Karachi protest rally against killing of Iranian General in US attack

KARACHI: Several religious political parties and groups holding a protest rally on Sunday (today) in Karachi against killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike, ARY News reported.

Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, was killed early on Friday in a US airstrike on his convoy at Baghdad airport.

Majlis Wahdat ul Muslimeen (MWM), Imamia Students Organization and other political groups holding a rally that will begin from Karachi Press Club and march to the United States Consulate in city.

Stringent security measures have been taken due to the protest rally. The roads leading to the US Consulate, including Moulvi Tameezuddin Khan Road, Mai Kolachi Bypass, Aiwan-e-Saddar road and Ziauddin Road in the red zone have been closed by the city’s traffic police.

The traffic police has advised the commuters, from Tower to Boat Basin and PIDC to Tower, to use the I.I. Chundrigar Road for their travel.

Top Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was also killed in the attack, a militia spokesman said.

Iraqi paramilitary groups said on Friday that three rockets hit Baghdad International Airport, killing five members of Iraqi paramilitary groups and two “guests”.

The rockets landed near the air cargo terminal, burning two vehicles, killing and injuring several people.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Friday termed the assassination of Iran Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani, “an extremely dangerous and foolish escalation.”

“The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism,” he said in a post on Twitter.