Middle East turmoil: JuD protests against Gaza attacks

The protest ended with what is now a ritual burning of American and Israeli flags.

KARACHI: Over a 100 supporters of the Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) on Monday condemned Israel’s attack on Gaza. The protest, outside the Karachi Press Club, ended with what is now a ritual burning of American and Israeli flags. The JuD also announced that it would organise a “peace march” in the city after Ashura, but did not provide any further details. JuD Karachi chief Engineer Naveed Qamar and others criticised the United States and expressed their support for the people of Palestine. Qamar added that if the government allowed, then Hafiz Saeed and the JuD will provide humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, and alleged that apart from Egypt and Turkey, no Muslim country had provided aid to the residents of Gaza. The JuD leader also claimed that violent attacks in the city were part of a “conspiracy” to destabilise Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2012.