PESHAWAR, March 22: The Peshawar University Teachers Association (Puta), lawyers and students staged protest rallies on Saturday to denounce the US invasion of Iraq.

A rally, led by vice-chancellor of the Hazara University Dr Ashraf Adeel and Peshawar University Teachers Association president Arbab Khan Afridi, started from the Puta office and ended at the Spin Mosque on main Jamrud

Road.

A memorandum stated the teaching community strongly condemned the joint United States-United Kingdom act of aggression against the innocent civilians of Iraq.

The memorandum said that it was tragic that those nations which prided themselves on their anti-terrorism policies were the perpetrators of the worst form of terror in the human history.

The rally, by a unanimous resolution, appealed to teachers, students and the general public to boycott US products, and demanded that Islamic countries cut off diplomatic relations with  the United States and United Kingdom, and urged Islamabad to expel US forces from the country.

Participants of the all-Pakistan lawyers convention also staged a rally against the United States-led war on Iraq.

About 800 lawyers representing the Supreme Court Bar Association, the Peshawar High Court Bar Association, the Peshawar District Bar Association, Sindh and Punjab Bar Associations attended the rally.

The protesters were holding anti-war placards and banners.

The peace rally, headed by advocate Hamid Khan, senior lawyer Qazi Muhammad Jamil and Qazi Latif began from the high court and ended at the provincial assembly building.

The Peoples Students Federation also staged a protest demonstration in front of the Peshawar Press Club to denounce the US attack  on Iraq. The Public Transport Owners  Association, NWFP, also held a protest rally with the participants chanting slogans against US president Bush.