“Today, we have gathered here to raise a voice of protest against US intervention in Pakistan,” DPC Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq told the participants who had gathered at Aabpara Chowk in the federal capital on Monday.
“America wants to break Pakistan into pieces,” Haq said, in reference to the resolution in America, introduced by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher which calls upon Pakistan to recognise the Baloch right to self determination. “Our protest is against the possible resumption of Nato supplies, US and Indian occupation and to strengthen the country’s defence.”
The alliance, which comprises 40 religious groups and parties including conservative right-wing party Jamaat-i-Islami and UN-sanctioned Jamaatud Dawa, was formed after a Nato strike on Salala Checkpost in Mohmand killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
Also present at the rally was DPC member Hamid Gul, who headed Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency during the 1980s Pakistani-sponsored war against Soviet troops in Afghanistan that gave rise to al Qaeda and the Taliban.
His membership has fuelled suspicions that Pakistan’s security establishment is backing the coalition as a means of exerting pressure on the weak government and whipping up rhetoric against the unpopular US alliance.
However, three prominent leaders JuD head Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Maulana Ahmed Ludhianwi and Dr Khadim Hussain Dhillon did not participate in the sit-in.
The decision was taken by the DPC leadership to avoid any clash with the government as the administration had imposed a ban on the entry of these three leaders in Islamabad for seven days, said Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamat spokesperson Ubaidullah Usmani.
“Hafiz Muhammad Saeed will not come to Islamabad to avoid confrontation with the government and will not attend the rally,” Yahya Mujahid, a spokesman for JuD, also told AFP.
The council has been able to attract large crowds in its recent rallies. Allah Buksh, a senior police official, said 2,500 attended the Monday demonstration as it got underway, but witnesses estimated the crowd at 3,500 as hundreds of riot police, armed with batons and wearing bullet-proof jackets stood guard.
The sit-in will continue till dusk, sources said.
Anti-America slogans
“Death to America” and “America deserves one treatment: jihad, jihad” shouted the crowd.
“America can never be our friend, it is our biggest enemy. America will be defeated in Afghanistan and divided into pieces,” Mian Aslam, a former JI lawmaker said in his address to the rally.
Banners strung up in Islamabad denounced US drone strikes on militants, the government’s decision to grant India the Most-Favoured Nation status in a bid to ease trade, and re-opening the Afghan border to Nato convoys.
“Go America Go”, “No to NATO”, “Arrogant Americans – others are also human beings” and “the chains of slavery will now break up”, they read.
“The friend of the US is a traitor”, “the friend of (Pakistani President Asif Ali) Zardari is a traitor” and “the friend of (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai is a traitor”, shouted the crowd.
Jamaatud Dawa representation
Maulana Abdul Rehman Makki and Maulana Ameer Hamza will participate on behalf of Hafiz Saeed, while ASWJ central secretary information Maulana Aurangzeb Farooqi and ASWJ vice-president Punjab Maulana Maavia Tariq will represent the banned ASWJ leaders Ludhianwi and Dhillon.
ASWJ’s rally took off today from the Markaz ASWJ and headed towards Aabpara Chowk in Islamabad to participate in the sit-in, Usmani further said.
He said that Maulana Aurangzeb Faruqi will lead the rally.
On Sunday, Muhammad Saeed and Ludhianwi reached Rawalpindi to participate in the Sarbarahi Ijlas, and rumours had it that the leaders would also breach the ban to participate in the sit-in today.
However, the top leadership of the DPC decided in a meeting to abide by the administration’s orders and not take the three banned leaders along.
The rally of Jamat-e-Islami (JI), led by Rawalpindi chapter chief Dr Kamal Ameer, also took off to Aabpara Chowk from Liaqat Bagh Rawalpindi. Other party leaders, along with more than 2,000 activists of ASWJ, gathered in the office of ASWJ to participate in the sit-in, said Usmani.
