Thousands rally in Pakistan amid global protests over Israel’s interception of Gaza aid flotilla
KARACHI: Thousands of people staged pro-Palestine demonstrations after the Friday prayer congregations across Pakistan, joining global protests against Israel’s seizure of an aid flotilla with high-profile international rights activists and a former Pakistani senator attempting to breach the blockade of Gaza.
The rallies were held on the call of a prominent religio-political party, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) over the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail in late August and was transporting medicine and food to the besieged Palestinians in Gaza.
The convoy consisted of more than 40 civilian vessels with about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists and was intercepted on Wednesday by Israeli forces. Organizers said the flotilla aimed to highlight what the United Nations has described as “famine conditions” in Gaza after nearly two years of war.
“All the nations in the world should raise their collective voice against Israel’s atrocities,” Monem Zafar Khan, the JI chief in Karachi, said while addressing a demonstration outside a mosque in Karachi.
