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ISLAMABAD: Prominent Pakistani religiopolitical party Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JI) has announced it will hold protest marches and demonstrations in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad cities from April 11-20 to condemn Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. 

The development takes place amid renewed military campaigns by Israel in Gaza since last month after its shaky January 19 ceasefire with Hamas broke down. Israel said on March 19 it had resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, as both sides blamed each other for the breakdown in talks.

The JI has frequently held marches and protest demonstrations in Pakistani cities, notably Karachi, against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza since October 2023. 

“Jamaat-e-Islami has suspended its other activities and announced a Solidarity March for Gaza in major cities of the country,” the party said on social media platform X on Sunday. “Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman appeals to the public for their full participation.”

As per the schedule shared by the party, it aims to hold its march on April 11 in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore and protest outside the US consulate there. On April 13, it will hold a demonstration at Karachi’s busy Shahrah-e-Faisal road while on April 20, the party said it will lead a protest march to the US Embassy in Islamabad. 

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Palestinian officials say. Israel began its offensive after thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 as hostages, according to Israeli officials. 

Pakistan, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, has frequently criticized the Jewish state for its military operations in Gaza. Islamabad has also called for resumption of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory and the need for a revival of negotiations leading to a two-state solution.

Pakistan consistently calls for an independent Palestinian state along the pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. 

ISLAMABAD: Eight people were killed and 12 others injured in a road accident when a bus collided with a rickshaw in Pakistan’s eastern Faisalabad district on Sunday, state-run media reported. 

Fatal road accidents are common in Pakistan where traffic rules are rarely followed and roads as well as a majority of vehicles are in poor condition. 

The accident occurred in Lundianwala’s Lahore Road area in Faisalabad district, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported, adding that the injured were shifted to Jaranwala hospital. 

“Eight people were killed and twelve others injured in a road accident near Lundianwala when a bus collided with rickshaw on Lahore road on Sunday,” Radio Pakistan said. 

According to a report in the Express Tribune, all the victims belonged to the same family. The accident took place when they were returning home after spending Eid holidays when the Lahore-bound bus struck the three-wheeled Qingqi rickshaw in which they were traveling due to the driver’s negligence. 

The report said that as per eyewitnesses, the accident took place after the driver of the speeding bus attempted to overtake another vehicle and collided head-on with the rickshaw carrying the family, crushing it completely. 

Pakistan reports several accidents each year during the Eid holidays when people travel from all parts of the country to their hometowns to visit relatives.