Pakistan GOVT declares holiday to protest anti-Islam film

[Heliobas Disciple]

remind me again how much money of our taxpayer money we send to Pakistan every year?



http://dawn.com/2012/09/19/govt-to-j...ti-islam-film/
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Pakistan govt declares holiday to protest anti-Islam film
DawnNews | DAWN.COM | 3 hours ago

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has announced a national holiday on Friday to protest against the American anti-Islam [film] that has caused an outrage throughout the Muslim world.

The federal cabinet decided to make Friday an official “day of expression of love for the prophet” after discussing the “Innocence of Muslims” movie, which has triggered more than a week of violent protests across the Islamic world, a senior government official said.

The move came after religious parties called for a day of protest on Friday to denounce the film.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik, while speaking to media representatives earlier today, said that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would join protestors in their demonstrations.

The head of the Sunni Tehreek religious party on Monday urged people across the country to close their businesses and hold rallies against the film, which was made in the United States.

Sources said traders and transporters associations in the largest city and commercial hub Karachi had backed the call.

Around 500 protesting lawyers broke through a gate to Islamabad’s heavily-guarded diplomatic enclave on Wednesday, chanting anti-US slogans and castigating the Pakistan government for its “criminal silence” over the film.

The film has fueled outrage across the Muslim world, with more than 30 people have been killed around the world during more than a week of attacks and violent protests linked to the controversial film. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have all blocked access to YouTube, following the video-sharing website’s failure to take down the movie.

On Tuesday, over 2,000 protesters chanting anti-US slogans and burning the American flag gathered outside the US mission in Peshawar to vent their fury at the “Innocence of Muslims” film. Furious protestors in Karachi also marched towards the US consulate to protest against the film, which has triggered a week of deadly protests across the Muslim world.

There have been furious protests outside US embassies and other American symbols in at least 20 countries, and the American ambassador to Libya and three other US diplomats in the North African country have been among those killed.

see also: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012...ishq-e-rasool/
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Public holiday on Friday marking Yaum-e-Ishq-e-Rasool
4 hours ago

ISLAMABAD - Federal Cabinet has announced public holiday on Friday to observe Yaum-e-Ishq-e-Rasool (PBUH).

The federal cabinet suspended its routine agenda to discuss the situation created as aftermath of the desecrating movie by a US filmmaker, intended against the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf appealed the masses to stay peaceful in their protest.

The Prime Minister told the cabinet that the government has taken strict notice of the blasphemous film and blocked all websites containing the profane material.

The PM Raja demanded immediate removal of the movie from youtube and appealed to the people not to destroy the public property during the protest.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...t-judiciary-pm
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Public holiday on Friday to observe Yaum-e-Ishq Rasool
By: INP | 1 hour ago |

In the backdrop of protests against anti-Islam movie, the federal cabinet has announced to observe Friday as a day of reverence for the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and has declared a public holiday on the day.

The decision was taken in the federal cabinet meeting on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to deliberate over the matter of anti-Islam movie and to mull ways to record protest against it.

The prime minister condemned the US movie that ridiculed Islam. It was also decided in the meeting that PM Raja Pervez Ashraf will personally meet with the US ambassador and will take the nation into confidence.

Therefore, the Cabinet resolved to observe Youm-e-Ishq-e-Rasool on Friday and announced public holiday.

PM Ashraf also appreciated the relief and rescue efforts made by the military during floods in different areas of the country. He also prayed for the victims who lost their lives in floods and fire mishaps in Karachi and Lahore.

Earlier, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf appealed to the people protesting against the hate film, to stay peaceful and refrain from damaging assets, while Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) will also participate in protest demonstrations on Friday.

[gawarriorqueen]

Bring all of our people home and cut off the gravy train ...

[Grantbo]

Bring all of our people home and cut off the gravy train ...

Yup!

Let them to their own fate. And keep them over there so they won't pollute Western culture.

[Heliobas Disciple]

This is sponsored by, and made official by, the government of Pakistan. This isn't some spontaneous riot. They've also summoned the US ambassador. Where is Hilary know? And what is she telling him to do? Did she tell him to show up because they are friends of the United States, and that they are peaceful and will remain calm throughout the protest so that his his life won't be any danger?

Pakistan govt to summon US diplomat over anti-Islam film
19/09/2012 | 02:07 PM | World News

ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (KUNA) -- While strongly condemning the sacrilegious film against Holy Prophet (PBUH) here on Wednesday, the federal cabinet of Pakistan decided to summon US diplomat and also announced to observe Friday as the 'Prophet Day'.

The cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. The cabinet instead of discussing its usual agenda, discussed the anti-Islam film and how to respond to the growing protests across the country.

Addressing the meeting, the Prime Minister strongly condemned the film and decided to summon US envoy to foreign office to register their protest.

