The people of Pakistan have always stood up for what they think is right and wrong. This time, too, the nation proved that it will always stand up to injustice. Just yesterday, on April 13th, thousands of Karachi residents gathered on the city’s main roads for a Gaza solidarity march. The march in Karachi was organised by two religio-political parties. It was done to express solidarity amid Israel’s bloody military conduct.
The Palestinian Crisis
The whole world by now knows about the atrocities being carried out in Gaza. The war, which began on October 7th 2023, has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and destroyed much of the housing and hospital infrastructure in the enclave.
This was originally a supposed “defense attack” after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israeli territory. However, the Palestinian residents later bore the consequences, and the bloodshed that followed was the most severe genocide ever carried out in the history of mankind. Since then, large protests have been carried out throughout the globe in solidarity with the Palestinians.
The recent march on Shahra-e-Faisal also came two days after large pro-Palestinian protests were observed in cities across Pakistan.
Read More: Israel has Resumed War in Gaza: Why Now?
The March in Karachi
The rallies were organised by the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) on main Shahra-e-Faisal and Sharah-i-Quaideen, respectively. People from all walks of life attended these demonstrations, including representative bodies of lawyers, teachers, traders, doctors and other professionals.
JI and JUI Announce Mass Mobilisation
The JI leader, Hafiz Naeem, delivered an address to the crowd at Shahrah-e-Faisal and said that Karachi had “once again proved that it represents the entire Muslim world… the people of Gaza are facing unbearable pain, around 70,000 people were killed in Gaza, [a] significant majority among them were women and children.” He also stated that the role of the United Nations has vanished. While Israel was blowing apart innocent children with ruthless bombings, the UN was passing useless resolutions and statements.
The JI chief also warned Muslim world leaders, stating that Israel will surely come after them once it is finished with its campaign in Gaza. Hence, he demanded that Pakistan’s political leadership “take the lead in global measures” and urged them to “invite all like-minded people to a single platform to devise a joint global strategy” against Israel.
Other Leaders Also Addressed the Rally
Similarly, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman also addressed a massive rally at Shahrah-e-Quaideen. Here, he announced a “Million March” at Lahore’s Minar-e-Pakistan on April 27.
“Today’s march is not the end but the beginning,” Fazl declared. “This movement will continue. There will be a children’s march, followed by the largest march in Pakistan’s history in Multan on April 18 and in Islamabad on April 20.” The leader also called support for Gaza “a collective obligation” and emphasised the moral, diplomatic, and all other forms of backing the besieged population must receive.
The rally venues were decorated with Palestinian flags as thousands chanted slogans against Israel.
The world is protesting, and Pakistani people are no different. Yet, the million dollar question still remains: How long until these protests will bear fruit and a permanent ceasefire will be placed?
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