ISLAMABAD: Participants of the Al-Quds Day rally on Friday condemned Israel and demanded legal action against Pakistanis who allegedly made a secret visit to Israel, calling them “enablers of occupation.”

Like other parts of the country, Al-Quds Day was observed in the federal capital and Rawalpindi.

Speakers expressed solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine and chanted slogans against its illegal occupation by Israel.

The main rally in Islamabad was organised jointly by Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) and the Shia Ulema Council from G-6 Imam Barghah to D-Chowk.

The speakers highlighted that Al-Quds Day was not an event observed by any one sect or religion but it was a day of the oppressed against the oppressors and highlighted the “tyranny of the Zionists backed by the West against the civilians of Palestine”.

Al-Quds Day has been organised globally every year since it was first announced by Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The day is observed on the last Friday of Ramazan to highlight the “atrocities of Israel against Palestinians”.

A resolution adopted at the end of the rally denounced the Israeli aggressions in the Middle East and expressed solidarity with Palestinians.

Leading the rally, Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas condemned Israel and the US and said that “the era of tyranny will end soon” and expressed the confidence that like many cruel and powerful states of the past, Israel will face its end too.

“Soon we will see it,” he said. In his fiery speech, he said that the authorities in the country have to ensure that foreign powers do not fan sectarian division in Pakistan.

He vowed to resist any attempts to incite a Shia-Sunni conflict in Pakistan.

Allama Raja Nasir condemned recent sectarian tensions in Parachinar, calling them a “conspiracy by anti-Islam forces”.

“We will never allow sectarian violence because it was one of the tools of the West to divide the nations,” he said.

He added, “We have buried 20,000 martyrs quietly but never supported terrorism, and we will never fall into this trap and kill fellow Pakistanis in the name of revenge.”

In Rawalpindi, the day was observed with a renewed commitment to “continue support for the freedom fighters in Palestine and Kashmir”.

Rallies were taken out and protest demonstrations were held in the garrison city like in other parts of the country.

Religious leaders said in their Friday sermons that Palestine was not just revered by Muslims but also by other communities across the globe. They said it was the duty of the Muslim Ummah to get its sanctity restored by “freeing it from Zionist clutches”.

In Rawalpindi, the main Yaum Al-Quds Himayat Mazloomeen procession was taken out from Imambargah Ashiq Hussain Teli Mohallah under the auspices of District Yaum Al-Quds Himayat Mazloomeen Committee of the Tehreek Nifaz-i-Fiqa Jafrriya (TNFJ).

The procession was led by Regional President Allama Syed Shabiya-ul-Hassan Kazmi, central convener of TNFJ Shaukat Abbas Jafari, Central Vice President Makhdoom Bawa Syed Farzand Ali Kazmi, Allama Hafiz Karrar Kazmi, Allama Syed Mehdi Hassan Naqvi, Allama Waqar Naqvi, Maulana Syed Hasnain Abbas Naqvi and other leaders.

The participants of the procession were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of Palestine.

The protest procession turned into a rally after reaching Committee Chowk.

The speakers paid rich tributes to all Muslims who displayed unity and brotherhood by participating in Yaum Al-Quds events and said Muslims were united against every form of ooppression.

They vowed to continue their support for the freedom of the Palestinian people.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2025