April 6, 2002	Saturday	Muharram 22, 1423

KARACHI, April 5: Speakers at a demonstration, on Friday, condemned sectarian killings, the killings of doctors and demanded that the culprits be caught and awarded exemplary punishment without further delay.

They were speaking at a demonstration organized by the Joint Action Committee for Peace at the Press Club. Besides concerned citizens, social workers, representatives of civil society organizations, political parties, etc, also participated.

They said that the writ of the government had been eroded and the killers were picking out targets of their choice without any hindrance from law-enforcement agencies. Further elaborating their point, they said that doctors were being killed in Karachi, lawyers in Lahore, members of the Hindu community were attacked in Rahimyar Khan and a church was attacked in Islamabad — just a few of the many incidents that had recently occurred.

They demanded that all individuals and groups propagating violence be disarmed so that a feeling of security could be restored among the people. They added that just to show the world that the government was taking action against extremism, only a few extremists had been put behind the bars, while others were being kept at home and provided subsistence allowance.

They said that the unelected regime was allowing sectarian and other dividing forces to fan hatred, divide the masses and cause instability. The extremist groups had been given freedom and only a few of their members were actually arrested, they added.

They demanded that intelligence agencies be directed to protect the citizens from violence by extremists rather than harass the common people and activists for their political activities and agitation. The government must make a clear policy to shift from its prevailing security paradigm and start catering to the basic needs of the population, the speakers urged.

They said that members of a particular sect were being pushed against the wall and many professionals, particularly doctors, were seriously considering migrating to other countries. They said that the government had failed to perform its basic duty of implementing its writ and maintaining law and order and ensuring safety to citizens.

They also condemned the brutalities committed by the Israeli forces in the occupied territories and stated that the use of Israeli military might was being legitimized by the criminal silence of countries across the world. They said that Israeli aggression was driving more and more desperate Palestinians to suicide bombings, thus exacerbating the cycle of violence.

They also condemned the targeted violence against Muslim communities in the Indian state of Gujarat. They demanded that those responsible for allowing the carnage as well as engaging in it be apprehended and charged at once, the Gujarat government be dismissed and families who have suffer