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Dear Ubaid,
The anger is clearly evident from your response, and it is easy to see that you are willing to overlook the atrocities of real terrorists like the TTP in favor of blaming the U.S. It is no secret that these terrorists have already killed thousands of civilians and regularly wage attacks against our forces in their bid to spread fear and chaos. The person (OBL) you mention above was the mastermind behind the planning of attacks on 9/11. His terrorist organization (Al-Qaeda) is responsible for conducting terrorist activities throughout the world. Did we not witness a surge in attacks throughout Pakistan right after he was killed? It’s because these terrorists have no regard for human lives, and killing innocents reflects their mentality and ideology. The hard work of the U.S and NATO toppled their reign, and made it possible for Afghanistan to gain independence. And let’s not forget that the U.S. had the help and support of many other Muslim nations in fulfilling that mission. We have a common stance and wish to see the region free and clear of terrorism. We also have common enemies who wish to see us part ways for the sake of achieving their evil objectives. Our failure to focus on our common goals could only shift the balance in favor of these real terrorists who continue to harm and kill the innocent people of the region.
@bigsaf: I agree. good post.
@Noor:
Hafiz Saeed also prayed Jannazah for Osama Bin Laden. Did that represent the feelings of 99% non-VIP Pakistanis as well? How about his support for the Mumbai attacks?
Amazing how some DeP supporters ignore this fact when trying to deny OBL's existence on Pak soil, yet their 'role model' clearly has no qualms about the fact and openly showed support and respect for the Al Qaeda terrorist leader (or CIA operative depending on your deranged conspiracy).
@Akhtar:
I shudder to think what that 'cleansing' or 'revolution' entails. Is the promised delivery a Mumbai attack on non-Sunnis? Hate to make Nazi comparisons to Imran Khan like most of his critics, but can't help it. Note his fans' support for notorious Wahhabi/Salafi/Deoband/Sunni religious, sectarian bigots, extremists and terrorists in the DeP. While IK's PR campaign may deny his involvement (later he would ask what's so wrong with DeP?), the VP of TeIP, Ejaz Chaudry, is a participant. However, the TeIP do not have monopoly, as even some PML-N politicians and supporters, ex-PMLQ pro-military politicians Sheikh Rashid, Ijaz-ul-Haq, religious party JI chief Munawar Hasan and ex-ISI boss Hamid Gul are for the Taliban like hate fest. Scary how the Pak army looks on in approval.
At the end, Shia Muslims, Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus, etc will be cleansed along with the few remaining liberal and moderate Sunnis, due to a growing radicalized state and paranoid conservative majority institutionalizing vicious bigotry and twisted nationalist ideology.
@Ali wali: @PakArmySoldier: They are terrorist according to US. And according to US, Aafia Siddique was also a terrorist, 24 soldiers at Salala Post were terrorist, 2 civilians killed by Raymon Davis were terrorist as well. Do you really think that Paki-government banned these organisations by themselves? They did this because of US pressure! As far as your suggestion is concerned, Islam don't allow a person to make laws/constitutions that's why they call democracy "Kufar" and "Shirk" so they don't take part in it as this is forbidden in Islam. @PakArmySoldier: I can bet you are not from Pak-Army. You don't even know about internal matters of army. JuD have full support of ISI behind them. Even Pak-Army give them weapons to fight against Indian army in Kashmir and against NATO forces in Afghanistan. Ex-ISI Chief Gen. Hameed Gull used to attend JuD's Jalsa's. Neither I'm advocating JuD nor I'm conceptually agree to them, just find out the reasons what make them do this. Don't blame them, do ponder on it!
@Purede51: @Noor: You are so right!! USA must be shaking by now at the might of most powerful and strongest muslim country:- Pakistan!! The Difa lions are roaring so hard, that World is shaking!! afterall , all these groups are terrorists and jihadis and will conquer the world!! these Difa lions must firstly, try and conquer any muslim country that has oil so that Pakistan can get over its cash cruch and power situation. Secondly, it must "Crush" Amrika and take over their wealth! How lucky that pakistan is blessed by having organisations such Difa!!!!!
We are DOOMED!
From economy to ideology, US has tried its best to destabilize Pakistan.
It feels scared from the strongest Islamic country, as declared by Israeli PM in 1948.
Whenever people of Pakistan get confident in its Election system & come out to vote, they'll definitely vote for pro-Islamic powers, but
US will reject those elections being out of US scope.
