KARACHI, March 19: Anti-war peace activists, media men, civil society and trade union representatives on Monday marched through the streets chanting slogans demanding an end to the American occupation of Iraq. They also condemned the government for curtailing civil liberties, committing human rights excesses, and attempts to gag the print and electronic media.

The rally was organised by Stop the War Coalition which began from Regal Chowk and after marching through Zaibunnisa Street and Governor House Chowk, culminated at Karachi Press Club. They carried banners and placards demanding the US quit Iraq and condemned its policies in Lebanon and expressed solidarity with the Palestinians.

The rally was organised to coincide with the fourth year of American occupation of Iraq and denial of basic civil liberties to the people of Pakistan. Participants included peace activists, professional organisations, labour unions student unions and political parties.

They also condemned the attack on the media by the government in the recent matter pertaining to the chief justice and the government’s policy of press advices for restraining the media from placing the truth before the people.

The rally also resolved that in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the ongoing military operation in Waziristan and Balochistan, was also the result of imperialist interventions in the internal affairs of these societies. It also deplored the American pressures against Iran, Syria, Venezuela and Cuba.

The rally also resolved that dictatorships all over the world were thriving under the umbrella of American imperialist policies and behaving like its stooge and surrogate. The rally resolved that such policies were not only a threat to world peace but also endangered human rights in the US, Pakistan and other countries.