Three day mourning has begun on Wednesday in Multan and rest of southern Punjab at the call of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), holding the government responsible for the killing of innocent people and injuring the sanctity of the mosque and religious institution.
A number of demonstrations were held in Kherpur Tamewali, Bahawalpur, Liaquat pur, Khanpur, Mailsi, Vehari, Muzaffargarh, Multan to condemn the bloodshed in Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa. "The mourning started from Wednesday, as we are against the bloodshed," said MMA leader Rao Zafar Iqbal.
He said mourning would continue till Friday. In response to a question, Rao Zafar said the MMA's parliamentary party meeting had held the government responsible for the killing of both the sides. "We are against the bloodshed whether it is of soldiers or of the students." The MMA, he said, will observe coming Friday as a 'Protest Day' by holding rallies and demonstrations throughout the country.
"We took all these decisions unanimously in the parliamentary party meeting," he added. He expressed his heartfelt grief and sorrows over the loss of innocent lives in ongoing Lal Masjid operation. It slammed the government for taking the issue lightly adding that Ulema were determined to solve the issue in an amicable and peaceful manner.