Protestors belonging to the Anti-War Alliance demonstrated outside the Karachi Press Club on Saturday to condemn the brutal offensive launched against the people of Yemen by Saudi Arabia. As symbol to denote the widespread casualties of war, a few of the activists wore shrouds with the words ‘No to War’ inscribed on them.
The alliance comprising several leftist political parties including the National Students’ Federation Pakistan, Awami Jamhoori Mahaz, People’s Mazdoor Kisaan Party and International Socialists maintained that the uprising in Yemen was an internal conflict and Saudi Arabia had no right to further its national interests by waging a war against Yemenis.
The alliance which was formed after a meeting held in one of the parties’ offices had agreed upon the stance that the on-going war which was imposed on Yemeni people was the result of vested economic interests of the regional imperialist powers.
Protestors belonging to different walks of life chanted slogans against the governments of Saudi Arabia, United States, and other allied forces of the war. Demanding of the Pakistani government as well as the armed forces to refrain from getting involved in the war, they asked them to concentrate on the extremism rife in the country.
Awami Jamhoori Mahaz Secretary Hasan Ailya, while speaking at the protest, said the Saudi-led war was an attack on the sovereignty of Yemen.
“Why did Saudi Arabia and its Islamic allies never launched such an attack against Israel?” he asked while lamenting the dual policies of the Islamic countries.
NSF Pakistan Central Organiser Khurram Ali was of the opinion that after 9/11, specifically after America launched an attack on Iraq, the middle-eastern monarchs got insecure of each other leading to a massive destabilisation of the whole region.