There wasn’t an Osama bin Laden placard
in sight. The men in beards and religious headgear were vastly outnumbered by
the women. There were no banners calling for jihad against infidels.
They came from the trade unions, from community groups,
from women’s organizations to join this march called by the Alliance for Peace
and Justice. The left wing Labour Party Pakistan was out in force, selling copies
of their magazine, Workers Struggle.
Before the march, on a Tuesday afternoon, the organizers
told me they were expecting perhaps 2-3000 people. In the event over 5000 took
part in the march.
By western standards this may not seem a massive demo. But
Pakistan is a military dictatorship and those protesting know they can be arrested
and jailed for participating in an anti-government demo.
Today the armed police are massively outnumbered and powerless
to stop the march. The streets belong to the protesters.
And as the colourful river of banners and placards snakes
its way along the main thoroughfare of Rawalpindi, local people came out to
show their support for the aims of the demo: ‘No to American Terrorism, No to
Religious Extremism’.