PLF Pakistan holds Al-Aqsa Defense Day protests across country

KARACHI (Palestine Foundation Information Center), On the call of Palestine Foundation Pakistan (PLF), “Al-Aqsa Mosque Defense Day” was observed across the country on August 21. Protest demonstrations were held in major and minor cities to defend Qibla-e-Awwal, with the central demonstration organized outside the Karachi Press Club.

The demonstration was attended by leaders of various political and religious parties, members of civil society, the minority community, students, teachers, lawyers, and prominent men and women from various walks of life. Participants held banners and placards inscribed with slogans emphasizing the defense of Qibla-e-Awwal and the duty of Muslims, alongside chants of “Down with America” and “Unacceptable Israel,” while waving the flags of Pakistan and Palestine.

The central protest rally was addressed by prominent leaders and representatives, including Jamaat-e-Islami Deputy Amir Muslim Pervez, Palestine Foundation Pakistan Secretary General Dr. Sabir Abu Maryam, Pakistan Peoples Party leader Syed Arshad Hussain, and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Pirzada Azhar Ali Hamdani. Other key speakers included Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan’s Allama Aqeel Anjum, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen’s Allama Baqir Zaidi, Awami National Party’s Younas Buneri, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s former Sindh Assembly member Major (R) Qamar Abbas, Central Muslim League leader Maulana Ishaq, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf women leaders Tajwar Hussain and Ayesha Rashid. The event also featured addresses by Tehreek Minhaj-ul-Quran’s Abdul Samad, Jamiat Ahle Hadith’s Mufti Murtaza Rehman, Pakistan Nazriyati Party’s Ibrahim Chitrali, renowned scholar Pir Ma’az Nizami, social leader Aslam Farooqui, along with Mufti Abdul Waheed Younus and Hameedullah Advocate.

Addressing the central rally, political and religious leaders praised the people of Pakistan for observing the day, proving that Pakistan stands firmly with Palestine and Al-Quds. Speakers recalled that on this day in 1969, Al-Aqsa Mosque was set on fire, and warned that the holy site remains under threat today. They urged Muslim rulers to formulate an effective strategy to liberate Palestine from Zionist occupation and ensure the retrieval of Al-Quds.

Speakers pointed out that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was created following the 1969 attack, yet 57 years later, it has failed to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque due to a lack of unity among Islamic nations. They called on Muslim rulers to foster mutual cooperation rather than relying on the United States. Furthermore, they strongly condemned ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza and Lebanon, noting the international community’s failure to restrain Israel despite ceasefire agreements.

The leaders also condemned the US Ambassador’s visit to Indian-occupied Kashmir, stating that describing Kashmir as Indian territory reflects aggressive American policy. The rally concluded with participants paying tribute to the martyrs of Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, and the resistance, including Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Hassan Nasrallah, Sayyid Ali Khamenei, and Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, alongside the martyrs of Gaza, Lebanon, and Pakistan.