Hafiz Saeed & Co represent the true feelings of 99% non-VIP Pakistanis.
We want Allah's laws, that are not against any particular person or state, but the system will only function in the interest of people, with that.
There are two groups of Pakistani conservatives. The first group is trying to come to power in Pakistan and is disingenously calling for implementation of the Sharia as a means of whipping up support among the masses. This group is only interested in establishing an intolerant fascist state. The second group is comprised of the naive fools who have been duped into supporting the first group.
Difa-e-Pakistan = the lowest of the lowlifes, and it's how it gets most of its support Religious groups, by claiming the religion as what their party represents also means they're saying that if you don't follow them, you're not following the religion or doing it the wrong way. Not only that, but also they imply that you're not only not following it the right way, you're also against it.
Good way to play on peoples insecurities to get what you want. Like I said. Lowlifes. It doesn't get much worse in the world of manipulation.
@Ubaid: it's Pakistan !.
@kaalchakra: HAHAHA, Pakistani Army can't even deploy to North Waziristan to take on local and foreign militants, but can travel half way round the world to defeat AMERIKA!!! By the way, tell us again how Pakistan WON the last 4 wars with INDIA because of "dedication, faith, unity, and focus... of Pakistani People!
I love Difa-e-Pakistan leadership doing a great job Allah will help these lions of Pak land. We Pakistanis need to join hands with these patriots regardless of some of the leaders affiliations with Jihadi groups afterall these people abide by the rule when they gather for rallys. Protecting Pakistan is the main goal right now as EVIL POWERS are trying to exploit Baloch anti-state sentiments to cut Balochistan off main land to serve their purpose & we Pakistanis can not let this happen we need to go careful here...
@Rationalist: Do you know what you are writing. Which sectarianism I talked about.
They are presenting resolution in the Congress, and talking about right of self determination of Balochistan avoiding people of Kashmire and their rights,by this act they are proved that are bias in their policies.
@jaem: It is wrong,absolutely wrong, they are not terrorists,they are loyal persons who believe in integrity,solidarity and stability of the country Pakistan.
What they were doing,what they were saying,they were raising their voice against the intervention of some powers who want to destabilize Pakistan and also are involved in the conspiracies being hatched by them.
As for as my considered opinion is concerned,some people who use the word terrorism or terrorists they need to revisit the English dictionary.
they are talking about the safety of the state,they are warning those who by their policies want to dismemberment of Balochistani province,which formally representation in the center and in the province.
In fact, some concerned quarters ,interested in the natural wealth of the province have desire to occupy the golden land of Balochistan. Nationalist and the Islamist let them to become snag in the way of those wanted to destabilize our home land,let them to chant slogans and expose their real face to the world.
Some people say that no matter how unjust America is to Pakistan, no matter how much or how often America betrays Pakistani people, no matter how much America keeps Pakistan fighting against its own people, America cannot be defeated because it is too strong.
That is a wrong and cowardly way of thinking. When God is with you, miracles always happen. Great armies, we all know, have been routed by a few lightly armed men of God in the past. With dedication, with faith, unity, and focus, Pakistani people can defeat America.
People have some sense.America is ten thousand times more advanced and developed than Pakistan. Your slogans are good for nothing
@Rationalist: Why they do not do Jihad themselves instead of inciting gullibles! These are known terrorists who spread hate to gain power and control, ask them to fight elections from this platform and we can gauge their popularity.
If this is Jihad why not pay them full time and make them regular army. Get rid of current army on golden hand shake. Their performance has been terrible since 1947.
@ayesha Khan thanx for bringing to note some of the info that I missed. However the f-16s were not free of cost, these are jets we paid for in full in the 90's which are now being delivered 15-16 years too late. The kind of aid that we get from US is for the purposes of arm twisting, is insincere and creates more problems than it solves. Even Egypt is on the brink of rejecting US aid.
@faraz:
JUD has always raised their voice for pro pakistan and they are working on hundreds of projects for betterment of pakistan. This is true voice of people and i am very happy to see this alliance.There is no other way to stop this destruction but to support them.
One can only hope this gets wide viewing in the US. "Death to America" is a sure winner for establishing better relationships between the US and PAK. Then again maybe PAK does not want to have a godd relationship with the US. It sure seems to be the case given the actions of PAK.