He said that a strict notice of the film has been taken and all relevant websites including YouTube have been blocked. He urged the nation to register their protest in a peaceful manner and restrain from damaging their own properties.

The Cabinet also resolved to observe Youm-e-Ishq Rasool (PBUH) day on Friday and announced public holiday.

[kittyluvr]

As others said, remove all our people from Pakistan and do not send them even 1 more cent of aid. Maybe suggest to them why not have a whole month holiday and see how that works out for them...

[Heliobas Disciple]

So they are already rioting outside US embassy and consulates in Pakistan, and they want the ambassador to come out of his safe house to meet with them? Who is guaranteeing his safety? FLY HIM, all staff and family, OUT OF THERE.


http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...matic-missions
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‘Concerned’ US suspends diplomatic missions
September 19, 2012
Our Staff Reporters

PESHAWAR/LAHORE/KARACHI - US on Tuesday halted public dealing in all its diplomatic missions in Pakistan as police battled with enraged people protesting against an anti-Islam film on the third consecutive day.

Police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of more than 2,000 protesters trying to reach the US consulate in Peshawar on Tuesday. Around the same number of people marched through the country’s largest city, Karachi, towards the US consulate.

There have been furious protests outside US embassies and other American symbols in at least 20 countries, and the American ambassador to Libya and three other US diplomats in the North African country have been among those killed.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan have all blocked access to YouTube, following the video-sharing website’s failure to take down the anti-Islam film, “Innocence of Muslims”, which was made in America.

A female suicide bomber killed 12 people in Kabul on Tuesday in an attack claimed by an insurgent group as revenge for the film. The blast brought the total number killed in a week-long violent backlash against over the film to 30. In Pakistan, two protesters died after demonstrating against the film in Lower Dir, close to the Afghan border, and another two outside the US consulate in Karachi. According to a statement issued by US embassy in Islamabad, all diplomatic missions in the country would be closed for public due to mounting security concerns.

The US diplomatic personnel were shifted to unclosed location from Karachi consulate as angry protesters advancing to the diplomatic building in red zone of the largest and port city of Pakistan.

In Lahore, the second largest city of the country, up to 900 people demonstrated near the US consulate, chanting “Obama is a dog” and “Death to the USA”.

US consulate in Lahore was also vacated by US officials who have been shifted to other safe places, local media reports said. Authorities have blocked all roads goes toward US diplomatic building in Lahore.

Nearby roads were blocked and security tightened in Peshawar as well where protesters chanting anti-US slogans and burning the Stars and Stripes flag gathered outside the US mission to vent their fury.

Riot police with armoured vehicles were deployed to block access to the consulate in Peshawar, the main city in country’s restive northwest, where Taliban and al-Qaeda militants have strongholds.

“We used tear gas shells and lobbed gas grenades because the protesters were trying to come closer to the sensitive area,” senior police officer Imtiaz Khan said.

He said more than 1,000 police were on hand to block the road to the US consulate.

Addressing the crowd, the local leader of the Sunni party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Shabbir Ahmed lashed out at the United States, demanding the Pakistani government expel the American ambassador and close its missions in Pakistan.

“We are ready to sacrifice our lives to uphold the dignity of our Prophet (PBUH),” he said.

In Dera Ismail Khan, All Students Organisation protested outside the press club and staged a demonstration. They also chanted slogans and strongly condemned the movie ridiculing Islam.

Students of Bahauddin Zakariya University protested in Multan while All Parties also took out a rally in Tank. Various political and religious parties along with student federations also staged protests in Toba Tek Singh, Mianwali, Chakwal, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Umer Kot and many other areas across country.

[Heliobas Disciple]

It's not even Friday yet over there and the embassy is under siege. Don't forget - the GOVERNMENT of Pakistan is protesting the film tomorrow - this can't get better. I wonder if they're still summoning the ambassador to come out of his safe house

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19660294
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Pakistan anti-Islam film protests: Clashes in Islamabad
20 September 2012 Last updated at 09:43 ET

The authorities in Pakistan have called on the army to control protesters demonstrating against an amateur video mocking Islam outside the US embassy in the capital, Islamabad.

Live rounds have been heard and tear gas has been fired as police struggled to contain the crowd of thousands.

The film, which was made in the US, is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad.

Several people have died in protests in the past week against the film in the Middle East and North Africa.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says some protesters have said they will not leave the diplomatic enclave until the US embassy is on fire.

However, he has not yet seen any evidence of the army's arrival.
Chaotic scenes

Streets leading to the enclave, where most of the embassies are housed, were earlier blocked off by shipping containers in an effort to increase security.

Television pictures have shown chaotic scenes as police tried to gain control of the situation.

Effigies have been burned, and stones and other missiles have been thrown at police.

One demonstrator told Reuters: "Our policemen are not any better than the Americans, because they are trying to stop us."

