Protest rallies denounce Bajaur airstrike

PESHAWAR—Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) Secretary General Maulana Fazlur Rehman Friday held President Musharraf and the US government responsible for Bajaur killings.
“By killing the innocent people in Bajaur Agency, the government has sabotaged the ongoing peace process,” he said this during a protest rally in which thousands of MMA activists participated. The protesters led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman marched from Namak Mandibazaar to Qissa Khwani bazaar where another rally led by Jamaat-e-Islami leader, Mushtaq Ahmad Khan at the same time reached from Masjid Mohabbat Khan, and shaped a big public gathering.
Fazlur Rehman on the occasion held President Musharraf and America responsible for the killings of innocent people and said the sincere leader took the rest of responsibility over his shoulder to please his master. He urged America and Pervez Musharraf to stop violence against the innocent people, otherwise, he warned they would start Jihad and up political struggle against them.
“By accepting the responsibility of killing innocent people, Pervez Musharraf is protecting its master,” he said and added MMA had been telling the government that issues could not be resolved by force rather it could be resolved only through talks. Fazl said Prevez Musharraf had committed a crime by killing innocent people, adding the military rule was bent upon to break up FATA as they did to Bangladesh. “People in FATA hate uniform. People no more trust Pervez Musharraf,” he said and asked the rulers to stop violence against the innocent people, otherwise, they would start Jihad and mount political struggle against them.
Expressing solidarity with the people of Bajaur Agency, the oppositionleader in the National Assembly vowed to go side-by-side with the tribesmen till their last blood. Fazl went to say that the imperialist forces had imposed war on the entire Muslim countries after 9/11 and occupied Afghanistan and Iran, but they, he added had tripped themselves in a bog.
Regarding the Hisba and women protection bill, Fazl accused the Musharraf-led government of unfolding the society for sex and said it wanted to open adultery. Online Adds: Protest day against the Bajaur massacre was observed throughout Sindh including the provincial capital, Karachi, on the appeal of Muttahida Majlis-e-Ammal here on Friday. Protest demonstrations were held in all districts’ headquarters of the province and resolutions condemning the carnage were passed in mosques during Juma sermons.
Protest demonstrations against the attacks were also held outside all major mosques in the city including Patel Para, Banaris Chowk, Sohrab Goth, Dawood Churangi and Kemari. Addressing the protests here at Patel Para, MMA leader Qari Muhammad Usman dubbed the attack on a seminary in Bajaur by ‘US’ as attack on the whole Muslim Ummah. He said that the entire nation was deeply grieved over the brutal attack on the seminary, which left 82 innocents people including children dead.  two Baltis from Gilgit, Two from Dir Agency, one from Kanbar Maidan, One from Swabi, two minors from Nooristan, and include five minor children belonging from a single household. He said that bombing to it own citizen was not bravery and valor, but it had lowered the heads of whole nation with shame. He warned that if the ruler did not stop their pro-Us policies then massive from Karachi to Khyber would took to street and sent the ruler homes.
Addressing another demonstration at Banarus Chowk, Parliamentary Leader of MMA in Sindh Assembly, Maulana Umar Sadiq said that the massacre of seminary student in Bajaur attack was nothing but a bid by Gneral Muharraf and Shaukat Aziz to save their seats. He alleged that the blood of 82 innocent people were shed just to appease US and their foreigner masters. He said that the blood of Bajaur martyrs would not go in vain, pledging that the responsible would be accounted for the every drops of blood of the innocent people.
Maulana Abdul Karim Abid, Maulana Ehsanullah Hazarvi MPA and other leaders addressing a protest demonstration at Dawood Chowrangi strongly condemned the carnage. They termed the Bajaur tragedy a deep US conspiracy against the integrity and solidarity of Pakistan and President General Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz were responsible for it. They appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo moto action of the carnage and get registered the FIR of the incident against General Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz.
Muttahida Qabail Ittehad and Muttahida Majli-e-Ammal (MMA) on Friday jointly took out a largely attended protest rally from New Sabzi Mandi to Mazar Quaid, against the attack on a seminary in Bajaur Agency, that left 82 people including students and teachers of the Madrassa dead. The participants of the rally marched through many roads of the holding banner and placards inscribed with slogans against the mass carnage, US and President Musharraf.
The highly charged protestors, who were traveling in buses, wagons, cars, motorcycles and auto-rickshaws chanted slogans against the attack as well as US and President General Pervez Musharraf. The rally, as per the earlier schedule had to culminate at Karachi Press Club, but police did not allow the participants to proceed forward from Mazar Quaid. On this some energy participants scuffled with police officials and tension between the rally participant and police have created.
However, after negotiation between the leaders of MMA and high police officials, that organizers decided to end the rally at Mazar-e-Quaid. Meanwhile, the Sabzi Mandi, the sole vegetable wholesale market of the city, remained completely closed on Friday due to the strike of the Sabzi Mandi committee against the mass killing of madrassa’s students in air strike in Bajaur, widely believed that it was carried out by US drones.—Agencies