The Consular Corps in Karachi has noted with extra interest the successful rally staged by the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) on Sunday in Karachi which rejected 'Klashnikov and Baton-backed Sharia' as preferred by the Lal Masjid Ulema, reports UPP correspondent.
The heads of the different consulates and consulates general of the foreign countries represented in Karachi obtained from their Pakistani staff members and friends in the Media the details of the rally while they also watched with great interest the TV coverage of the Muttahida rally.
One of the diplomats from the Gulf countries who heads an important Consular Mission told UPP correspondent that in his posting in Karachi over the past few years, he had not seen the taking out of 'so large a public rally' in Karachi city.
Another diplomat compared this rally with the size of the annual parade held at Tien An Men Square in Beijing on October 1, each year since 1949 marking Chinese National Day. Another diplomat said he had seen the 'million march of Farra Khan in Washington and this rally in Karachi was far bigger than the rally staged by Farra Khan.
A Pakistani who arrived this morning from Tehran, said that in Iran, specially in Tehran, the Muttahida rally received coverage for its size while in the other Gulf countries, the TV channels carried considerable live footage of the rally.
Most Pakistanis living in the various countries in the Middle East have welcomed the holding of the rally while Pakistanis from Europe, America and the Far East have also conveyed their appreciation of discipline showed in the holding of the rally. 'It was a positive rally for us in the USA,' said Nadia Kamal, resident in Seattle this morning on telephone. Many people in Seattle were overwhelmed by the size of the rally and said it showed that Pakistanis are largely moderates and a tolerant people who reject extremism and terrorism."
A large number of people in Karachi belonging to the elite also expressed their warm appreciation of the manner in which governor of Sindh, Chief Minister of Sindh and Home Advisor Waseem Akhtar kept in touch with the organisers of the rally and the Security agencies and police officers on duty to ensure that full peace was maintained and this was lauded as a great achievement.