Hazara United Movement (HUM) and the Hazara International Forum of Great Britain jointly held a protest in front of Pakistani High Commission in London on 16-02-2015 to express solidarity with the minorities of Pakistan especially raising voice against the ongoing terrorist attacks on religious gatherings of Pakistani Shias. The protest started at 12:00 noon which continued till 3:00 PM. Despite harsh weather conditions, the protesters of all walks of life and mainstream Pakistani political strata braved the cold and rainy weather and protested for three consecutive hours. The representatives of the United Muslim Organisation, the UK Chapter of the Pakhtoonkhawa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) with its UK and Europe Secretary and other members also braced the occasion with their presence. While Shia ulemas also showed up to support the cause. The protesters displayed placards with inscriptions which read
“33 security and intelligence agencies bigger then the size of Pakistan army but still terrorism?,
Saudi-funded seminaries should be closed down,
Implement National Action Plan without any delay,
Expedite the Death Sentencing of terrorists and religious extremists,
The way to heaven is not from Pakistan,
Killings innocents shall never allure the virgins of heaven,
Extremisms + Terrorism = Pakistani seminaries
At the end of the protest, a Petition was handed over to the Pakistan High Commission who promised to relay it to the Government of Pakistan while conveying the retrospective response of its government to the Organisers soon.
Please click on the following links to read the news coverage of the protest.
Mohamed Walji
Press TV, London
The perpetual killings of the Shia community in Pakistan has caused anger, and sparked protest outside the Pakistani High Commission in London this week.
The number of Shia Muslims killed in Pakistan has been rising. A recent attack took place during Friday prayers at a mosque in Peshawar that saw the deaths of at least 20 people and those here today are saying enough is enough.
Those in attendance were calling for the international community to take action.
Central to the protest was the anger placed on the Pakistani Government. A petition handed to the countries High Commissioner Syed Ibne Abbas concluded the complicity of government officials could not be ruled out. Especially when the intelligence and security agencies in Pakistan are larger than the nations army itself thus making it unlikely they would completely fail to stop such attacks happening.
The protest organizers said they will continue to fight until the bloodshed of innocent people in Pakistan ends.
(Source I)
Hazara United Movement (HUM), United Kingdom 