Massive MMA Rally Flays Iraq War

KARACHI: A mammoth rally of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) here on Sunday declared that attack on Iraq would be considered as an attack on the Muslim world and warned that the people would remove the present government if it did not oppose the US resolution in the United Nations Security Council.

Emotionally-charged participants of the rally, which also included a number of women, endorsed demands of the leaders by raising their hands expressing that the nation would not accept a neutral stand of Gen Musharraf's government in the UN Security Council and it must vote against the American resolution.

They also demanded of the members of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to unite against the possible American war as it was not against Iraq but Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan would be the next target of the Zionists.

The participants, carrying banners, placards, MMA flags and posters of Saddam Hussein, raised slogans against the US and for Islamic revolution, marched from Mazar-e-Quaid to Tibet Centre at MA Jinnah Road, where central leaders of the alliance addressed them. The city administration had taken strict security arrangements and vehicular traffic was diverted from the road to other streets. Many other processions of the MMA and other political parties participating in the 'Million March' had also reached the venue from different areas of the city.

Addressing the rally, the MMA chief Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani demanded of the National Assembly and the Senate to press the rulers not to allow the US to use Pakistan's soil against Iraq. Appreciating Turkish parliament's stand, the MMA chief also demanded that all logistic facilities provided to the USA should be withdrawn. "This biggest rally is a message to Iraqi President Saddam Hussain that he is not alone in this crisis and the people of Pakistan and the Ummah stand with him," he said adding that rallies would be taken out in all the cities of the country to condemn the US.

Amir Jamaat-e-Islami Qazi Husain Ahmad, while claiming that 3.5 million people participated in the rally, announced that people of the Punjab would also show the same sprit at the rally in Rawalpindi on March 9. He said rallies would also be held in Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta, where millions of people would participate.

Qazi said the rally in Karachi was a clear message to the Zionists and their agents that the Muslims were united against war and wanted peace. "Jihad is a war against terrorism," he said and pointed out that Muslims were being targeted in Kashmir, Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, the Philippines, Chechnya, Bosnia and in other countries. The JI chief held that the US would also ask Pakistan to destroy its nuclear programme.

The JUI chief and Secretary-General MMA Maulana Fazlur Rahman said the protests staged all over the world proved that the US was the enemy of peace and wanted war against Iraq to capture its oil reservoirs. Fazl said the protest all over the world, even in the US and the UK, Belgium, Germany, France, against the possible US aggression against Iraq, have proved that Washington was now isolated in the world mainly due to wrong policies of President Bush. Fazl labelled the US president a terrorist, saying he (Bush) earned a bad name for the US and is pushing the people of his country towards a crisis and advised him to avoid war in the interest of world peace.

The MMA leader also criticised President Musharraf's policies, saying 140 million people of Pakistan disapprove his foreign policy. "People of Pakistan demand of President Musharraf to respect sentiments of the people and oppose the US resolution against Iraq in Security Council," he added. Fazl warned that people would remove the rulers if the policy was not changed.

Chief of the JUI Senator Maulana Sami-ul-Haq demanded of the government to oppose the US resolution in the UN Security Council. He urged the Ummah to rise against the US as an Islamic duty to save a Muslim country. He called upon Turkey, the UAE, Qatar and other Muslim nations, who provided logistic facilities to the US forces, to withdraw their support in the interest of Islam. He also demanded of the government to get Pakistan's airbases vacated from the US forces.

Chief of National Democratic Party Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan hailed people for taking out a mammoth rally. He urged the people to press the rulers to change pro-American policy. Secretary-General Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Mairaj Muhammad Khan said the USA, the UK and Israel hold huge stocks of dangerous weapons but it was unjust that the UN Security Council was pressurising only Iraq to destroy its weapons. He said the UN secretary-general should adopt the same policy for Israel. All participants of the rally endorsed the demand by raising their hands and clapping when Mairaj called the nation to boycott all Americans and British products.

Allama Sajid Mir of Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadees declared that the struggle against the US would continue in all Muslim countries. The PML-N leader Imdad Chandio and others also spoke on the occasion while Secretary-General PML-QA Sindh Capt Haleem Siddiqi, Prof Ghafoor Ahmad, Munawwar Hasan, Hafiz Taqi, Dr Mairajul Huda and Hasan Turabi were also present on the stage.