From Bahrain’s Gulf News comes a story headlined “Islamic activists held in Pakistan.”
“Islamic activists,” eh? Were they working to get out the vote? Or to fluoridate the water? Not quite: “A police official said that Sajid Ali Naqvi, head of Islami Tehrik-e-Pakistan and accused over the killing of Maulana Azam Tariq, the leader of Millat-e-Islamia who was fatally shot on October 7, had been picked up in an overnight swoop in the capital Islamabad. The authorities also raided mosques, homes and militant bases across Pakistan early yesterday, picking up dozens of Islamic militants, another police official in the central city of Multan added.”
“Hundreds of angry” bystanders were at the scene of Naqvi’s arrest. “‘Al jihad, Al jihad (holy war),’ the crowd shouted. ‘We will continue our struggle until the release of our leader.’ The protesters chanted slogans such as ‘Down with America’ and ‘Down with (President) Musharraf’ as they marched through the streets of the city. They also demanded the immediate release of Naqvi.”
Why weren’t they happy that these militants who had hijacked their religion were finally being rounded up?
By the way, in the story, the phrase “Islamic activists” doesn’t actually appear in quotes, but “war on terror” does.