KARACHI: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) has announced a “Down with Israel Million March” to be held at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore on April 27, reaffirming solidarity with the Palestinian people and denouncing Israeli aggression.
Addressing a massive public gathering on Shahrah-e-Quaideen Sunday night, JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman declared that the struggle against Israel’s occupation and in support of Palestine will continue. He warned that any attempt to recognize Israel or establish political or economic ties would face severe resistance.
“The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had a clear stance: Israel is an illegitimate state, and no one will be allowed to deviate from this national position,” he stressed.
He endorsed the fatwa for jihad against Israeli aggression issued by the clerics of Majlis Ittehad-e-Ummah and called for the execution of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom the International Court of Justice has declared a war criminal. He asserted that supporting Gaza’s besieged population — morally, diplomatically, and materially — is a collective obligation.
During the rally, participants raised Palestinian flags and chanted slogans against Israel. A grand stage was set for the event, and he was draped in a Palestinian flag upon arrival. He told the gathering their turnout had sent a strong message to the Arab world and Gaza that the Palestinian people are not alone.
Calling on Muslim leaders to act with courage and dignity, the JUI-F leadership condemned the silence of the Islamic world amid what he termed genocide, citing the killing of over 60,000 men, 55,000 children, and 20,000 women. He criticized global powers for backing an entity that lacks any legal foundation and reminded the audience that Israel did not exist on the world map just a century ago.
Fazal accused Britain of orchestrating the occupation of Palestine, comparing the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the Kashmir dispute left behind in South Asia. Highlighting the West’s double standards, he said the world objects to Islamic legal punishments in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan while remaining silent on the mass killing of Palestinians.
He also accused the U.S. of seeking control over Asia’s economy and natural resources and suggested that Washington’s concern lies in the emerging shift of global economic power toward Asia. “America must stop interfering in the Arab world and cease the bloodshed of Muslims,” he warned, citing Afghanistan as a lesson for U.S. military ambitions.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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