Monday, December 19, 2011

Pakistan: 30,000 Islamic supremacists rally to demand Pakistan cut ties with U.S.

From Jihad Watch:


Pakistan: 30,000 Islamic supremacists rally to demand Pakistan cut ties with U.S.







If that means we would save our money, I'm all for it.



Tiny Minority of Extremists Update: "Pakistani President Returns From Medical Treatment," by Ashraf Khan for the Associated Press, December 18 (thanks to Wimpy):



[...] More than 30,000 Islamists rallied against the U.S. in the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday, demanding Islamabad cut off ties with Washington. The protest highlighted the ability of hard-liners to bring their supporters into the streets, as well as lasting anger over the attack, which has complicated U.S. efforts to enlist Pakistan's cooperation on the Afghan war.

The U.S. has expressed its condolences for the airstrikes, but this has done little to calm anger in Pakistan's military, which has claimed the attack was deliberate. Pakistan has already retaliated by closing its Afghan border to supplies meant for NATO troops in Afghanistan and kicking the U.S. out of an air base used by American drones.



"All agreements (with the U.S.) should be terminated," Hafiz Saeed, the head of the group that organized Sunday's protest, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, told the crowd. "We say all agreements terminated the day the attack happened."



Jamaat-ud-Dawa is widely considered to be the front group for Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant organization that was started with help from the Pakistani government to fight archenemy India, but has been officially banned under international pressure.



Lashkar-e-Taiba is blamed for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people. India has demanded Pakistan crack down on the group, but Islamabad has shown little willingness to go after Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jamaat-ud-Dawa.



Protesters at Sunday's rally shouted, "A friend of the USA and India is a traitor."



Pakistan's alleged tolerance for Islamist militant groups has been one of the main sources of tension with the U.S. Washington has been especially frustrated with Islamabad's refusal to target the Afghan Taliban and their allies and has even accused the country's intelligence agency of supporting the groups.





Posted by Robert on December 18, 2011 2:31 PM

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