internal problem. If I understood yuo right then I think there is a third option that Pakistan has been implementing which is soon running out. This is to take money from US by claiming to be with them. At the same time protect the Afghan Taliban.
Now people will point out the 'sacrifices' in the war on terror'. But ask yourself, who were the soldiers fighting was it Afghan Taliban or TTP? Answer is TTP. Who killed Pakistani civiilians - Afghan Taliban or TTP? Answer is TTP. In other words the loss of life (which is deeply regrettable) has nothing to do with the US war on terror. It has to do with fighting an nternal insurgency which US does not benefit from.
I am so tired of these mullahs and their hatred. We need prosperity and peace and goodwill towards all our neighbours and towards the world. Look at the condition of Pakistan and then look at the progress in India and Bangladesh. Who benefits from these regressive ideas and hatred except the mullahs. We need to move on.
Pakistani People have to decide whether they are with US or against them? If we are against US, we are with Taliban. Sorry but We have No Third Option. In Fact, we are a confused Nation at this very time.
@Feroze
"Can they go back to their caves in the mountains and leave us alone".
I see that you are buying into the state narrative that these people are from the mountains, which means the Pashtun areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. I think you need to dig deeper and admit that these instigators are not people from the mountains, they are from the plains and you know exactly who they are. Stop living in denial my friend. In Afghanistan we have a name for the Taliban and their ilk, in the Pashto language we call them Punjabian.
@ Raj: brother, problem is not with practicing religion , a true religious person can't imagine to hate other religions and use religion for political games. Our Political Mullahs are not religious at heart, they are hypocrite and misuse name of religion for political gains and hatred towards other religious which is completely un Islamic and they have got nothing out of this except setting our own house on fire. These Political Mullahs fought with Americans for dollars in against former USSR in Afghanistan and became enemy of US only once Washington dried up the dollars' pipeline! Our Generals have always been in league with these political mullahs to blackmail the West for financial game and we Pakhtuns paid heavy prince in this game.
Same protestors would likely jump at the chance to immigrate to any NATO country -- same protestors probably have no clue that Turkey is a member of NATO. Xenophobic, ignorant and hypocritical - and apparently proud of it.
“Be brave,” he said, addressing Afghans and Pakistanis. “The US cannot ruin you.”
Yeah... only these hatred spewing fundamentalists can ruin you.
“Every non-believer is an enemy of Pakistan,” tells it all. Wish they have a closer look at Koran and the meaning of hate. Hate is a very strong emotion and kills a person with slow death. Hate mongers can never be rational.
@Zahir Yousafzai: "Why there is no international level sport tournament in Pakistan and we can’t attract FDI whereas Bangladesh does? Answer is there is no Mullah Military Alliance in Bangladesh!"
If you have watched closely the recent Asia Cup Final between Pakistan and Bangladesh, you would have got the answer. Their players did not convert the cricket field to be a large Mosque before or after the game. Their Captain did not lead their team to the prayer. Bangladeshis were watching this religious display with much amusement. Bring religion in everything and you can expect nothing but regression only.
“Every non-believer is an enemy of Pakistan." These guys are making that a self fulfilling prophesy.
Dear Editor, you have enough space for the news relative to Religious groups and big extortionist and violent groups of Karachi but what a pity, you dont give sufficient or due coverage to the liberal, progressive and nationalist voice of Sindh and Baluchistan. This is stark difference in your editorial policy. We people of Sindh condemn it.
@A Khan:
"Non-state actors are actually in control of Pakistan. Pakistanis have lost Pakistan to non-state actors."
This is not surprising as close to 80% of Pakistanis believe they are Muslims First (sorry, Sunni Muslims First) and Pakistan Citizens last. Such screwed up thinking can only bring such screwed up results. What is more interesting is that these ideas have been implanted in the minds of Pakistanis by no other than the defenders of the Nation - "The Great Establishment", through their decades of indoctrination, creating their own history books, etc. What can be the future of a Nation that has lost its Nationhood !!!!!! Pakistanis call China their great friend and yet think the opposite of what a Chinese thinks. China thinks of China as Nation first and the last think it cares about is religion.
Whiter Pak government sovereignty when these mullahs control the agenda?
everyone should google the word "zealotry" and see on wikipedia what this word means and from where it originated.also look at the fate of the first religious zealots.
Oh, and I as a Pakistani and a Muslim hate Jud and the rest of them. I love my religion and all that it teaches. What they teach is their own version.
They aren't protestors. They are actors. And for their roles they get a 'Biryani ke plate' each. I swear you sit them down and ask them where's America? Who's their president? Etc they wouldn't know. Even their logic to hate America won't make sense. We all know who they are. What they do and where they come from. Moving on, I hope America has learned a lesson. Let's continue?
Why there is no international level sport tournament in Pakistan and we can't attract FDI whereas Bangladesh does? Answer is there is no Mullah Military Alliance in Bangladesh!
I m a Muslim I love Pakistan and Islam and I have western savages and invaders who have waged a war against Islam
@roflcopter buddy why don't you join them and move to Afghanistan! What exactly are they standing up against? If they had given up Osama there would have been no grounds to invade Afghanistan 11 years ago! I would rather not live in the stone age by supporting such radical parties.
“Every non-believer is an enemy of Pakistan”
These people drink hatred.
Everytime I see such a news report the only thing that comes to my mind is setting up a US flag manufacturing unit. :D
stop burning the freaking falgs!!! have some decency while you protest.
At least someone is standing up @Feroz, since they're in majority it is better if YOU go back to the caves ;)
Is it impossible to have a protest without burning flags or tires?
You hate Nato forces because they dispossessed you after giving illegitimate birth to you. Missing parents, are we?
I am a Pakistani and I love America. I respect India and Israel as well. I hate JuD, JI.
They are blinded by ignorance and dogma. Cannot think straight.