JuD, other hardline groups oppose MFN-status to India

The protest was organised jointly by the JuD and the Defa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), an alliance of hardline and extremist groups.

The DPC has organised similar protests across the country in recent days.

Mufti Muhammad Yusuf, a DPC leader from Islamabad, and another hardliner Yasir Farooqui were among the speakers who described Pakistanis favouring friendship and better trade relations with India as "traitors."

The protest, which took place outside the National Press Club in Islamabad, was attended by over 100 people. Many protesters carried JuD flags and banners.

The DPC was formed last year by JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, for whom the US offered a 10-million dollar bounty earlier this year.