PAKISTAN: Thousands of activists rally in Karachi in support of the country's armed forces in their fight against Taliban insurgents

Record ID: 214192

  • Title: PAKISTAN: Thousands of activists rally in Karachi in support of the country's armed forces in their fight against Taliban insurgents
  • Date: 23rd February 2014
  • Summary: CROWD CHANTING: "Long live Pakistan" CROWD LISTENING TO SPEECH
  • Embargoed: 10th March 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1ZAOKJ65D9TV5W9QRF23LF54E
  • Story Text: Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday (February 23) gathered on the streets of Karachi in a rally in support of Pakistan's armed forces who are engaged in a violent struggle against Taliban insurgents.
    The call for the public rally was given by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a strong regional party that has a big following in Karachi and other parts of Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.
    Addressing the rally, MQM leaders paid rich tributes to Pakistan's armed forces, Rangers, Frontier Corps and police personnel.

    "We need to support Pakistan's armed forces against these extremist Taliban, and we need to show solidarity with them. That is why MQM has taken the lead again. MQM has been rejecting - Mr. Altaf Hussain, founder and leader of MQM has always been rejecting this extremism, this fanaticism. This rally is a show of bravery, a show of courage. It is also a show of strength against the Taliban," MQM spokesman Faisal Sabswari said.
    MQM Chief, Altaf Hussain, who addressed the rally on the telephone from London, said that the Taliban are being used to destabilise Pakistan.
    Since 2007, more than 40,000 Pakistani civilians and armed personnel have been killed by the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which is fighting to topple the government and to set up an Islamic state.
    The administration of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who came to power last year promising to find a negotiated peace with the Taliban, has been trying to engage the militants in talks but these efforts have faltered in past weeks.
    In a rare admission of mass casualties since the start of government efforts to engage the insurgents in peace talks, Pakistan's army recently admitted that 308 civilians, 114 military personnel and 38 police officers had been killed since Sept. 2013, around a time when Sharif convened an all-party conference that unanimously opted for peace talks.
    Military fighter jets pounded militant hideouts in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency, killing 20 terrorists in early morning strikes on Sunday (February 23), the third in a series of air strikes since last week.
    The air strikes took place after peace negotiations with Taliban insurgents broke down last week and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif authorised the army on February 20 to launch raids against militants in the volatile region on the Afghan border.
    This year has been marked by a surge in violence across the country and Sharif is under intense pressure from hawks in the army to mount a tougher military response against the militants.
    Speculation has been growing in past weeks that the army might be preparing for a big ground and air offensive against the insurgents holed up in the North Waziristan region, but so far raids have been limited to short aerial operations.
    Leaders addressing the rally condemned the Taliban's recent beheadings of 23 Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldiers who had been in their custody since 2010, and unanimously agreed that the entire nation must put its full weight behind the country's law enforcement agencies at this crucial time.
    Meanwhile, Pakistan's Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif, visited the headquarters of the Frontier Corps (FC) in Peshawar on Friday (February 21).
    A military statement said Sharif, lauding the security forces' successes in various operations against terrorists, told the soldiers " the entire nation acknowledged sacrifices rendered by them as part of national effort to eliminate the scourge of terrorism from Pakistan, and assured them that these sacrifices will not go to waste."
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