KARACHI, Oct 22: The Sunni Ittehad Council took out a procession on Saturday to protest against the conviction of Mumtaz Qadri, sentenced to death for the murder of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer, and to express its concern over bad governance in the country and declared that it would organise a train march from Karachi to Rawalpindi on Nov 20.

The announcement was made by SIC leaders at a procession that originated at Old Exhibition and marched to Tibet Centre, causing severe traffic jams on many busy streets of the metropolis.

SIC supporters and activists carrying placards inscribed with slogans in favour of Qadri demanded his release.

Speaking at the rally, Jamaat-i-Ahl-i-Sunnat (JAS) chief Maulana Shah Turabul Haq Qadri said the people of Pakistan would resist anti-Islamic forces and would not allow American diplomats to go scot-free for “creating anarchy in the country”.

He claimed Qadri's conviction was against the injunctions of Islam, and demanded his release.

Sunni Tehreek chief Sarwat Ijaz Qadri recalled that US spy Raymond Davis, who had killed three Pakistanis in daylight, was released on the intervention of the American government and criticised the government for convicting Mumtaz Qadri, who, according to them, fulfilled a religious duty.

He criticised the government for the mess it had created in the Pakistan Railways and PIA.

He said the SIA and other religious parties had stood by the Pakistan Army in all difficult times and forces acting against the sovereignty of the country.