The never ending Islamic rage machine rolls on.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — More than 30,000 Islamists rallied against the U.S. in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday, demanding Islamabad cut off ties with Washington following NATO airstrikes last month that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
The protest highlighted the ability of hard-liners to bring their supporters into the streets, as well as the lasting anger over the Nov. 26 attack, which has complicated U.S. efforts to enlist Pakistan’s cooperation on the Afghan war.
The U.S. has expressed its condolences for the NATO airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at two army posts along the Afghan border and has promised to carry out a full investigation. The response has done little to calm anger in Pakistan’s military, which has claimed the attack was deliberate.
“All agreements (with the U.S.) should be terminated,” Hafiz Saeed, the head of the group that organized the protest, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, told the crowd. “We say all agreements terminated the day the attack happened.”
Jamaat-ud-Dawa is widely considered to be the front group for Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant organization that was started with help from the Pakistani government to fight archenemy India, but has been officially banned under international pressure.
Lashkar-e-Taiba is blamed for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people. India has demanded Pakistan crack down on the group, but Islamabad has shown little willingness to go after Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jamaat-ud-Dawa.