@Anon: "even the aid has now been cut off. "
No. The aid continues. It is just the coaliation support fund that has been held back because Pakistan has ceased to support NATO forces. Just yesterday Tribune reported that 16 F-16 were received by Pak airforce free of cost. This is aid without which Pak army cannot afford its constant hawkish stance towards India.
@sohaib: "If you Indians or your sympathizers have any proof against Hafiz saeed then bring it to the court of law and prove it!"
Your laws of evidence and conviction rates are so poor that your own ISI does not trust your court system to punish terrorists and takes unilateral action. So yes India has provided a lot of evidence but the weak laws of evidence have made it inadmissible in Pak, This is different from Pakistanis who claim that India has 19 consulates in Afghanistan but would be hard pressed to name even 5. The standard of evidence used for claiming that India is supporting TTP (no evidence needed) versus evidence needed to say something about HAfiz Saeed ( conviction in Lahore high court which is impossible to obtain for even people who have attacked GHQ) are very different.
@Syed Shah: Keep your sectarian issues aside please. This is not a sectarian war, its all about the protection of our sovereignty... I know why you are claiming JuD a terrorist organisation. But actually they are not. They believe in Jehaad. (A divine order from ALLAH to all Muslim Ummah) But Pakistan's constitution/law is not a divine constitution. They make laws in parliament according to American dictation. America feels threat from TRUE MUSLIMS only. That's why they call them terrorist and trying to bash the TRUE MUSLIMS throughout the world. You better read the history, conspiracy theories and I'll recommend you to read any daily paper as well. For your kind information watch this video. http://youtu.be/GARE6NcxdcY Thanks.
I would appreciate if Difa e Pakistan council conduct a rally in Kalat.
Why hasnt ur president or PM condemned the USA resolution?? You need to topple this govt or say goodbye to balochistan, kashmir n FATA. You will have nothing left!
i wonder how people prejudice about hafiz saeed of being involved in killing etc,i mean he may does not know how to operate a mobile,he is a simple man and with true words
Now they are no more terrorists because all those used them stand retired and all those funded are no more our favourites/ally.
@pakistanibaloch: Hafiz Zaeed is such a nice & innocent person that he will make Americas job easier in Baloochistan
Thanks to Difa-e-Pakistan on being mild on India but focusing harshly on US, Pakistan and Afghanistan leadership.
Truly disturbing to see the level of extremism in pakistan. these same bigots were against the very creation of my beloved pakistan and now they pretend to care about it ! furthermore whil most pakistanis struggle to make ends meet these maulanas live in palaces there childre study/live in the US. They drive around in imported luxury 4x4s. And we pakistanis praise them for there supposed anti US stance. Yes we should condemn american atrocities in the name of WOT but in the name of god stop looking towards these zealots for a solution to our ills. The real solution lies in ourselves and tolerance/love for our neighbours.
They made billions during the dollar jihad, now they fear their business will come to an end. Imagine the mindset of a nation that cheers these mullahs who exploit religion, recruit children from poor families and have them killed in foreign lands. Hypocrisy is the hallmark of our middle class
Hard to understand how some of you can claim these people are peaceful and law abiding when they chant "death to America." and call for jihad against America. How can that possibly be considered peaceful and law abiding?
@jawad: do you have evidence against these patriots, if yes then first prove.
True Pakistani: blame? what do you mean by blame? Do you have any doubts that these people belonging to banned outfits are responsible for the killings of many civilians in Pakistan?
@True Pakistani: Patriots....what respect have they brought to Pakistan!!! all of them are alive (only asking other to die) and weighing thrice the normal human (asking others to sacrifice)......are you jocking!!!
Frankly it's a moronic ban applied solely because of US pressure but kudos to Hafiz Saeed and others for not attending the rally.
@Syed Shah: its easy to blame one
@Syed Shah: Prove, dont blame, dont believe over blame game.
