KARACHI: Activists of rights groups and civil society gathered at the Teen Talwar traffic intersection in Clifton on Sunday and marched on the French consulate to express solidarity with the victims of the Paris attacks.

The rally called ‘peace march’ was organised by the Sindh Secular Forum and other civil society organisations in the city.

The participants were holding placards and banners inscribed with slogans condemning the attacks.

They chanted “I am Paris” and condemned the attacks said to have been planned and executed by the so-called Islamic State.

Leaders of the rally said that extremism was a monster fed by kings and despots in countries that ultimately spread its tentacles. They added that the dictators usurped freedom of the people to perpetuate their regimes.

They said that the challenge had become more enduring as it was not easy to fight against a faceless enemy in the dark.

They called upon the world that believed in human values to come on the same page, forget the borders and fight against the madness facing humanity.

The participants fired a broadside against the government in Pakistan for what they described as not taking measures against pro-IS extremists in the country.

They also observed silence for a minute and staged a candlelit vigil outside the French consulate.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2015