Pak protestors vow to set air base afire
From The Times of India
Monday, October 15, 2001
ISLAMABAD: Authorities arrested hundreds of militant
Muslims and sealed Jacobabad on Sunday after leaders of
an influential Islamic political party vowed to attack the air
base where US personnel are said to be working.
A spokesman for Pakistan's powerful Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
party said thousands of followers were massing on Sunday
morning and would move toward Jacobabad Air Base. "Body
bags will be sent to America," said Riaz Durrani, a Jamiat
Ulema-e-Islam spokesman. "Then they will realize the misery."
Police and paramilitary troops fired tear-gas shells to repel
hundreds of militant Muslims marching to Jacobabad air base
where US personnel are said to be working, authorities said.
According to witnesses, Pakistani paramilitary troops opened
fire at anti-American demonstrators in Jacobabad on Sunday,
killing one and injuring several others.
They said the paramilitary rangers opened gunfire when about
3,000 demonstrators tried to march toward the Jacobabad
airfield which is being used by US personnel after attacking the
railway station with stones in the centre of the town. At least
12 people were injured in the clash, including one policeman,
the witnesses said.
"We have strict orders from the government to deal sternly with
the protesters," Jacobabad police senior superintendent Akhtar
Ali Shah told reporters.
Clashes between police and roving groups of demonstrators in
the southern city of Jacobabad were continuing into the
afternoon on Sunday as scattered groups of militants kept
trying to reach Jacobabad Air Base. Jacobabad city police said
349 people had been arrested - most in advance to prevent the
protests from materialising.
Interior Ministry officials, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said 292 members of that party and other militant
organizations were arrested to "prevent them from attacking
and carrying out suicide operations" at the air base.
Pakistani officials confirmed on Thursday on condition of
anonymity that the country has allowed US military aircraft to
land inside its borders and has granted the United States use
of at least two air bases during air strikes inside Afghanistan.
The officials emphasized that the Americans were not ground
forces and did not characterize them as US military personnel.
They identified one base as Jacobabad's - news that has
enraged some militant Muslims despite the Pakistani
government's formal denial last week that "US armed services
personnel and aircraft" were in the country. The government
has said Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used for any
attacks on Afghanistan.
The crowd in downtown Jacobabad, which protest leaders from
the powerful Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party said numbered in the
thousands, had gathered outside a hotel in the central part of
the city and began moving toward Jacobabad Air Base.
Authorities, who had virtually sealed off the city and were
patrolling the streets with heavy arms, first warned them to
stop, then fired tear gas shells into the crowd and bullets into
the air.
Protesters responded by throwing stones and shouting. A jeep
filled with paramilitary troops also was attacked, authorities
said.
Intelligence sources said all major roads leading to Jacobabad
had been closed, and anyone trying to reach the city was
being checked thoroughly. The city was sealed to outsiders.
The issue of US personnel in Pakistan is extremely
controversial in this Muslim country of 145 million people.
Islamic religious parties sympathetic to Afghanistan's ruling
Taliban are outraged that Pakistan has decided to help the
United States in its attempts to destroy terrorist installations in
Afghanistan that belong to Osama Bin Laden, top suspect in
the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Residents said otherwise on Sunday. "People have seen
American aircraft landing and taking off during the past couple
of days, and especially yesterday," said Rashid Bijarani, a
farmer in Jacobabad, who said he himself saw them. Others in
Jacobabad also spoke of seeing US-marked craft.
Abdul Ghafoor Hydri, a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam leader, said at a
news conference on Saturday night that the party had called
for followers to attack the air base and even stage suicide
attacks to destroy American aircraft.
Troops from Panu Akoil, a nearby major military base, were on
the scene at the air base to ensure security, Interior Ministry
sources said.
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