@zehra Pakistan would have turned into Afghanistan long time ago if it wasn't for these crazies. We cooperated with US for what? constant nagging? Raymond Davis? threats from US? drone attacks that kill innocents? even the aid has now been cut off. Instead US has been chumming up to India, despite the fact that it is Pakistan that has sacrificed soliders , economy, bases and security in the last WoT. I dont even agree with DPC but what is happening is a very natural reaction to the way US has treated us for the last 10 years.
Somebody rightly termed the movement as "Destroy Pakistan Council"....and its shame for us a nation that these extremists who are involved in killing the innocent people in and around Pakistan are getting are holding such kind of rallies and the government is unable to do anything to stop them...I have been seeing the JuD (cover name for LeT) operating very freely in Pakistan by changing names every now and then and our (--------) agencies openly support their operations...
this is true Muslim @jaem:
@True Pakistani: Nonsense rubbish. They are the cause of thousands of deaths and ransom and you call them patriots. Do patriots break the law? Catch them, try them, dispossess them of their arms and hang them at the nearest lamp post.
There is a huge support for Sunni Groups in Pakistan! & when Saeed saab promises he never fails to deliver! Even imran khan is a major supporter of JuD. He'll bring the Islamic revolution & cleanse Pakistan. The day he breaks the shackles of establishment, things will really change!
When government failed to deliver then these type of forces come out to gain the support of public The rise of these forces mean failure of democracy.
Question came to my mind what would happen if these people actually came to power in Pakistan and were running the country?
@wth!!!!!!!!!!!!: God, why these indians are so lame
True Muslims, but detracked! And those who says that a person or an organisation shouldn't take the state matters in their hands, they should ponder upon it that if government is about to sell the sovereignty and even whole country then what should be the public's stance? Should they just wait and watch whats going on until they die?? @Jaem: Just imagine once that if your family were killed in a drone attack then what would be your reaction? Would you wait for the government's take on this? Or you'll just say like our government that "We condemn this!" ???
There should be zero tolerance for lawlessness, corruption and terrorism while having 100% tolerance on religious differences. Why should people do the job of the military? They are getting paid for it. They better perform. Are they there only to take salaries and enjoy perks while the poor man with emotions and commitment die? Enough is enough there is not place in the constitution of any militias. All such outfits are extra-constitutional. They must all be disbanded. Now.
And for God's sake stop playing the victim. You are getting paid handsomely for whatever you are doing for America. Don't do it. As simple as that. That will be good for our self respect and good for all of us in the long run. We will learn to be self reliant. Our economy will improve. But for that we need law and order and for that we need to disband all law disturbing outfits. Period.
@pakistanibaloch: The ones that see him when he's not don't live to tell the tale.
@pakistanibaloch:
What is killings of a few people in Bombay attacks between friends. Right?
Oh dear, Amreeca has become an impending disaster for Pakistan just before the elections again! Ijaz-ul-Haq is our best bet because his father (Zia-ul-Haq) was chums with Amreeca and they would surely listen to him. Vote for DPC before they disperse into several violent off-shoots and find someone else to pin the troubles of Islam/Pakistan unto only to come back again 'united' before the next elections.
Our agencies are supporting such gatherings for sure.
it is really worng and sad to see them freely conducting rallies. what is more unfortunate is their following, if it goes on this way pakistan will be a scond afghanistan very soon.
Not a lot of comments here...wonder why. Can't complain about the 'terrorists' when they're obeying the government's orders, respecting the law, abiding by the ban, arghh how dare they not do something rash and stupid so we could all pounce on them!
hafiz saeed is good and polite person...
@jaem: I m a neighbor of Hafiz saeed in lhr, more than 30 policemen are assigned for the protection of Hafiz sb frequently Gov/political officials come and meet him and i have closely observed Jamat ud dawa, these people are harmless and are running biggest charity projects within the country for the welfare of people and even Gov knows that he is not dangerous, this ban is result of external Pressure on Gov. only, and liberals who are making sense of nonsense are labeling him a terrorist, its very sad to hear such pathetic words against JUD and Hafiz saeed from our own people
@jaem: hafiz saeed you are great
May be they(cowards) thought America might drone strike them :)
Difa-e-Pakistan organized by true patriots. It should be promoted.
so sad to see terrorists are wandering in Islamabad without any fear, no writ of the govt even in Islamabad let alone rest of the country