The Lahore to Islamabad long march by Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) against the resumption of NATO supplies set off for its destination with thousands of anti-US activists in a massive convoy of vehicles on Sunday.
“This is the beginning of our struggle. We want the USA to not only leave Afghanistan, but Pakistan also,” Maulana Samiul Haq said in Lahore before the convoy set off. “This movement will continue until the government severs all contacts with United States and NATO,” Haq said. “Some 25,000 people have joined us at the start of the long march and many more would join on the way, while we have 3,000 people with us who are performing security duties,” a spokesman for the organizers, Yahya Mujahid, told AFP. Police, however, estimated up to 8,000 people were taking part. Many demonstrators rode on tops of buses, waving party flags and shouting slogans against the US and NATO. “One solution for America, jihad, jihad!” they shouted. The rally made a brief stop at Gujranwala, where it was given a warm welcome by the people of the district.
Addressed locals, hundreds of who joined the long march towards Islamabad, DPC Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq told the gathering that the march’s destination would prove “Al Tahreer Square” from where change would spread all across the country. He said, “We have come out to free the country from foreign clutches. The corrupt government has sold this nation for their own personal benefits and drones continue to kill innocent Muslims.” Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sayyed Munawar Hassan said the reopening of NATO supplies routes was a violation of the parliamentary resolution approved with the consent of all parties. He said the long march was actually a “Save Pakistan March” and people should join hands to free the masses from slavery, as corrupt rulers had sold the nation to secure their own rule. Hassan said drone attacks were acts of terrorism, but the corrupt rulers had approved these attacks and were in fact the real culprits. “Our long march will prove fruitful by the grace of God and this Muslim nation will be free from all foreign clutches,” he said.
Awami National Party Chairman Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said the march would wash away corrupt rulers and they would not retreat unless the NATO supply routes were shut down. “We cannot allow our soil to be used for any act of oppression. The government cannot stop the long march, rather the government will be abolished by it. If not, I will resign from politics,” he said.
Pakistan reopened land routes for NATO convoys on Tuesday after keeping them shut for almost eight months to protest a US air raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November. Earlier in the day, thousands of people joined a convoy of buses, trucks and cars – many carrying the black and white striped flags of DPC – in Lahore. The DPC has attracted large turnouts at recent rallies across the country, which some see as a build up to the formation of a political party to contest the next general election, widely expected within the next year. The convoy is scheduled to reach Islamabad by Monday evening. Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, founder of the Islamist group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba blamed for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, urged Pakistanis to join the protest. “All people who believe that the US should leave Afghanistan and Pakistan should come out of their homes and join us,” he said. “Our aim is not just withdrawal of US from Afghanistan, but US stooges and slaves in Pakistan should also leave.” Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik said an elaborate security plan had been put in place for the security of the protestors. “They are patriotic Pakistanis and they want to register their protest and we have given permission to them to do it peacefully,” Malik said.
DPC long march against NATO supplies sets off for capital
