0
PESHAWAR, Oct 11: Protest demonstrations continued in the Frontier province and its adjacent Federally Administered Tribal Areas on the fifth consecutive day of US bombardment of Afghanistan on Thursday as reports of civilian casualties from overnight bombing in Jalalabad reached here.
The women workers of Jamaat-i-Islami held a procession in front of the Peshawar Press Club here to condemn the bombing of civilian population in Jalalabad and other cities of Afghanistan. They were carrying placards inscribed with anti-American and anti-Israel slogans and demanded immediate halt to the air strikes.
The demonstrators in some other areas of the province played hide-and-seek with the police and other law enforcement agencies. However, they, on the whole, remained peaceful. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the NWFP.
The anti-American shows mostly organized by religious parties and pro-Taliban elements have so far failed to attract a sizable number of people, although they claim that the public gatherings and processions would be held across the province to drum up support for the Taliban government.
Regardless of the reports of violence and ransacking of public and private property during the protest rallies at some parts of the province, the government has taken a hard line that those found involved in creating a law and order situation would be proceeded against in a court of law.
Also, the Afghan refugees in the province, as elsewhere in the country, taking part in protests, have been warned that they would be forcibly repatriated if they did not desist from taking out processions.
SADDA: A big protest demonstration was organized by the Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) at Dogar, the frontier region (FR) of Kurram Agency.
Addressing the protesters, JUI leaders Maulana Sher Mohammad, Maulana Samaruddin, Maulana Yaqub and others said that as the Zionist forces had launched attack on Islam, it was the duty of every Muslim to wage Jihad against America and its allies.
They said that if the Muslims did not respond to the air strikes against Afghanistan, anti-Islam forces would not let Muslims live in peace. They said that as America had made public its intentions to attack other countries in the war against terrorism, attacks would be made on American interests all over the world.
The protesters shouted anti-American slogans and also set fire to an effigy of US President George W. Bush.
DARRA ADAMKHEL: Traffic remained suspended on the Indus Highway for several hours on Wednesday as a large of number of tribesmen of Darra Adamkhel, Khyber Agency, took out a protest procession against the allied forces’ strikes on Afghanistan.
They chanted slogans against America, Britain and other countries taking part in the air raids on innocent Muslims. At the end, the tribesmen opened fire on an effigy of President Bush and later set it ablaze.
The tribesmen also donated generously to a fund set up for assisting Afghans.
TIMERGARA: The Pakistan Afghanistan Defence Council organized an anti-American rally here, which turned into a big public meeting at the Rest House ground.
The rally was attended by workers and leaders of Jamiat Ulema Islam, Jamaat-i-Islami and Tehrik-i-Nefaz-i-Shariah Muhammadi, besides people from a cross section of the society.
The meeting was addressed by JI Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmad, NWFP Amir Prof Mohammad Ibrahim, Sirajul Haq, Maulana Assadullah, JUI Amir of Dir district Qazi Fazlullah, Tanzeem-i-Islami’s leader Maulana Ghulamullah, TNSM’s Maulana Sufi Mohammad, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor, Maulana Gohar Rehman and others.
The speakers said that an organized and peaceful campaign would be launched against the government of President Pervez Musharraf. They said that protest demonstrations would be organized at almost all big cities including Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Rawalpindi. The nation would be given a call to march on Islamabad after the rallies, they added.
The speakers said that the policies adopted by President Musharraf were detrimental to the integrity and solidarity of the country. They also asked the people to keep themselves prepared for Jihad against America and other anti-Islam forces.
