By
Asif Farooqi, IOL Pakistan correspondent
ISLAMABAD,
December 23 (IslamOnline) - Pakistan’s religious parties are flexing
their muscles to demonstrate their street power to the government and to
the United States as they plan to take to the streets against the U.S.
on consecutive Fridays.
Friday,
December 27, has been fixed for protests against the U.S. intelligence
operations inside Pakistan and Friday, January 3, 2003, joint rallies
and protest marches will be held throughout the country to show
solidarity with the people of Iraq.
According
to Shahid Shamsi, a spokesman for the alliance of six religious parties
(MMA), the December 27 protests will be limited to Lahore where a
65-year-old doctor and his family members were picked up by U.S.
intelligence agents on the suspicion that he may have treated Al-Qaeda
leaders during the post September 11, 2001 period.
A
daring operation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in a
Pakistani locality against local laws and traditions sparked off severe
criticism from almost every section of society.
Though
the Pakistani government denied involvement of the FBI in the operation
and argued that Dr. Ahmad Javed Khawaja and his family were arrested by
the local police, lawyers, writers, intellectuals, politicians and
society leaders condemned the government and the FBI for violating
Pakistan and local traditions.
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|
December
27 has been set as a date to protest the arrest of Dr. Ahmad
(center) and his family
|
Earlier
in October, FBI agents picked up another doctor from Lahore in the same
fashion and released him later when anti-government and anti-U.S.
protests gained a countrywide momentum.
Shamsi
said MMA would continue its protest campaign until the release of Dr.
Ahmad and the restoration of Pakistan’s sovereignty.
According
to MMA leaders, January 3 has been fixed for massive countrywide
protests against a possible U.S. attack on Iraq.
“We
condemned the ulterior U.S. design against the Muslim world,” Shamsi
said.
The
Pakistani population had stood by the Iraqi people in condemning the
U.S. attack on Iraq during the previous Gulf War despite the
government’s support of the “allied forces”.
In
1991, a contingent of 10,000 Pakistani soldiers was sent to Saudi Arabia
to defend the holy places.
Pakistan
people however took to the streets in massive rallies against the U.S.
and in favor of Saddam Hussein, organized by the religious parties.
“This
time they are going to be even bigger rallies,” Shamsi claimed in the
aftermath of huge electoral victories of the religious parties in the
October general elections.
Although
religious parties have always had strong street power in Pakistan, they
have never managed enough votes in the elections.
Analysts
believe the huge electoral victories added enormously to the street
power of these parties.
The
coming demonstrations could be indicative of how much the religious
parties have gained in terms of street power.