A demonstration in the same area on Wednesday saw around 500 protesters gather outside the gates of the enclave.

The US State Department earlier issued a warning against any non-essential travel to Pakistan.

They also "strongly urged" US citizens in Pakistan to avoid protests and large gatherings.

Anti-US sentiment has been growing since people became aware of the amateur film, Innocence of Muslims, earlier this month.

The US Ambassador to Libya was killed in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, on 11 September.

Protests in countries around the world then took place.

Tensions with the West have been further inflamed by the publication by a French magazine of obscene cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad on Wednesday.

The Pakistani government has called a national holiday on Friday to enable people to demonstrate peacefully.

[Heliobas Disciple]

Notice there is not a peep in that warning about the GOV'T protesting the film. Can't let the masses know our 'friends' are not our 'friends' as there is an election in less than 2 months.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012...l-to-pakistan/
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State Department warns against travel to Pakistan
Published September 20, 2012


The State Department is warning Americans to avoid non-essential travel to Pakistan as protests over an anti-Islam video made in the U.S. grow and turn violent.

The department issued an alert Thursday. It's stepping up existing advice for Americans to be aware of the risks of travel to Pakistan. It says protests and demonstrations, some targeting U.S. interests, are likely to continue.

The warning comes as hundreds of Pakistanis angry at the film clash with police in the capital, Islamabad. A crowd of more than 1,000 people tried to make their way to the U.S. Embassy inside a guarded enclave that houses embassies and government offices.

Riot police used tear gas and batons to keep stone-throwing demonstrators away.

The actual advisory can be found here:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...w/tw_5764.html


An urgent message from the Embassy to Americans in Pakistan is here:

http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/sm-091712.html

[sssarawolf]

Bring all of our people home and cut off the gravy train ...

ABSOLUTLY

[Heliobas Disciple]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...p-country.html
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Pakistan on lockdown as mass protests expected to grip country
Pakistan went into lock-down on Friday morning as expat workers stayed at home, mobile phone signals were turned off and security forces began preparing for a nationwide day of protests at an anti-Muslim film.
By Rob Crilly, Islamabad
6:17AM BST 21 Sep 2012

Demonstrations are expected throughout the Muslim World after Friday prayers.

A day earlier television channels in Pakistan began broadcasting an American government advertisement distancing itself from the filmmakers as it tries to draw the sting from anti-Western demonstrations that led to violent clashes on Thursday.

Anger has grown steadily in Pakistan, fermented by hardline religious leaders who have seized on the amateurish "Innocence of Muslims" video as ammunition for their cause

The government has banned YouTube and declared Friday a holiday as part of a high-risk strategy to channel protesters’ energy into more manageable protests.

On Thursday, stone-throwing protesters chanting “Death to America” tried to storm the fortified diplomatic enclave in Islamabad and march on the US embassy.

Victoria Nuland, spokeswoman for the US State Department, said $70,000 had been spent on broadcasting the advert, which features Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

“After the video came out there was concern in lots of bodies politic, including in Pakistan, whether this represented the views of the US government,” she told journalists.

“So in order to ensure we reached the largest number of Pakistanis, some 90 million as I understand in this case with these spots, it was the judgment that this was the best way to do it.”

In it, Mr Obama describes America’s history of tolerance.

The US embassy in Islamabad is also circulating a YouTube video of ordinary Americans condemning the inflammatory film.

However, Pakistan is braced for a fresh wave of protests.

Shops, markets and petrol stations will close and transport is likely to come to a standstill.

British diplomats have been ordered not to leave their homes and cell phone networks have been turned off to prevent protests spiralling out of control.

On Thursday, more than 40 policemen were injured in clashes. They used live rounds and tear gas to disperse the protesters.

There are also fears of protests in Benghazi, where rival militia leaders said they would take to the streets.

Security has been tightened in Cairo around the US and French embassies.

Dozens of French diplomatic and cultural institutions will be closed after a satirical magazine published inflammatory cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

[Bolt]

Bring all of our people home and cut off the gravy train ...

Everywhere. Bring all our people and our resources home. Let the rest of the world learn to get by with less, just like we are having to do. It's ridiculous to borrow money to give to people that hate us. What's gonna happen? They might like us even less? F 'em.

[Heliobas Disciple]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/wo...film.html?_r=0
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Violence Breaks Out in Pakistan as Public Holiday Begins
By DECLAN WALSH
Published: September 21, 2012

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A television station employee was shot dead on Friday in the northwestern city of Peshawar as violent crowds filled the streets of several cities on a day of government-sanctioned protests against an anti-Islam film made in the United States.

The unrest came as governments and Western institutions in many parts of the Muslim world braced for protests after Friday prayer — an occasion often associated with demonstrations as worshipers leave mosques. In Tunisia, the authorities invoked emergency powers to outlaw all demonstrations, fearing an outpouring of anti-Western protest inspired both by the American-made film and by cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a French satirical weekly.

