KARACHI, Oct 7: The Mohajir Qaumi Movement expressed solidarity with Afghanistan demanded of the US to refrain from military operations in the landlocked country.

Speaking at a huge charged rally at Landhi’s Shah Al-Hamza ground on Sunday, MQM Haqiqi chief Afaq Ahmed asked the government not to yield to US pressures for strikes on Afghanistan and its people.

Quoting from the holy Quran, he asked the participants that it was obligatory for them to side with Muslims in their war against “pagans”. He added that “pagans could never be friends of true believers of Islam.

At the rally where anti-American slogans were raised, he said that the US should avoid using threatening tones against Muslims, including Pakistanis.

“We are born amidst the gun-fire sounds and munition odour,” he said and added that no amount of pressure and threats by the US could deter them from the defence of the Muslim world, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Demanding immediate release of JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman, he urged the government to refrain from arresting patriotic elements in the country.

He said the present rulers seemed to be indifferent to the plight of the Palestinian and Bosnian Muslims who for years had been subjected to injustice and brutalities.

Others who spoke on the occasion included the party’s secretary general Amir Khan, and the party leaders Iqbal Qureshi and Mohammad Yunus Khan.

A large number of people from various parts of the city attended the rally. The entire area remained abuzz with slogans against the US and West for several hours.