Protests against NATO enter 6th consecutive day

For the sixth consecutive day, thousands of people came out onto the streets across the country on Friday to register their protest against the unprovoked NATO attacks in Mohmand Agency that resulted in the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers last Saturday. Protest rallies were held in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sargodha, and various other cities and towns across the country. In Lahore, people rallied to the call of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) as khateebs, in their Friday sermons, condemned the NATO aggression. JI and other religious parties’ leaders told protesters that a resolute stand against the aggressors was needed. In Rawalpindi, a big rally was staged outside the press club, which was addressed by JI Secretary General Liaqat Baloch. He said this was NATO’s 14th attack inside Pakistani territory and the government had been deceiving the nation so far because drones had been taking off from the Shamsi and Shahbaz airbases to attack Pakistanis. The rally staged at Islamabad was led by JI Islamabad chief Mian Muhammad Aslam, while JI Punjab chief Dr Syed Waseem Akhtar led the rally in Multan. In Peshawar, a protest rally began at the historic Masjid Mahabat Khan led by Prof Muhammad Ibrahim. A protest demonstration was also held in Karak by religious parties after Friday prayers, demanding the government exit the US-led coalition against terrorism. The rally was led by incumbent and former MNAs Mufti Muhammad Ajmal and Shah Abdul Aziz. A JI protest rally was also held in Dera Murad Jamali led by leaders from the local party office. The participants held banners inscribed with slogans against the US and NATO forces. In Faisalabad, the JI staged peaceful protest demonstrations in which a large number of people participated. JI Faisalabad chief Azeem Randhawa, who led the demonstrators, hailed the steps taken by the government in the aftermath of the NATO attack. Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court Bar Association announced a protest rally for December 8, to be organised by various civil society organisations and unions.