MMA fumes over Kasuri, Israeli FM meeting
Bureau Report

LAHORE—On the appeal of MMA president and JI Ameer Qazi Hussain Ahmad, a countrywide protest day was observed on Friday to condemn the formal meeting of Pakistani foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri with his Israeli counterpart Sylvan Shalom in Turkey on Thursday.
Protest demonstrations, meetings and rallies were held in all major cities and towns after Friday prayers in which slogan chanting and banner holding protestors condemned what they called Islamabad’s deviation from its historic stance on Palestine issue and moving forward to acknowledge Israel and its illegal occupation of Palestine under US pressure.
Addressing the protestors, the leaders belonging to MMA component parties and Jamaat-e-Islami vowed to resist the attempts of Islamabad’s military regime to acknowledge Israel.
They highlighted the West’s historic crime of creating Israel on Palestinian lands and Tel Aviv’s gross violations of human rights and massacre of Palestinian Muslims to consolidate its occupation. They warned Gen Musharraf of massive public wrath in case of extending any favor to Tel Aviv.
The largest demonstration was held in Peshawar which was led by MMA President Qazi Hussain Ahmad. It was taken out from Masjid Mahabat Khan where Qazi Hussain Ahmad also led Friday prayers. The enthusiastic and charged crowd raised slogans against the military regime of Gen Musharraf and his overtures with enemies of Islam. Addressing the protestors Qazi Hussain Ahmad said Kasuri Shalom meeting rubbed salt on the wounds of Muslim Ummah being inflicted by the enemies in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Kashmir and Chechnya.
He said it was ironic that the meeting was held on the occasion of Shab-e-Mairaj when the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was raised from Al-Aqsa to his historic journey of the heavens. He said this occasion reminded all Muslims to step up their struggle to liberate the first House of worship of Muslims from the occupation of Zionists.
He said that Gen Musharraf has formally begun the process of acknowledging Israel and its illegal occupation and massacre of Palestinians on the behest of Washington. He lamented that Muslim rulers failed to take any action against Israel which was massacring Palestinian Muslims, demolishing their homes and driving them out of their lands to consolidate its grip on their territories. Qazi reminded the nation that father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam and Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan had categorically rejected the proposal to acknowledge Israel and termed it illegal state.
He said Gen Musharraf had once again proved that he wanted to force all decisions on people through use of force. He said despite that national assembly was in session this vital issue was neither debated there nor discussed in the cabinet. Qazi said Muslim people all over the world wanted to see Palestine liberated again from the illegal occupation of Israel but their rulers were collaborating with Zionist lobbies against the interests of the Ummah. In Lahore major demonstration was held outside Mansoorah which was addressed by JI secretary general Syed Munawar Hasan, JI Naib Ameer Hafiz Idris, Foreign Affairs director Abdul Ghaffar Aziz, JI Lahore general secretary Amirul Azim and others. Several small demonstrations were also held outside various city mosques where local MMA leaders addressed the protestors.
Addressing the protestors Munawar Hasan said it was wrong to say Pakistanand Israel had the similarity of being the two ideological countries. He said Pakistan was created as a result of an ideological movement in which millions of people migrated the area allocated to them rendering countless sacrifices while on the other hand Israel was created as a result of a global conspiracy to usurp Palestinian lands on which Jews were rehabilitated by bringing them from all over the world in order to justify its existence. To consolidate Israel, millions of Palestinians were massacred, driven out of their homes and lands, and their houses demolished to pave the way for Jewish settlements.
He condemned western media for highlighting the Jewish pull out of Gaza as a major catastrophe but criminally forgot the hundred times worse exodus of Palestinians from their homeland over 35 years ago when Israeli army drove them out at the muzzles of tanks, guns and bayonets.
Terming the meeting with Israeli leaders amounting to shaking hands with dacoits, he said Muslims had no religious dispute or hatred with Jews. Nor any religious education in seminaries had anything to do with it. Israel was illegally and immorally created by occupying Palestine lands and forcing out its inhabitants. Since then, Israel had been rejecting the decisions of international community to continue its occupation. International court of justice gave verdict against its apartheid wall with a majority of 13 to 1 but it refused to accept it. Similarly, the UN resolutions 236 and 342 asked Tel Aviv to return to the position of 1967 by leaving territories occupied later but it again refused. He said Tel Aviv was planning to establish Greater Israel with its boundaries extending to Muslim holy places of Makkah and Madina, covering almost entire Middle East. Washington was fully supporting the creation of Greater Israel. Quoting father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam, Munawar said he had written a letter to US president Truman saying the history would never forget the crime of creating Israel committed by the west. He said the nation failed to understand why those calling themselves as successors of Quaid-e-Azam were blatantly crushing his principles, while president Musharraf was overjoyed in implementing Zionist agenda in the country.
He said Pakistan had always taken a principled stance on international issues based on justice. It was the reason Islamabad avoided relations with SouthAfrica for its apartheid policies. But deviation from principled stance on Palestine had caused a great damage to Islamabad’s stance on Kashmir issue. Now India would argue that if Islamabad could accept Israeli occupation of Palestine which was of great religious and international importance then there was no reason in opposing occupation of Kashmir which was reduced to a regional and bilateral issue.
He condemned Musharraf regime and PML-Q for bypassing parliament on such a vital issue and forcing decisions on the nation arbitrarily.
Hafiz Idris said the nation was cursing those who were selling out the occupation of first House of worship in Islam to the enemies for the sake of momentary power. He said nation would not allow such decisions to be imposed. Abdul Ghaffar Aziz said nation was asking why the price of Gaza pull out was being paid by Pakistan. In Islamabad, a demonstration was held outside press club which was addressed by MMA’s MNA Mian Mohammad Aslam, Shabab-e-Milli president Huma Ayub, MMA city secretary Hamid Raza Bhatti and IJT Nazim Ghayyur Safdar. Mian Aslam accused the government of trampling the sentiments of 150 million Pakistani Muslims.