PESHAWAR: Province-wide protest held against attacks
Bureau Report
PESHAWAR, Oct 8: Angry workers of various religious organizations on Monday torched the offices and three vehicles of two NGOs in Takhtbhai near Mardan as violent protests were held in many parts of the NWFP to condemn US attack on Afghanistan.
Police resorted to baton-charge and teargas shelling in Peshawar, Mardan and Takhtbhai to disperse workers of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and Jamaat-i-Islami.
The offices set ablaze were of the Women & Children Welfare Organization (WCWO), and Saalik Welfare Organization (SWO). The protesters came under heavy teargas shelling after they set on fire a community-based hospital and three vehicles of the SWO as well as the house of WCWO general secretary Zakia Rehman.
The loss of property in the two incidents was estimated to be in millions.
In all, five processions were taken out in Peshawar.
One person received injuries on his hand in a firecracker explosion at the Namak Mandi Chowk.
Police also resorted to aerial firing near Gharri Qamer Din on the outskirts of Peshawar to disperse a procession by the college students belonging to Jamiat Talaba-i-Islam, JUI’s student wing.
Besides, the government closed down all education institutions in the province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas indefinitely in addition to suspending the ongoing post-graduate examinations.
The decision followed a protest procession taken out on Sunday-Monday night by the students of the University of Peshawar and its affiliated institutions living in hostels.
The university administration served notices on the students, asking them to vacate the hostels rooms.
Heavy contingents of police were deployed in many parts of Peshawar, particularly roads and streets leading to Darul Qura, JUI’s main institute at Namak Mandi.
Enraged JUI supporters, mostly students of Darul Qura, burnt tyres and American flags, and chanted anti-government and anti-US slogans, and pelted stones on the police after being disallowed to bring out a rally from the Madani Mosque.
Unrest led to the closure of all business and commercial activities in Namak Mandi and adjoining business centres.
Contingents of Khyber Rifles kept on patrolling sensitive areas in Peshawar for most part of the day.
Supporters of the JI and Islami Jamiat Talaba took out two rallies in Peshawar.
According to dispatches from Dawn’s correspondents peaceful protest rallies were held in Lakki Marwat, Karak, Timmergarrah (Dir), Akora Khattak, Hangu, Nowshera and Swabi.
Protesters marched through different routes and dispersed peacefully after their leaders made speeches condemning the US attacks on Afghanistan.
KOHAT: A mob of pro-Taliban students of Government Post Graduate College protesting against US-led air strikes against Afghanistan was lathi-charged by the police while the district administration closed all educational institutions for five days on Monday for security reasons.
The Saddar police also arrested 13 protesting students who were later released after signing papers that they had nothing to do with what was going on in Afghanistan in the presence of their parents.
Meanwhile, the law enforcement agencies and the secret service people were put on a high state of alert to cope with any untoward situation which might be created by the extremist groups or due to the presence of a large number of refugees in the area, especially in the tribal territory.
The contingents of police were patrolling the main roads and streets of the city while a good number of law enforcement personnel were standing guard at the sensitive installations, like petrol depots, water tanks, Kohat springs, mosques and Imambargahs.
A protest meeting of JUI (F), JUI (S), PML (N), SSP and other groups was held at the Kotwali mosque in the main bazaar which condemned the house arrest of Maulana Fazl ur Rehman, chief of his own faction of JUI and Maulana Sami ul Haq, chief of council for defence of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Addressing the meeting former PML MNA Javed Ibrahim asked the world leaders to stop attacking Afghanistan which had already suffered a lot during the last two decades due to the USSR aggression and continuing civil war.
He said that dozens of innocent citizens had been killed in the Sunday night attacks, which was regrettable and inhuman on the part of the so-called civilized states. The meeting ended peacefully after the participants raised anti-US slogans and prayed for the solidarity of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Earlier in the morning panic gripped Kohat after rumours of the killing of four protesting students of the college by the police firing but later city returned to complete calm.
ABBOTTABAD: The students and joint action committee of Ulema held two rallies in the city to show resentment over the attack on Afghanistan.
Students took out a procession from Govt College No 2 Manidan and marched to the Sethi Masjid where police stopped them and directed them to Abbottabad city. They were chanting anti-US and pro-Taliban slogans.
On the call of the joint action committee of Ulema, a very large procession was taken out after Zuhar prayer from Markaz-i-Jamia Masjid lead by the Khateeb-i-Hazara Mulana Shafeeq-ur-Rehman.
Participants included leaders of JUI, JI, SSP, Tohafuz Khatam-i-Nubawat, Shabab-i-Milli and representatives of traders and political parties.
Among the speakers were, Maulana Iltaf-ur-Rehman, Waqar Gul Khan Jadoon, Mehboob Elahi, Maulana Shareefe, Maulana Shafeeq-ur- Rehman.
Besides fiery speeches, effigy of the American president and the American flag was also set on fire. Heavy contingents of police were deployed all over the city.
The administration closed all schools and colleges for an indefinite period and ongoing examinations have also been postponed.
PESHAWAR, Oct 8: Angry workers of various religious organizations on Monday torched the offices and three vehicles of two NGOs in Takhtbhai near Mardan as violent protests were held in many parts of the NWFP to condemn US attack on Afghanistan.
