Islamists protest in support of Pakistan army

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Source: Al Arabiya News

By Mubasher Bukhari - Reuters- Lahore, Pakistan

About 30,000 Islamists staged a protest on Sunday to condemn the United States and show support for Pakistan’s military, which has reasserted itself after a cross-border NATO attack and a controversial memo that has weakened the civilian government.

Speakers included Hafiz Saeed, a fiercely anti-American cleric suspected of links to the group blamed for the 2008 militant rampage in the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people.

Also at the podium was Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, known as the father of the Afghan Taliban, who are fighting U.S.-led NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s military was humiliated by the unilateral U.S. special forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town in May, facing unprecedented public criticism. But many Pakistanis rallied behind it after a Nov. 26 cross-border NATO air raid killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, and plunged already troubled ties with Washington to a low point.



Read more: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/18/183240.html

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“Long live the Pakistan army,” chanted the Islamists in the central city of Lahore.
(Reuters)

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