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MPs to march in protest against cartoons today

By Zulfiqar Ghuman

ISLAMABAD: Members of the government and the opposition will hold a protest march from Parliament Building to the Diplomatic Enclave today (Tuesday) against the publication of caricatures of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in European newspapers.

The National Assembly unanimously agreed to this measure, proposed by the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians’ (PPPP) Aitzaz Ahsan.

He said that this was the best way to convey their resentment to the governments of the European countries responsible and send a strong message to the world. “This will send a message to the world that the Muslims are peace-loving people. We should also invite our friends in the Senate to join us in this protest,” he added.

Hafiz Hussain Ahmed of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) said that apart from passing resolutions and holding protests, the government should take tangible action against the governments responsible for this outrage. He said that Pakistan should adopt a stance similar to that of Saudi Arabia.

Khusro Bukhtiar, minister of state for foreign affairs, also supported the proposal and said that the government had conveyed the House’s resolution to all foreign missions, including the UN and the OIC|.

The speaker, after listening to all the parties, announced that a committee comprising three members each from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and its allies, the PPPP and the MMA and one from the PML-N would meet today (Tuesday) to decide the mode of protest.

Earlier, State Minister for Railways Ishaq Khan Hakwani said that the enquiry report of the Domeli derailment would be ready within a week and be put before the House. He said that railway infrastructure was outdated and blamed previous governments for not addressing the issue. He said that since the two accidents in the last month, the department had started running single pilot engines ahead of big trains to avoid accidents like the one at Domeli. The minister said that 20,000 armed personnel have been deployed to patrol rail tracks, especially at night.

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