Jamaat-e-Islami's (JI) chief Syed Munawar Hassan has strongly condemned the repeated US drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas and termed these against the sovereignty of the country. He was addressing a JI rally here at D-Chowk of the Federal Capital, organised against the US drone attacks, desecration of the Holy Quran by an American pastor and the release of Raymond Davis.
Scores of JI activists, women and children participated in the rally that started from Khyber Plaza and culminated peacefully at D-Chowk. The protesters were holding banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the drone attacks and were also condemning the desecration of the Holy Quran and release of Davis.
Addressing the rally, Munawar Hassan strongly criticised the US for repeated drone attacks in tribal areas of Pakistan terming these serious violations of the country's sovereignty. He also criticised the rulers for not taking serious steps to stop such violations on the country's sovereignty adding that innocent people were being killed and they (rulers) don't have the courage to come up with categorical steps against these incursions.
He also described the drone attacks are against the international laws and also a gross violation of human rights. He further said that the drone attack on a tribal Jirga in North Waziristan was strongly condemnable in which over 40 innocent tribal elders were killed. Hassan alleged that the rulers have failed to give relief to the masses saying that inflation and price hike was on the rise and the rulers were busy in looting the national exchequer.
Referring to the desecration of the Holy Quran by Terry Jones, the JI chief strongly condemned the act suggesting that Muslim countries should raise the issue at the international level.
He was of the view that UN should chalk out rules to stop desecration and blasphemous acts of any religion and belief. He also called upon the Muslim Ummah to forge unity among their ranks for the 'common enemy'.
The rally was also addressed by JI's Punjab chapter chief, Mian Mohammad Aslam and JI Rawalpindi chapter's chief Sajjad Abbasi. They alleged the US involvement in the country's unrest and stated that the case of Davis was a clear proof that the bomb blasts in the country were being carried out under a well-planned conspiracies to destabilise country.