New York Times

March 9, 2003

Thousands of Pakistanis Demonstrate Against Attacking Iraq

By ERIK ECKHOLM



AWALPINDI, Pakistan, March 9 — Tens of thousands of Pakistanis shouted condemnations of President Bush today as the country's hardline Islamic parties rallied against a United States-led attack on Iraq.

The protest, in the crumbling center of this old city near Islamabad, the capital, may have surpassed 100,000 people, according to some independent estimates. It was the latest reminder of the severe domestic pressures on President Pervez Musharraf as he decides whether to support his American allies in a crucial vote in the United Nations Security Council in coming days.

Pakistan holds a non-permanent seat in the council and has yet to say how it will vote.

While marchers left little doubt about their resentment at what they regard as Washington's anti-Muslim policies, the atmosphere today was orderly and almost festive. The police presence was deliberately light, most shops remained open along the two miles of roadway packed with demonstrators and, in most of the city, life carried on as usual.

Yet the placards and the speeches by the country's top religious conservatives struck harsh notes.

"Pakistan must not simply abstain but must oppose the American resolution in the United Nations," Qazi Hussain Ahmad, political leader of the country's largest Islamic group, Jamaat-e-Islami, told the crowd in a pointed warning to General Musharraf.

"We should not miss the opportunity of slapping America in the face," added Mr. Ahmad, who is also the parliamentary head of a coalition of Islamic parties.

One leading cleric accused the United States of launching a new "Crusade against Islam," while another said the "Jewish lobby" aimed to control Middle Eastern oil.

Written slogans, some in English and some in Urdu, ranged from "No War for Oil," and "Down With Bush," to "U.S. Is the Biggest Terrorist."

In its size and tone, the protest today resembled one held a week ago in the southern city of Karachi, and the religious coalition said it planned more large demonstrations around the country.

But political experts said it appeared that General Musharraf would be able to weather the dissent, even if he found it prudent not to vote against a United States-sponsored resolution that would in effect endorse a military attack on Iraq.

Most Pakistanis oppose the war and are suspicious of American motives. But at the same time, few have much love for Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader who is resented for not supporting Pakistan's passionate concerns about Muslims in Indian-occupied Kashmir.

The Islamic coalition won 20 percent of legislative seats in elections last fall and enjoys firm support among a significant minority of Pakistanis, political experts say, though its calls for Muslim brotherhood and attacks on the United States have wider appeal.

Today's marchers were mostly ardent supporters of the main Islamic parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami and the more radical Jamiat-Ulema-Islam, with many arriving by bus from distant towns in northern Pakistan. A few clusters of men wore military fatigues, identifying them as "holy warriors" who wage guerrilla warfare in Kashmir.

Small groups of women, many veiled and some carrying babies, joined the march and some families brought multiple generations.

"America just wants to get Iraq's oil," said Qamar Ulhudar, a construction contractor from Rawalpindi who was marching with his son's family. "First destroy Israel's weapons of mass destruction, then we'll talk about Saddam."

His wife, Naseem Aqtar, broke in: "America wants to dominate the Muslims. We will live and die with the Muslim world."

Pictures of Osama bin Laden were not as evident as they were at the previous weekend's march in Karachi, but one sign, in Urdu, read: "Mullah Omar, Osama, Saddam — We Honor Your Courage."

A handful of Western reporters mingled in the crowds without incident. Marchers crowded around an American to urge him to spread their message. "Please write this down," one man said. "America is terrorist. Israel is terrorist."