Islamabad: As war clouds loom over Iraq, Pakistan's religious coalition has
threatened to send the country's youth to Baghdad to fight American forces.
The Muthahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) provincial Punjab unit chief Hafiz Idris, who was
gearing to organise a massive anti-US rally, said the alliance would send its youth
to fight against US in Iraq as it did to oppose American intervention in
Afghanistan, media reports quoted him as telling reporters in Lahore on March
16.
He said the MMA meeting also demanded the US forces including the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) personnel, who were reported to be taking part in raids against
al-Qaida militants hiding in Pakistan, to leave immediately.
Reports quoted Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed as saying that the
government was unaware of any effort by religious coalition to send Pakistanis to
fight in Iraq, adding MMA would continue to mobilise people in the country to
organise demonstrations against the war.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan announced that it would soon be setting free 900 Pakistani
militants taken into custody for fighting along with Taleban regime.
Over 1,000 Pakistanis have already been released since last year and another 900
were expected to be released shortly. These men were mobilised and sent to
Afghanistan over a period of time by Pakistan's hardline Islamic religious parties
and groups to fight along with Taleban and al-Qaida.
PTI
