Several saffron organisations on Thursday staged a protest outside Pragati Maidan in the capital against 'Aalishan Pakistan', a lifestyle exhibition showcasing Pakistani culture.
The protesters gathered at Gate No.7 of Pragati Maidan, the venue for the exhibition, at around 12:30 P.M. and raised slogans demanding that the event be called off. The protesters expressed their ire at the government for having given permission to the Pakistan High Commission to organise the four-day exhibition which kicked off today.
"Pakistan is not 'Aalishan' but terrorist. We do not want any of the goods of Pakistan being sold in India. We would not tolerate any such exhibition in India and we will stop it. Our protest was successful and we are going to continue it," said a protester.
Police detained some of the protesters and took them to Tilak Marg police station from where they were later released. Police said that five companies of their personnel were at the spot to control the protesters and there would be adequate deployment at the venue for the remaining days of the event. "Security arrangements were strong and we had five companies of policemen at the spot. In the next three days, too, the security will be tight," police said.
Meanwhile, an exhibitor from Pakistan, Tariq Anwar, said that the exhibition had not picked up in the day due to the rain in the city and the protest, but hoped that things would improve over the remaining days.
