Thousands of enraged people took to the streets across the country on Sunday, burning an effigy of US President Barack Obama and setting fire to US flags in protest against NATO air strikes on military posts on Saturday that killed 24 soldiers.
Thousands gathered outside the US consulate in Karachi to protest against the NATO cross-border air attack. A Reuters reporter at the scene said the angry crowd shouted “Down with America”. One young man climbed on the wall surrounding the heavily fortified compound and attached a Pakistani flag on barbed wire, as riot police looked on.
The rallies were organised by opposition and right-wing religious parties in major cities of the country. Outside the press club in Karachi, dozens of political activists burnt an effigy of President Obama.
In Multan, more than 300 activists loyal to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif, as well as local traders, took to the streets and burned US and NATO flags.
They carried placards and banners, and shouted slogans against the US and NATO. Speaking at the rally, PML-N lawmaker Javed Hashmi demanded that the government end its alliance in the US-led “war on terror”.
In Islamabad, at least 200 activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) held a rally in the I-10 neighbourhood. “We strongly condemn the attack and the killing of our soldiers,” local JI chief Mian Aslam told the rally, as protestors chanted “Pakistan is America’s graveyard”.
Tribesmen in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) also strongly condemned the attack and demanded the government give a befitting reply to the allied forces in Afghanistan for breaching its sovereignty.
Tribesmen in Miranshah and other parts of North Waziristan also condemned the NATO attack and demanded the government stop military operations in the tribal areas.
In Sialkot, hundreds of JI and Shabab-e-Milli activists staged a protest demonstration at Allama Iqbal Chowk and rallied against the attacks. They carried banners and placards and wore black armbands. They burnt the American flag and chanted anti-US slogans.
In Mandi Bahauddin, journalists staged a rally led by Nazir Bosal, president of the District Press Club, to condemn the NATO attack. Participants were carrying placards with slogans asking the government to extricate the Pakistani armed forces from the US-led war in Afghanistan.
Stop the NATO death transports. but also shoot down all Obama child killing drones.. Pakistan has an air force, they should use it. It's perfectly within Pakistan's rights to do so, since these drones and transports are clear violations of sovereign terroritory, Also Pakistan must stop accepting US bribes, they do Pakistan no good and will end up with Pakistan destroyed, the fate of all who befriend the US. As a long term solution Pakistan should enter into trade and defense pacts with Afghanistan, Turkey, Russia and China.. and work with Afghanistan to boot out all traces of the illegal western occupiers. The US/NATO are enemies of anybody who wants peace and prosperity.
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