‘2018 to be year of Palestine’s independence’

The year 2018 will be the year of Palestine’s independence and of an Islamic revolution in Pakistan, said Jamaat-e-Islami chief Senator Siraj-ul-Haq in his address to a rally organised on Sunday to denounce the United States’ decision to officially recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Attended by a large number of participants, including women and children, the rally began from Nipa Chowrangi and ended at Hasan Square. Referring to Al-Aqsa Mosque, a holy site for Muslims located in the Old City of Jerusalem, Haq said the Bait-ul-Muqaddas would not be allowed to become a part of Israel until even a single Muslim was alive.

He asserted that JI’s protest campaign would continue till the US revokes its decision. US President Donald Trump had, on December 6, officially recognised the disputed city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing the nearly seven-decade long foreign policy of America calling for Israel and Palestine to settle their dispute peacefully.

With the acknowledgement, President Trump had announced moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The decision sparked protests in Muslim countries as well as in European and other states which hold liberal political views.

These states believe the decision would worsen the condition of the already war-torn Middle East. In his address, the JI chief said the gathering of people in such a large number had delivered a message to the entire world that people stand with Al Quds – the Arabic name for Jerusalem. Moreover, he also spoke of Indian-occupied Kashmir and vouched support for its independence too.

“The Muslim world needs a courageous leadership to free Jerusalem and Kashmir,” he said, suggesting that the Islamic countries establish a bloc and form a military and monetary union. “And the bloc must have the liberation of Jerusalem at the top of its agenda,” he added. Haq opined that the enemies wanted the Muslim youth to forget their duty towards ‘jihad’. “But they must acknowledge that we are willing to lay down our lives rather than letting go of Al Quds,” he said.