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Pak Islamists promise massive march against war in Iraq
Islamabad, Feb 21: Pakistan`s resurgent Islamic hard-liners are promising to fill the streets with over one million demonstrators to show their `fury and anger` at a possible American attack on Iraq- and to warn the government not to support such a war.
Islamabad, Feb 21: Pakistan's resurgent Islamic hard-liners are promising to fill the streets with over one million demonstrators to show their "fury and anger" at a possible American attack on Iraq- and to warn the government not to support such a war.
Anything approaching that kind of turnout in protests scheduled for March 2 and March 9 would send a chill through the halls of power here, and produce anxiety for the Bush administration, which counts a stable Pakistan as a vital ally in the war on terror. "The fury and anger of the people will turn on the government if they back the us war," said Qazi Hussein Ahmad, head of the Jamaat-e-Islami Party- a key partner in the six-party religious alliance organizing the protests. "We will get at least one million people. We will make sure it becomes an unprecedented event in the history of Pakistan."
Pakistan is currently a member of the 15-nation UN Security Council, and might be called upon to vote on a second resolution authorizing military action on Iraq. So far, the government has said it favors a peaceful solution to the crisis, but has not said how it would vote on such a resolution.
Up until now, anti-war protests have failed to draw large numbers of people in Pakistan, and some have petered out with just a few dozen demonstrators.
The government seemed to brush off the upcoming protests entirely. "Let them do it if they can," foreign ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan told the associated press with a chuckle when asked about the proposed marches.
Bureau Report
Anything approaching that kind of turnout in protests scheduled for March 2 and March 9 would send a chill through the halls of power here, and produce anxiety for the Bush administration, which counts a stable Pakistan as a vital ally in the war on terror. "The fury and anger of the people will turn on the government if they back the us war," said Qazi Hussein Ahmad, head of the Jamaat-e-Islami Party- a key partner in the six-party religious alliance organizing the protests. "We will get at least one million people. We will make sure it becomes an unprecedented event in the history of Pakistan."
Pakistan is currently a member of the 15-nation UN Security Council, and might be called upon to vote on a second resolution authorizing military action on Iraq. So far, the government has said it favors a peaceful solution to the crisis, but has not said how it would vote on such a resolution.
Up until now, anti-war protests have failed to draw large numbers of people in Pakistan, and some have petered out with just a few dozen demonstrators.
The government seemed to brush off the upcoming protests entirely. "Let them do it if they can," foreign ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan told the associated press with a chuckle when asked about the proposed marches.
Bureau Report