Shias in New York protest against 'genocide' in Pakistan
The '10,000 Souls March' started at the United Nations and ended at the Consultate of Pakistan.
NEW YORK,:
More than 1,000 Shias marched in the streets of New York on Friday to voice their anger at the Pakistani government and the Taliban for what they called a "genocide" in their community.
"This demonstration is to condemn the violence of the Taliban, al Qaeda and all these extremists in Islam," said one 21-year-old US protester of Pakistani descent, who would only give his name as Komal.
"They are not considered Muslims, because they are doing what the Quran is against," he said.
The march - in which many women and children participated - started outside the UN headquarters and wrapped up at the Pakistani consulate.
Demonstrators carried signs bearing slogans such as "Stop the violence. We are people of peace" and "Pakistani Shias have the right to live."
A press release issued by the Consulate of Pakistan expressed solidarity with the Shia community and said that protecting and promoting the fundamental rights of all citizens of Pakistan regardless of their religion or ethnicity was a sacred mission of the democratically elected Government of Pakistan.
The embassy also assured the protesters that the petition of the "10,000 Souls March" would be transmitted to the concerned authorities in the country.
Last month, a bomb attack claimed by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on a Shia procession killed eight and wounded 30 others as the community marked their holiest day of Ashura.
The blast followed another suicide attack - also claimed by the TTP - that killed 23 people at a Shia procession in Rawalpindi, the country's deadliest bombing for five months.
More than 1,000 Shias marched in the streets of New York on Friday to voice their anger at the Pakistani government and the Taliban for what they called a "genocide" in their community.
"This demonstration is to condemn the violence of the Taliban, al Qaeda and all these extremists in Islam," said one 21-year-old US protester of Pakistani descent, who would only give his name as Komal.
"They are not considered Muslims, because they are doing what the Quran is against," he said.
The march - in which many women and children participated - started outside the UN headquarters and wrapped up at the Pakistani consulate.
Demonstrators carried signs bearing slogans such as "Stop the violence. We are people of peace" and "Pakistani Shias have the right to live."
A press release issued by the Consulate of Pakistan expressed solidarity with the Shia community and said that protecting and promoting the fundamental rights of all citizens of Pakistan regardless of their religion or ethnicity was a sacred mission of the democratically elected Government of Pakistan.
The embassy also assured the protesters that the petition of the "10,000 Souls March" would be transmitted to the concerned authorities in the country.
Last month, a bomb attack claimed by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on a Shia procession killed eight and wounded 30 others as the community marked their holiest day of Ashura.
The blast followed another suicide attack - also claimed by the TTP - that killed 23 people at a Shia procession in Rawalpindi, the country's deadliest bombing for five months.