Protest erupts in Karachi over US attack on Venezuela

The recent attacks on Venezuela by the US have been condemned globally. On Sunday, Karachi’s labor unions, women’s rights groups and civil society organizations rallied in protest of what they described as the United States’ armed aggression against Venezuela. The rally was carried out to express solidarity with the Venezuelan people. 

The protest was led by the National Trade Union Federation Pakistan and the Home Based Women Workers Federation Pakistan. It was held outside the Karachi Press Club. The protestors carried the Venezuelan flags and portraits of Hugo Chávez, the late revolutionary leader. They also held posters of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, claimed to be abducted during the US attack on Venezuela.

While addressing the crowd, NTUF General Secretary Nasir Mansoor did not hold back his criticism of US President Donald Trump. He accused Trump of initiating a “criminal war” against Venezuela, a sovereign nation in South America. According to Mansoor, Maduro was being targeted simply for resisting US influence and for using the country’s resources to benefit its people. He labeled the alleged removal of Venezuela’s leader as “blatant terrorism,” which he argued posed a significant threat to global peace.

Dr Asghar Dashti, another speaker said that the attack by the US is aimed at weakening the Bolivarian Revolution and impose a regime favorable to US corporate interests, particularly over oil and gas assets. 

Comrade Zahra Khan, General Secretary of HBWWFP, framed the ongoing conflict as yet another episode in the long history of US intervention in Latin America. She traced this back to the Monroe Doctrine and criticized Pakistan’s political establishment for allegedly nominating Trump, whom she called a “war-monger,” for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The protesters were quite vocal in their demands, claiming that the US president should be held accountable before the ICJ for the unhumanitarian attacks on Venezuela. They also demanded immediate release of Maduro and his wife. 

Furthermore, the protestors in Karachi, urged the international community to support Venezuela’s right to self-determination and sovereignty in these desperate times.