Pakistanis demonstrate against religious extremism, Talibanisation

Islamabad, Apr 20 (UNI) Pakistan's civil society rallied against efforts to foster religious extremism and ''Talibanisation'' of society, with thousands of people coming onto the streets yesterday to protest against the activities of clerics at the capital's Lal Masjid, reports today said.

Simultaneous protests were organised in the twin cities of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar to denounce extremist actions by students of the Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Fareedia madrassas, affiliated to Lal Masjid here, the 'Daily Times' reported.

In the capital, noted strategic analyst Shirin Mazari led the protestors who gathered barely a kilometre away from Constitution Avenue and walked up to the roundabout in front of Parliament House.

Condeming the ''violence of religious extremists who have been, trying to force their version of Islam on other people,'' the agitators also slammed the administration for its ''inactivity.'' ''Where's the writ of the state?'' one of the the biggest placards read, as protestors shouted slogans against the clerics as well as the government for its continued reluctance to act against fundamentalists who had been challenging the writ of the state.

In Lahore, thousand of protestors, from Joint Action Committee for People's Rights (an alliance of over 30 NGOs), the Women Desk Lahore Diocese Church of Pakistan, the Pakistan People's Party, the Pakistan Labour Party, the Lahore High Court Bar Association, the Lahore Bar Association, the Punjab Bar Council, trade unions, the South Asian Free Media Association, the Punjab Union of Journalists, the Lahore Press Club, and students from various educational institutions including Lahore School of Economics, Beaconhouse National University and the Lahore Grammar School, braved the blistering heat to participate in the protest rally.

The city administration had relaxed prohibitory orders and made special security and traffic diversion arrangements for the rally, which started from the Lahore High Court, along The Mall, before concluding at Faisal Chowk.

Hundreds of people gathered at General Post Office Chowk about an hour before the rally, while thousands joined the rally at different points on The Mall. Traders on the route welcomed the rally, displaying banners on shops and plazas seeking a stop on ''blackmail and exploitation of traders in the name of Islam'' and condemning the clerics action against CD shops.

Speaking at the rally, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan chairperson Asma Jahangir claimed that the ''military-backed government was using mullahs to exploit the people in the name of Islam.'' ''The people of Pakistan are well aware of the mullah-military alliance,'' she said, adding that there could not be democracy in Pakistan unless the military stopped supporting mullahs.

The paper also cited the reaction of several passersby, who said they had not participated in the rally due to several reasons but supported the aims of the protest and were against religious extremism and ''Talibanisation'' of society.

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