QUETTA, Oct 12: Maulana Abdul Ghafur Haidri, Secretary-General of Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) and a former Balochistan minister, gave a call on Friday to ‘gherao’ Jacobabad Airport on Sunday (Oct 14) and observe a countrywide strike next day on Monday.
“I will announce a date later to surround the Pasni airport,” he declared in a threatening tone at a highly emotionally charged meeting organized by the JUI and other religious parties on Friday at Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti stadium to protest against government’s current Afghanistan policy and the US-led coalition attack on Afghanistan.
He warned that Quetta airport would also be ‘gheraoed’ if its facilities were offered to launch attack on Afghanistan.
The JUI leader’s threats came in the wake of the reports that the government has handed over airports at Jacobabad, Pasni and some other places to the US-led coalition forces to carry out attacks on Afghanistan.
Maulana Haidri was one of the 12 speakers who addressed the meeting that was conspicuously Pashtun-dominated that frequently chanted anti-government and anti-US slogans.
Haidri’s call to ‘gherao’ Jacobabad airport next Sunday was however, not incorporated in the 10 resolutions adopted in the meeting. But at the very outset, the meeting adopted a proposal to demand compensation of the four people killed on Monday and Tuesday and urged the government to release all those who were arrested in connection with those troubles by October 15.
“If the government did not announce compensation for those killed and release all those arrested there will be a countrywide strike, protest meeting and rallies,” a proposal moved by the organizer and adopted by the meeting declared.
Prominent JUI leaders, including acting Chief Maulana Abdul Ghani, Maulana Abdul Haq, Rashid Gangohi, Ali Muhammad Abu Turab, Qari Anwarul Haq and a leader of Sipah Sahaba Maulana Mahmood Ghaznavi addressed the meeting.
Leaders of other religious parties including Ahle Hadith and Jamat-i-Islami were on the stage.
The 10 resolutions adopted in the meeting demanded release of JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Maulana Samiul Haq and Azam Tariq. The meeting criticized the OIC, condemned US-led coalition, ridiculed the role of the UN and expressed total disapproval of the government’s current Afghanistan policy.
A striking feature of the JUI protest meeting was the presence of a large number of foreign journalists and media teams, including women, who moved around with chaddars covering their heads, to record the proceedings of the meetings. Policemen and their local friends escorted foreign journalists. Appeals were made from the stage to take care of “foreign friends” who are in the meeting for coverage.
Earlier in the day a strike call given by the religious parties went largely unresponded. Shops on the main Jinnah Avenue and adjoining bazaars were open. Banks served their customers and government offices reported normal presence of employees. Friday being a half working day, all shops and offices were closed in the afternoon. Police and civil-armed forces (Frontier Corps) patrolled the whole day on the main city roads and streets. The police and Frontier Corps surrounded the venue of the meeting.
There was a minor incident of baton charge when policemen baton charged JUI supporters to alight from the rooftops of the buildings in Kandahari Bazaar. The JUI men did not offer any resistance.