Muslim world to observe solidarity with Palestinians on Nov. 23

Lahore: The Islamic Movements conference held in Sudan last week has decided to observe Friday, November 23 next as Protest Day against the continuing Israeli strikes on Gaza and to express solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian Muslims. This was announced by the Jamaat e Islami Secretary General, Liaqat Baloch, at a press conference at the Lahore Press Club, on return from the Khartoum moot concluding on Sunday.

A six member JI delegation headed by the JI Ameer, Syed Munawar Hasan participated in the Khartoum conference where representatives of over thirty Islamic movements were invited.
To a question, Liaqat Baloch denied the statement attributed to the JI Ameer Syed Munawar Hasan, ruling a out JI alliance with any party including the PML(N), and termed it the figment of the reporter’s imagination.

Welcoming PML(N) leader Mian Nawaz Sharif;s statement on this score, Liaqat Baloch said the JI had always talked of a Grand Alliance and had been striving for the unity of religious parties. He said the leaders of all the MMA parties except the JUI(F) were making serious efforts for the JI’s joining the MMA, but Maulana Fazlur Rehman brought all these efforts to a naught.

Continuing, Liaqat Baloch said the Khartoum conference strongly condemned the Israeli attacks on Gaza resulting in the martyrdom of innocent Palestinian men, women and children. It noticed that Israel had violated cease fire and was targeting mosques, hospitals, madrissahs and educational institutions.

Liaqat Baloch said that Israel was making a mockery of the international law because of the US support as Washington wanted to crush the wave of Islamic revolution arising in the Arab world. At the same time, Washington desired to achieve its unholy designs by pitting the masses in Sudan, Egypt, Turkey and Iran against their governments. In fact, he said, the US was perturbed over the failure of its agents in the Gulf states and the success of the Islamic leadership in the elections in the area.

Liaqat Baloch told newsmen that the four day Khartoum moot had discussed at length the major problems besetting the Muslim world and their possible solutions.He said that at the Khartoum conference, Syed Munawar Hasan had stressed upon the Muslim world to lend its support to the Kashmir issue like the Palestine issue. He also urged the Muslim states to adopt a unified stance for the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan. He pointed out that the presence of the US in the region was a serious threat to the Pakistan’s solidarity and its nuclear assets. The Khartoum Conference was of the view that Israel had full US support in its current attacks on Gaza
as Washington could not tolerate the Arab world to march towards Islam and Caliphate.

The US was trying to prolong the war on Syria by creating hurdles in its solution. He also urged the Muslim states to make joint efforts to solve the Syrian issue for the formation of a government acceptable to the Syrian people. He also urged the G- 8 countries to play their role in this respect.

Liaqat Baloch also condemned the murderous attack over Qazi Husain Ahmed and said the master mind behind the terrorist activities from Gaza up to Mehmand was the US.