ISLAMABAD/LAHORE/KARACHI – Thousands of people took to the streets across the country on Friday to protest a US drone strike that killed 44 people this week and the release of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) contractor Raymond Davis, who had been held for murdering two Pakistanis in Lahore on January 27.
Security was tight and the US embassy in Islamabad and its consulates in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar were closed in anticipation of public anger, but fears of violence proved unfounded with fewer demonstrators than expected. Residents of Islamabad witness a rare show of solidarity on Friday however as civil society activists, right-wing and centre-right political parties protested together against the government’s facilitation of the Davis’ release.
Speaking to a crowd gathered outside Lal Masjid, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan condemned the federal and Punjab government for providing “safe passage” to Davis. The PTI leader warned the government that if there was even a single drone strike in future on Pakistani citizens, the PTI would bring people out onto the streets across the country to “topple the government” that had failed to protect the lives of its people.
Workers of the PTI, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) marched alongside civil society members from Lal Masjid to Aabpara Chowk in a throng of some 3,000 people. The rally was led by Khan and former JI parliamentarian Mian Aslam. Police and protesters clashed at Aapara Market when police tried and failed to stop the protesters from marching towards Parliament House with a baton-charge.
PTI leaders, however, kept the protesters from heading towards Parliament House because Aabpara Chowk was the scheduled place for the protest. More than 1,500 people rallied in Lahore, including demonstrators from JI, PTI and the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa. They reportedly burned US flags, chanting “Go America, go” and “Go Zardari, go”.
Protesters marched from Masjid-e-Shuhada to the Punjab Assembly after Friday prayers, where citizens and activists of religious parties joined them. Security personnel lined the road and shops on The Mall remained closed. Students of the Punjab University, under the aegis of the Islami Jamiat-e-Tulaba, also staged a demonstration at New Campus after Friday prayers.
JI chief Munawar Hassan accused intelligence agencies of reaching a deal with the CIA for Davis’ freedom. “(Our) rulers were fully part of the deal that led to Davis’ release,” he said. JI, Sunni Ittehad Council, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Maulana Samiul Haq and student bodies organised protest rallies in various parts of Karachi and partial strikes were observed in Bolton Market, Kharadar, Meethadar, Lee Market, Jauna Market, Nanak Wara, Eidgah, Rancholine.
Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat, Shabab-e-Milli, PTI and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and student organisations also staged protest demonstrations outside Quetta Press Club. Protesters held placards and banners inscribed with various demands and shouted slogans against the government and the US. Around 400 people chanted slogans against the US and Pakistan government in Multan, charging the rulers with “bartering the national honour for their own luxuries”, witnesses said.
In Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district where recent drone attacks have been concentrated, more than 1,000 tribesmen called for an immediate end to drone strikes and compensation to victims’ families. They shouted “Death to America” and “Recall our ambassador to America”, while local cleric Maulvi Mohammad Rooman, who led the rally, condemned the latest drone attack, calling it “intolerable”.
