NEW DELHI, June 12: Leftist groups in India and Pakistan will hold large rallies on Thursday to protest against warmongering between the two countries and against the role the United States in defusing the situation, India’s largest Maoist group announced on Wednesday.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninists) said it had decided to hold “anti-war protests” on June 13 in all state capitals and major centres of the country with the call of “No more war between India and Pakistan”, “Indians and Pakistanis need peace and not war”, “India and Pakistan must resume direct bilateral dialogue to defuse tension” and “Say no to Bush-Blair’s imperialist intervention in the subcontinent”.

A CPIM-ML spokeswoman told Dawn that under this anti-war action programme, peace marches and demonstrations will be held at several prominent centres in India.

“The CPI-ML has appealed to all peace-loving people and forces to join this anti-war protest on June 13 in Delhi and elsewhere to reflect the genuine voice of the peoples of the two countries,” Radhika Menon said.

The programme is associated with parallel anti-war, and anti-US intervention protest programmes in Pakistan also. Menon said.

“Four left and democratic parties in Pakistan, including the National Workers Party, Labour Party of Pakistan, Communist Mazadoor-Kisan Party and People’s Party (Shaheed Bhutto Group), have also decided to hold such anti-war programmes on June 13 in Lahore and elsewhere in Pakistan,” she said. —JN