The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) on Sunday announced separate plans for protests condemning the ongoing Israeli aggression against Palestinians, calling for a coordinated global response.
In a rally at Karachi, JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman claimed his party, with the endorsement of the Palestinian leadership, had reached out to Islamic movements across the world and written to heads of Muslim states to transform a planned strike on April 22 into a coordinated global protest.
Vowing that Pakistan’s rulers would not be forgiven by history if they failed to take concrete, practical steps to support Gaza, he urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the military leadership to convene a summit of Muslim world leaders and Army chiefs to send a clear, united message to Israel to cease its genocidal actions or face a collective response.
Lamenting the ineffectiveness of the U.N., he regretted that Israel, with the support of the U.S., was continuing to bomb children with impunity. “The U.N. is only issuing toothless resolutions and statements,” he said, reiterating the need for a unified international strategy to counter the “horrific bloodbath in Gaza.”
Urging the public to contribute to the Palestinian efforts in any way possible, he said international law considered armed resistance against occupying forces as entirely legitimate. “The armed resistance by Hamas against Israel is fully legal under international norms,” he claimed.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
JUIF chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, in a separate rally also in Karachi, said his party would organize a “Million March” at Lahore’s Minar-e-Pakistan on April 27. He vowed to continue the struggle against Israeli aggression until justice was served. “Today’s march is not the end but the beginning,” he said, adding the party would organize a children’s march, another demonstration in Multan on April 18 and a rally in Islamabad on April 20.
Warning that any attempts within Pakistan to recognize Israel or establish political or economic ties would be crushed, he said his party fully endorsed a fatwa of jihad against Israel. “The International Court of Justice has declared the Israeli prime minister a war criminal. He must be hanged,” he said, describing support for Gaza as a collective obligation.
“This gathering sends a message of courage to the Arab world and Gaza,” he said. “The Palestinian people are not alone … we stand with them until the last drop of our blood,” he said, urging Muslim rulers globally to exhibit honor and stand firmly with Palestinians. “A million-strong crowd in Karachi is trying to awaken your conscience,” he added.