Thousands of demonstrators flooded Karachi’s MA Jinnah Road on Friday, turning the city’s main artery into a powerful display of solidarity with Palestine on the occasion of Youm-e-Quds, observed annually on the last Friday of Ramazan.
Organized by Tehreek-e-Azadi-e-Quds Pakistan, the central “Azadi-e-Qibla-e-Awwal” rally commenced at Numaish Chowrangi and culminated at Tibet Centre, where a large gathering was held. Participants from all walks of life—including religious scholars, political leaders, lawyers, doctors, and families—joined the march, waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against Israel, the United States, and India.
Key Demands and Sentiments:
- Political Clarity: Speakers urged the Pakistani government to take a clear stand on regional and international developments, with several demanding a joint parliamentary session to discuss the country’s foreign policy.
- Axis of Resistance: Clerics emphasized that Youm-e-Quds, inspired by the late Iranian leader Imam Khomeini, is a day to raise voices not just for Palestinians but for oppressed people worldwide. They praised the “aware youth linked to the axis of resistance” for standing against what they termed expansionist plans like “Greater Israel.”
- Symbolic Acts: Demonstrators burned effigies and flags representing the US, Israel, and India. In a poignant tribute, young students placed school bags and flowers to honor children killed in Iran’s Minab city.
Prominent Participants:
The gathering was addressed by ISO central president Ameen Shirazi, Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah, Maulana Amin Shaheedi, Maulana Nazir Abbas Taqvi, Karachi Bar Association President Aamir Nawaz Warraich, and Maulana Mirza Yousuf Hussain, among others.
The rally concluded with reaffirmations of continued support for the Palestinian cause and calls for the liberation of Palestine.
