The media coordinator of the Sarbarahi Ijlas, Ubaidullah Usmani, confirmed to The Express Tribune that the rally had started in the adjacent city of Islamabad.
Other party leaders including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S) chief Maulana Samiul Haq, JUI-Functional chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, late General Ziaul Haq’s son Ejazul Haq and Jamaat e Islami (JI) Secretary General Liaqat Baloch also reached Rawalpindi to participate in the rally.
Haq, addressing a news briefing, rebuked the Pakistan Army and said that the Army had claimed that it will bring down the American drones, but still have not done anything yet, thus compelling the DPC to stand up for the cause.
The party leader also took up Dr Aafia Siddiqui's case during his address and said that their "innocent sister" is being "shamefully treated".
He was accompanied with Ludhianwi, who said that the ban on three leaders in Islamabad will be challenged in the court.
The leaders, in a meeting today, will also review the arrangements and the strategy for the sit-in on Monday in Islamabad.
They will also look into the matter of the ban on three Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) leaders in Islamabad for seven days, confirmed the ASWJ spokesman, and added that the meeting will be chaired by DPC chairman Samiul Haq.
The spokesperson said that the DPC will formally announce at 2pm today the change in venue of the sit-in. It was earlier supposed to be in front of the parliament, but now it will be held at the Aabpara Chowk in Islamabad, he said.
A senior police officer in Rawalpindi, while talking to The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity, said that the Islamabad administration had imposed ban on three leaders of DPC for seven days but despite the ban, the Rawalpindi police as well as the city's administration have been unable to take any legal action against those breaching the bans.
He added that the Rawalpindi police and the administration are under control of the Punjab government, while the Islamabad Police and Islamabad administration are under the control of federal government.
Sheikh Rasheed leaves DPC
Ejazul Haq told The Express Tribune that Sheikh Rasheed has left the Difa-e-Pakistan Council after receiving a call from American politician Condoleeza Rice.
He added that the DPC leaders will visit Rasheed to get him back into the council.
He also announced of an All Parties' Conference to be held on February 27.
Hamid Gul apologises to Express media group over allegations
Former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Hamid Gul issued an apology to the Express media group over his allegations of calling Malik Ishaq's pictures on The Express Tribune's website "doctored".
In a TV interview, Gul had said that Ishaq, one of the founders of the banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, was not present at the DPC rally in Multan and questioned the reporter who had filed the pictures of the rally.
Gul said that he was mistaken as he was not aware of all the people who attended the rally.
COMMENTS (41)
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@Umer:
"It’s the democratic right of every terrorist to congregate anywhere in Pakistan. Disagree at your own peril."
Why drag in democratic talk into this? First, Pakistan is not really a democracy in the sense that it is the army and the religious fundamentalists who control the country's domestic and foreign policies. Second, the Islamists and terrorists are not asking anyone for their "rights" for their terror activities.
These religious exteemists use the religion to advance their motives. Once again not looking good for the moderate people of PK! Shame!
It's not unusual. Punajb govt and Military who have control on Rawalpindi both support DPC. It's natural.
Pakistan is so typical. The state is actually not weak at all as we have seen in the post Salala episode. It is a state that conveniently swings from being outrageously stubborn to shamefully meek. The surprise is not as much in the nature of the swing ( as almost all states do this ) as is in the extent of this swing. DPC is as much about national politics as it is about international politics. In the national scene it will keep the Pakistan-is-in-danger fever raging while it is also at the same time a reply to the US policy of weakening the Pakistani army-based establishment. DPC will keep the undemocratic into the democracy to keep the democratic polity non-functional. So the void will remain to that extent keeping Pakistan the typical jelly-state that it is.
Pakistan is like a beautiful woman who has fallen into the hands of a greedy bandit. The bandit will like to keep her but if she would appear to slip away, the bandit will actually destroy her than to let her go.
Our country is under the '' Siege '' of these wild goose. No institution under the control of the government can dare touch them, even our so called courts who are only brave and active more than anyone else to remove the democratic set-up. Participation of banned outfits is a very big question mark on the internal and external policies. Where are we heading damn.
