ISLAMABAD – Thousands of supporters of Pakistan’s main religious political party demonstrated in the capital, Islamabad, on Sunday against Israeli bombings against Palestinians in Gaza, chanting anti-American slogans and accusing the United States of “backing the aggressor.”
The Jamaat-e-Islami party initially announced a march to the US embassy in the city’s high-security diplomatic enclave.
But harsh action by the authorities the night before forced the party to change its plans and hold the demonstration on a main street away from the protected enclave.
Police demolished party camps on Saturday night and detained local leaders and dozens of supporters.
Due to the Jamaat-e-Islami plan and the risk of violence, the US Embassy issued an advisory to US citizens living in and around Islamabad to “limit unnecessary travel on Sunday.”
He advised them to avoid large public gatherings, exercise caution if they found themselves unexpectedly near a large gathering or demonstration, and review personal safety plans.
Supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami party at a rally to protest Israeli airstrikes on Gaza in Islamabad on October 29, 2023. Photo by AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images A woman holding a sign calling for a ceasefire in Gaza . Photo by AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images
Jamaat-e-Islami supporters, including women and children, marched several kilometers to reach the agreed protest location.
They carried banners and posters with slogans opposing Israel and the United States and supporting the Palestinians.
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“Merely sending medicines and relief items is not enough, nor is it the only duty of the world, particularly of the Muslim rulers, but staying the hand of the aggressor is the real task of the world,” party leader Sirajul Haq said.
He urged the leaders of the Muslim world to rise up for Gaza and trust in God instead of remaining slaves to the United States.
Supporters of the religious party Jamat-e-Islami holding toy weapons at the demonstration in support of the Palestinians. AP Photo/WK Yousafzai Supporters of a religious party Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Pakistan protest the Israeli attacks on Gaza by carrying fake corpses.AP Photo/WK Yousafzai Children participating in the Islamabad demonstration.AP Photo/WK Yousafzai
Jamaat-e-Islami will continue to raise its voice for the Palestinians until they liberate their land, he said.
Another religious party, Jamiat Ulema Islam, held a mass rally in the southwestern city of Quetta, where its leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman expressed solidarity and support for Gazans.
Also on Sunday, Aurat March, a women’s advocacy group, held protests in several Pakistani cities against a government policy to arrest and deport all foreigners found living in the country illegally after Oct. 31, including at least 2 million Afghans.
An Aurat March rally in Karachi in support of Afghan migrants in Pakistan on October 29, 2023. AP Photo/Fareed Khan People holding signs asking Pakistan to stop deporting refugees from Afghanistan. AP Photo/WK Yousafzai
Supporters of the Aurat March gathered in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Multan to support Afghans facing the threat of deportation.
Pakistani authorities have repeatedly said that their campaign is not specifically aimed at Afghans, but only at those undocumented or unregistered immigrants.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn