LAHORE - Religious and right-wing parties on Sunday staged a mighty show of power to convey an unambiguous message to the West, and the Pakistani government to part ways with the United States-led war on terror.
Tens of thousands of charged people gathered to demand the rulers to immediately withdraw from the US-led war, saying participation in the war had ruined Pakistan and emboldened NATO for direct attacks on its army. They asked for permanently severing NATO supply lines, in addition to calling the nation to prepare for jihad in case the US invaded Pakistan. Leaders of religious parties, Islamic scholars and defence experts addressed the gathering, one of the biggest ever in the provincial capital. According to police, more than 70,000 people attended the Defence of Pakistan Conference organised by the Pakistan Defence Council (PDC) – a grouping of 30 political and religious parties formed after recent NATO strikes on Pakistani troops.
The conference was chaired by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) chief Maulana Samiul Haq. Other speakers included included Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Liaquat Baloch, former ISI chief General (r) Hameed Gul, Awami Muslim League President Sheikh Rasheed and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Senior Vice President Ijaz Chaudhry. They asked the government to honour its mandate and come out of Washington’s “war against Muslims” and ignore its pressure to award the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan’s archrival India. They said the massive attendance was a clear message that the Pakistani nation was fully prepared to fight if the US waged a war against it. They asked the participants to pledge that if NATO supply lines were restored, the entire nation would come out on the streets against the rulers. The PDC leaders also vowed to support the freedom struggle in Kashmir against the Indian occupation.
A message from nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan was also read out on the occasion. Several speakers condemned the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the JUI-Fazl without directly mentioning their names, saying they had proved that they were on the US’ side. Minority leaders representing the Sikh, Christian and Hindu communities were also present on the occasion to express solidarity against the US aggression.