@Salman: "Oh. I have not seen a single comment in these tribune pages which protests against the US congress interfering in balochistan. "
Not true. Over the last couple of days number of articles about US resolution on BAlochistan have been published claerly expressing Sherry Rehman, PM, embassy etcc's opposition to the resolution. People have spoken out loud and clear on that. SO your statement is simply not valid.
@ahmed: yeah only terrorists have the human rights.
@ahmed lol "Here even “terrorists” have the basic human rights" but sure not their victims or who oppose or expose them.:-)
pakistan heading for split Balochistan a new country in the making...dafne pakistan
@Anon.: Please read my comments again. I am not referring to majority of Mullas. I hate to name people who opposed Pakistan, Just read the history and you would know that people at stage are surely the ones who opposed Pakistan. two parties missing at this stage are ANP and JUI(F).
Scary, where is Pakistan heading for ??
@Anon.:
Most of the Deobandis; and Ahraris and Jamaat Islami were staunchly against Pakistan. Just to quote one or two exceptions can not overshadow the overwhelming opposition of Pakistan by the maulanas. Mufti Mehmood (deobandi) was on record to say "Thank God we were not part of creation of this sin (Pakistan)"
Since 1984, Ahmadis are banned from holding any and all kinds of conferences, even when all they talk about is peace and love. Terrorists and extremists on the other hand are free to carry out any and all sorts of conferences filled with hate speech and rhetoric that has nothing to do with the progress of Pakistan.
This is a strange land!
Oh. I have not seen a single comment in these tribune pages which protests against the US congress interfering in balochistan. But i see a ton of comments against DPC and it's various leaders. No wonder your lot is looked at with disgust among-st the common pakistanis. So called enlightened and moderate people.
@Sehr Siddiqui Majority of hte influential mullahs did not call Jinnah Kufar e Azam so stop generalizing things. Maulana Shukat Ali Johar, Shabir Ahmed Usmani of Deoband and Maulana Mohd Ali Johar all threw their weight behind Jinnah in the early stages of partition and worked hard in the movement.
An anti-American nation with nukes? I get the feeling that times are going to get a lot tougher. What do these guys hope to achieve anyway?
Difa e Pakistan Rallies = Tabah e Pakistan Rallies
@ahmed true that!
Silly ban all because of US pressure
May ALLAH help Pakistan. Those who were against the creation of Pakistan and called it Kafiristan and its founder as Kafir-e- Azam are holding Difah-e- Pakistan rallies. History is being insulted and negated by these characters. May Allah help the helpless.
Propaganda against Army, Must watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlwiD4EILkE&feature=player_embedded
Writ of Government!don't live in the world of fools.what kind of society we are?to whom we want to deceive?we tell the world that they are banned outfits on the other hand we let them organize and proceed!
Pakistan is the real and "true" democratic country in the world. Here even "terrorists" have the basic human rights.
Does Pakistan have anything that could be called a GOVERMENT.
Pakistan Zindabad, We all should be ready of Difa
The rit of the State is non-existant because the doings of the State has no credibility in the eyes of the people of the State.
@Mard-e-Haq:
NOTHING!
DPC seems to be nothing but another dirty trick by the intelligence agencies to preserve their strategic assets.
we support jud
hatin' on
Pity on the helplessness of the govt and its security agencies.
It’s the democratic right of every terrorist to congregate anywhere in Pakistan. Disagree at your own peril.
They do have a democratic right to go wherever they want; however, these individuals never talk of the real issues plaguing Pakistan. Amreeka Amreeka Amreeka is their starting and ending point.
The day these people start asking for the accountability of the powerful lot and condemn violence in all its forms, Pakistan would display exemplary stability.
Ban? What ban man?
No wonder it is the terrorist writ that runs throughout Pakistan in reality. If these fake mullahs can defy the central government, then what is stopping them from pursuing other anti-national activities? They can sugar-coat any illegal activity under the banner of Jihad.
we also support "jud"