February 25, 2003	Tuesday	Zul Hijjah 23, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: The activists of Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) staged an anti-war demonstration against the impending American attack on Iraq.

According to a statement issued here on Monday, the demonstrators highlighted the fact that people of the world were united against the hegemonistic regimes of the US and Britain.

The anti-war call is so strong that President Bush and Prime Minister Blair can not ignore it, the statement added.

“Peace-loving people of America and the world will not allow the Bush administration to misuse the 9/11 incident and impose war on poor nations.”

Majority of the UN Security Council members have also emphasised on the continuation of the UN inspectors work, it said.

The participants were carrying banners and placards inscribed with anti-war and anti-US slogans. They were also holding the picture of the founder of RAWA, Meena, who was assassinated in 1978 and her killer was hanged recently in Pakistan.

The protesters were of the view that America was planning to attack Iraq to capture its oil reserves.

They questioned the validity of American claim that change of regime was to free the Iraqi people from the clutches of a ‘tyrant dictator’.

“War against terrorism for democracy is now well-exposed to the people of Afghanistan where the US courted successive tyrants like Gulbuddin, Mullah Omar, Osama and recently installed the tyrannical rule of Northern Alliance in Kabul,” they said.

The change of government in every country is the duty of its people, otherwise the government will not sustain for a long time, they added.

The demonstrators said war against Iraq would be a repetition of the Gulf War tragedy in which President Saddam survived but the war resulted in the death of hundreds of innocent Iraqis.

“The Afghan children ask that if the US wants to dethrone Saddam then why it has imposed criminals and professional terrorists worse than Saddam in Afghanistan,” the statement said.

“Why the US, the self-proclaimed champion of democracy, has closed its eyes to the atrocities of Israel against innocent Palestinians,” it added.