American diplomatic posts in India, Indonesia and elsewhere closed for the day, news reports said, while thousands of Islamists gathered in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, to chant slogans against the United States and France, burning the flags of both countries and an effigy of President Obama, Reuters said.

European countries took steps to forestall protests among their own Muslim minorities and against their missions abroad. France had already announced the closure on Friday of embassies and other institutions in 20 countries while, in Paris, some Muslim leaders urged their followers to heed a government ban on weekend demonstrations protesting against denigration of the prophet.

Interior Minister Manuel Valls said officials throughout the country had orders to prevent all protests and crack down if the ban was challenged. “There will be strictly no exceptions. Demonstrations will be banned and broken up,” he said.

The German Interior Ministry said it was postponing a poster campaign aimed at countering radical Islam to avoid fueling protests among the country’s 4 million Muslims, The Associated Press reported.

In Pakistan, the scene of the most turbulent unrest, ARY News said that a driver, Muhammad Amir, was shot three times by the police as he drove through an area where stick-wielding protesters were burning a movie theater owned by a prominent politician.

The station repeatedly broadcast graphic footage of hospital staff giving emergency treatment to Mr. Amir, apparently shortly before he died. Other Pakistani journalists condemned the footage as insensitive and irresponsible.

Businesses closed and streets emptied across the country as the government declared a national holiday, the “Day of Love for the Prophet Muhammad,” to encourage peaceful protests against the controversial film that has ignited protest across the Muslim world for more than a week.

“An attack on the holy prophet is an attack on the core belief of 1.5 billion Muslims. Therefore, this is something that is unacceptable,” said Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in an address to a religious conference Friday morning in Islamabad.

Mr. Ashraf called on the United Nations and international community to formulate a law outlawing hate speech across the world. “Blasphemy of the kind witnessed in this case is nothing short of hate speech, equal to the worst kind of anti-Semitism or other kind of bigotry,” he said.

But the scenes of chaos in some parts of the country as the day progressed suggested that the government had failed to control public anger on the issue.

In Peshawar, where the television employee was killed, protesters attacked and burned two movie theaters, breaking through the windows with sticks and setting fire to posters that featured images of female movie stars.

Television footage showed the police firing in the air to disperse the crowd, and a hospital official said that at least 15 people, including three police officers, were injured.

In Islamabad, where thousands of protesters flooded toward the heavily guarded diplomatic enclave, Express News reported that the police ran out of rubber bullets because of heavy firing.

A television reporter said that when protesters in nearby Rawalpindi ran out of material to burn, they broke into several tire shops along a major road to steal fresh supplies.

The government cut off cellphone coverage in major cities, while authorities in Islamabad sealed all exits to the city after Friday prayers, state radio reported. Some Pakistanis were relying on e-mail and social media such as Twitter to communicate.

Expressions of weary anger over the violence were common. “We are not a nation. We are a mob,” said Nadeem F. Paracha, a cultural commentator with Dawn newspaper, on Twitter.

Large shipping containers blocked roads through the center of several cities. Western diplomatic missions were closed for the day.

The State Department spent $70,000 on Urdu-language advertisements that aired on several television channels, dissociating the United States government from the inflammatory film.

The Interior Ministry announced it had summoned the American chargé d’affaires, Richard Hoagland, asking him to have the anti-Islam film removed from YouTube, which has been entirely blocked in Pakistan for the past several days.

[Housecarl]

You beat me on that one HD.

[Heliobas Disciple]

http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-68...Foreign-Office
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Anti-Islam film: Hoagland summoned to FO
September 21, 2012 - Updated 1425 PKT
From Web Edition

ISLAMABAD: US Charge d' Affaires, Richard Hoagland was summoned to the Foreign Office on Friday to register Pakistan’s protest against the anti-Islam film.

The Foreign Office informed Hoagland that the anti-Islam film was equivalent to an attack on two billion Muslims worldwide. The Foreign Office also demanded that the anti-Islam film be taken of Youtube immediately.

According to the Foreign Office, the anti-Islam film was a conspiracy to spread hatred amongst different religions.

A press release by the US Embassy stated that Ambassador Hoagland reiterated in his meeting at the Foreign Office that the United States Government has condemned this video’s content and its message and emphasized that the United States Government has nothing to do with it.

Ambassador Hoagland stated that this act was a deeply insensitive decision by a single individual to disseminate hatred. It does not reflect the values of the United States, a nation of more than 300 million people, built upon the pillars of religious freedom and tolerance.

Ambassador Hoagland echoed the call by the Prime Minister and other officials from the Government of Pakistan for citizens to remain calm and express their views peacefully.

Ambassador Hoagland also underscored his appreciation to the Government of Pakistan for its commitment to protect the facilities and personnel of diplomatic missions.