Salma Yaqoob and George Galloway to speak at public meeting on Pakistan

Injured men are seen near the site of the car bombing in Lahore, Pakistan on Wednesday, May 27, 2009. (AP / K.M. Chaudary)

Respect leader and Birmingham Stop the War Coalition chair Salma Yaqoob will be speaking alongside George Galloway MP at a meeting on the crisis in Pakistan this weekend.

The public event, which will be taking place at the Bordesley Centre in Birmingham’s Sparkbrook area, will explore the current deepening crisis in Pakistan.

Over the last few months a million people had been displaced by the fighting in the province of Swat and this week saw a massive car bomb in Lahore kill 23 people.

Lord Nazir Ahmed, Green Party’s MEP candidate Felicity Norman, Labour Councillor Tahir Ali and Lib Dem Councillor Tariq Khan will be among a host of speakers discussing the growing instability in the region.

The meeting is organised by the Stop the War Coalition. Its Chairperson Salma Yaqoob said:

“US drone strikes on Pakistani territory and Pakistan’s support for the Western occupation of Afghanistan continues to severely destabilise the country. Stability in the Pakistan is intimately tied up with a resolution to the war in Afghanistan where the conflict is increasingly deadlocked, the death toll of British soldiers continues to rise and Taliban are growing in strength.

“This meeting will outline what positive measures our government can pursue to help bring peace to the region. It is free entry and everybody is welcome to attend”.

The meeting begins at 2pm on Sunday 31st May atthe Bordesley Centre in Stratford Road, Camp Hill, Birmingham, B11 1AR.

Tags: Afghanistan, Birmingham, Cllr, Community, Crisis, Felicity Norman, George Galloway, Green Party, Labour party, Lib Dem Party, Lord Nazir Ahmed, MEP, MP, Pakistan, Pakistani, Respect party, South Asia, South Asian, Stop the War Coalition, Tahir Ali, Taliban, Tariq Khan