NY: Anti-terror demonstration outside Pak consulate
Suman Guha Mozumder in New York | July 28, 2006 01:49 IST
A group of 50-odd people held a noisy demonstration outside the Pakistan Consulate in New York on Thursday protesting Islamabad's alleged involvement in the July 11 terrorist bomb blasts in Mumbai that killed over 200 people. Holding placards with messages like 'Islamic Pakistan is a rogue state' and 'Pakistan is a terrorist state,' the demonstrators, most of them Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party, Chinmaya Mission and Kanchi Kamakoti Seva Foundation, shouted slogans against Pakistan for two hours.
"We do not have any direct evidence so far, but Pakistan's indirect involvement in the blasts cannot be ruled out," Narain Kataria, president of the Indian American Intellectuals Forum that organised the protest, told rediff.com in response to a question.
He acknowledged that while all Muslims could not be blamed for terrorism, there is no doubt that a vast majority of them, whether in Pakistan or in India, remain silent whenever such atrocities are committed. "And when the majority of the people remain silent, it betrays their support for such acts," Kataria claimed.
"We are not against Muslims, but against Islamic Pakistan which is spreading jihad everywhere in the world and fueling insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir," Kataria alleged.
Later the demonstrators handed a memorandum to the office of Pakistan Consul General, Haroon Shaukat condemning the Mumbai blasts.
"We are writing this memorandum to you to express our shock, anguish and indignation at the horrific terrorist attack on 7/11 in Mumbai in which more than 200 innocent people were blown to bits, more than 700 lost their limbs and thousands of families underwent unprecedented trauma," it said.
"Similar terrorist attacks had been orchestrated in Mumbai in 1993 by your spy agency, ISI, in collusion with Dawood Ibrahim, a mafia don," it said.
Drawing the Consul General's attention to Rep Frank Pallone's (D-NJ) condemnation of Pakistan following the blasts for its alleged failure to rein in its terrorist outfits, the memorandum said that Pakistan should learn to live in coexistence with other countries in peace and harmony and refrain from using terrorism as a tool to achieve foreign policy goals.
"Hate, violence and terror are the hallmark of uncivilized brutes... Religious fanaticism of the 7th century is not compatible with the spirit of the 21st century," the memorandum said.
The organisers also took a dig at the Indian government for its allegedly weak response and its indecisiveness. "I must say the government of India's response has been weak. Instead of vacillating, the government should catch all the terrorists and put them behind bars," Kataria said.
Sources said that the outfit was also planning to hold a demonstration outside the Indian consulate soon to protest the government's soft policies towards Muslims in India and failure to apprehend all Islamic terrorists.
http://ia.rediff.com/news/2006/jul/28pak.htm?q=np&file=.htm
Suman Guha Mozumder in New York | July 28, 2006 01:49 IST
A group of 50-odd people held a noisy demonstration outside the Pakistan Consulate in New York on Thursday protesting Islamabad's alleged involvement in the July 11 terrorist bomb blasts in Mumbai that killed over 200 people. Holding placards with messages like 'Islamic Pakistan is a rogue state' and 'Pakistan is a terrorist state,' the demonstrators, most of them Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party, Chinmaya Mission and Kanchi Kamakoti Seva Foundation, shouted slogans against Pakistan for two hours.
"We do not have any direct evidence so far, but Pakistan's indirect involvement in the blasts cannot be ruled out," Narain Kataria, president of the Indian American Intellectuals Forum that organised the protest, told rediff.com in response to a question.
He acknowledged that while all Muslims could not be blamed for terrorism, there is no doubt that a vast majority of them, whether in Pakistan or in India, remain silent whenever such atrocities are committed. "And when the majority of the people remain silent, it betrays their support for such acts," Kataria claimed.
"We are not against Muslims, but against Islamic Pakistan which is spreading jihad everywhere in the world and fueling insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir," Kataria alleged.
Later the demonstrators handed a memorandum to the office of Pakistan Consul General, Haroon Shaukat condemning the Mumbai blasts.
"We are writing this memorandum to you to express our shock, anguish and indignation at the horrific terrorist attack on 7/11 in Mumbai in which more than 200 innocent people were blown to bits, more than 700 lost their limbs and thousands of families underwent unprecedented trauma," it said.
"Similar terrorist attacks had been orchestrated in Mumbai in 1993 by your spy agency, ISI, in collusion with Dawood Ibrahim, a mafia don," it said.
Drawing the Consul General's attention to Rep Frank Pallone's (D-NJ) condemnation of Pakistan following the blasts for its alleged failure to rein in its terrorist outfits, the memorandum said that Pakistan should learn to live in coexistence with other countries in peace and harmony and refrain from using terrorism as a tool to achieve foreign policy goals.
"Hate, violence and terror are the hallmark of uncivilized brutes... Religious fanaticism of the 7th century is not compatible with the spirit of the 21st century," the memorandum said.
The organisers also took a dig at the Indian government for its allegedly weak response and its indecisiveness. "I must say the government of India's response has been weak. Instead of vacillating, the government should catch all the terrorists and put them behind bars," Kataria said.
Sources said that the outfit was also planning to hold a demonstration outside the Indian consulate soon to protest the government's soft policies towards Muslims in India and failure to apprehend all Islamic terrorists.
http://ia.rediff.com/news/2006/jul/28pak.htm?q=np&file=.htm
