| 5,000 Islamists march against Nato routes’ reopening |
QUETTA About 5,000 Pakistani Islamists who oppose the anti-terrorism alliance with Washington began a march to the border on Saturday in protest over the reopening of Nato supply routes into Afghanistan.
The protesters joined a convoy of buses, trucks and cars, many carrying the black-and-white striped flags of their Defence of Pakistan coalition movement.
They will make stopovers in various cities and towns on the 120-km highway from the southwestern city of Quetta to the town of Chaman, on the border with Afghanistan, where they will arrive on Sunday.
“We have started this march to protest against the resumption of Nato supply. We warn our government to get out of the war on terrorism,” Defence of Pakistan chairman Maulana Samiul Haq said.
“If they think that the United States’ war is only against Afghanistan, they are wrong. The US will target all the Muslim countries after strengthening its control on Afghanistan,” Haq said. “But we won’t allow them to do this, we will fight against them and will fail their plans.”
The convoy is scheduled to reach Chaman on Sunday, however the protesters are unlikely to disrupt traffic at the border because the march has been declared peaceful.
Agence France-Presse
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