Tens of thousands join Palestine solidarity march in Pakistan's Peshawar

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Tens of thousands of Pakistani citizens, including women and children, rallied Sunday in the northwestern city of Peshawar to voice their support for the Palestinians.

Billed as "Gaza Million March," the rally was organized by the country's mainstream religiopolitical party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).

It was one of the largest Palestinian solidarity marches since Israel launched its latest war on Gaza in October last year, according to organizers.

The protesters held Palestine’s flags as well as banners carrying pro-Palestine and anti-Israel slogans. Led by JI's newly-elected chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, the march gathered at Peshawar’s Ring Road area.

Rehman, who was sporting a keffiyeh or a traditional Palestinian scarf, in a speech lambasted the international community, including Arab rulers for being "silent on the genocide in Gaza."

"The Zionist state, which has the support of the US and Western governments, in the form of money and weapons, has miserably failed to suppress the wind of freedom. A small resistance group like Hamas has defeated all its technology and strategy," Rehman said.

He added that the people of Pakistan will continue to back Palestinians in their "just" struggle.