ISLAMABAD - Criticising the Israeli brutalities in the harshest words Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Sirajul Haq demanded of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Muslim world, including Saudi Arabia, to come forward and help stop pogrom of innocent Palestinians at the hands of brutal Israeli forces.
Addressing a Youm-e-Kibla-e-Awwal rally organised to show solidarity with the Palestinian Muslims here on Sunday, the JI chief called upon the government to play its role in mobilising the Muslim world against the brutalities of Israeli forces and suggested that Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif should call the meeting of heads of states of Muslim world in Islamabad or elsewhere to build up pressure on world community against the killings of innocent people in Gaza and other parts of Palestine.
Federal Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders also attended the rally, which started from Faizabad in the afternoon and culminated at Jinnah Avenue where the JI chief, Pervaiz Rashid and other leaders including the PTI parliamentarians addressed the participants of the rally.
The participants of the rally were holding placards and banners inscribed with slogans supporting the Palestinians cause and demanding freedom of Al-Qudus (Kibla-e-Awal) from Israel's yoke. The emotionally charged participants were also raising slogans in support of their Palestinian brethren and against the Israeli brutalities.
Senator Pervaiz Rashid in his address said that government of Nawaz Sharif was extending political, moral and diplomatic support to the cause of Palestinian Muslims and condemned the killings of innocent people in Gaza, Khan Yunus and other parts of Palestine by Israeli troops.
The information minister said that the government would be marking August 17 as solidarity day with Palestine, adding that Prime Minister Sharif would not leave any stone unturned to raise the cause of people of Palestine at all available fora.
Referring to the conspiracies against the democratic dispensation in the country Pervaiz Rashid said that the government was making efforts to frustrate the attempts to divide the country, adding that a strong and united Pakistan could plead the case of Palestine at international forums in a better fashion.
In his presidential address to the rally Sirajul Haq grilled the Islamic world for keeping mum over the situation and said that his party had approached the heads of various Islamic states and also wrote letter to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to immediately call the meeting of OIC and take a united stand against the brutalities of Israel.
Sirajul Haq also criticised the United States for patronising the Israeli government and said that the so-called champion of human rights has turned a blind eye to the worst kind of rights violation in Palestine and killings of innocent men, women and children at the hands of savage troops of Israel.
The JI chief asked the government to come up with bold steps against Israel and if they could not do any thing then allow the youth of Pakistan and his party to go and wage jihad (holy war) against the brutal Israeli troops.
He said that the whole Pakistani nation was standing behind their Palestinian brethren and appealed to the armed forces of the country to play their role for the liberation of Al-Quds and Kashmir.
The JI chief sought explanation from Sharif government for allowing the United States to establish its military base in Islamabad and made it loud and clear that people of Pakistan could only allow US to have its embassy in Islamabad and they could not be given permission to keep their troops on the Pakistani soil. He said that there are reports that US was in the process of establishing a military base in Islamabad where they could keep up to 6,000 troops.
Referring to the political turmoil in the country, the JI chief said that he had come up with some proposals to help end the imbroglio in a peaceful manner and warned that in case of rejecting the peaceful solution to the problem both Premier Nawaz Sharif and PTI chief Imran Khan would suffer enormously.
Besides Sirajul Haq and Pervaiz Rashid the rally was also addressed by Niab Amir JI Mian Mohammad Aslam, JI KPK chief Prof Ibrahim, JI AJK chief Abdur Rashid Turabi, JI Parliamentary Leader in the National Assembly Sahibzada Tariq Ullah and other local leaders.