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| July 22, 2005 | Friday | Jumadi-us-Sani 14, 1426 |
JTI holds protest march in Peshawar
PESHAWAR, July 21: Students of local seminaries, run by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI), and public schools staged a protest demonstration on Thursday against police raids on seminaries across the country and arrest of their colleagues. Activists of the Jamiat Tulaba-i-Islam, the student wing of the JUI, took out a procession from the Darul Aloom Sarhad, and, after marching various streets held a rally outside the Peshawar Press Club.
Ahmed Ali Khan Marwat, provincial vice-president, and Gohar Ayub Khan, JTI Peshawar president, were leading the procession.
They announced that Friday would be observed as a protest day throughout the country to denounce the raids on seminaries and arrests of students.
Speaking at the rally, they said Gen Pervez Musharraf and his team had started the crackdown across the country to please the US and the United Kingdom which were involved in a genocide of Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq. They would not allow these actions, the leaders vowed.
The demonstrators were carrying placards inscribed with slogans against President Musharraf and the interior minister.
Protesters demanded that the rulers should end the operation against seminaries, which, according them, were ‘Islamic Cantonments’.
The students of primary classes, carrying copies of the Holy Quran, were part of the procession.
The protesters appealed to people to express their solidarity with the Muslims and join the protests on Friday.
A heavy contingent of police was present on the occasion. However, the protesters dispersed peacefully.
Later, scores of students from different colleges also staged a demonstration, under the banner of the Muttahida Tulaba Mahaz, in front of the press club.
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