Hundreds join Quetta rally to honour bin Laden

QUETTA:

Hundreds took to the streets of Quetta on Monday to pay homage to Osama bin Laden, chanting death to America and setting fire to a US flag, witnesses and organisers said.

Angry participants belonging to a religious party in Quetta, the capital of southwestern province Baluchistan, were led by federal lawmaker Maulawi Asmatullah.

They also torched a US flag before dispersing peacefully.It was the first rally in Pakistan after the United States announced that bin Laden had been killed in an overnight commando mission in Pakistan.

Organisers said between 1,000 and 1,200 people attended the rally, but witnesses put the figure closer to 800.“Bin Laden was the hero of the Muslim world and after his martyrdom he has won the title of great mujahed (Muslim fighter),” Asmatullah said.

Additionally, other radical organisations including the SSP and JuD also took out rallies in support of bin Laden, terming the slain Al Qaeda leader a 'martyr'. However, some funeral processions were called off.

Karachi protests

Hundreds of young boys and men gathered near the Motamar Al Alam Al Islami office on University Road for the funeral prayers of Osama bin Laden, the killed chief of al Qaeda, on Tuesday. The funeral prayers were organised by Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), and their spokesperson estimated 900 people had attended. However, there appeared to be less than 500. Pride at their slain leader’s death and anger at the United States dominated discussions with those who had offered the funeral prayers. “He was our leader, our guide, our hero,” railed Tayyab Iqbal, who had come to offer prayers, even though he was not a JuD member. “As a Muslim it is our duty to offer prayers for another Muslim,” said another attendee.

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