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Protest against drone strikes continues

Bureau Report 2013-11-29
PESHAWAR, Nov 28: The workers of ruling parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continued to block supplies to Nato forces in Afghanistan on Thursday and vowed to carry on their protest till end to US drone attacks in tribal and settled areas of Pakistan.

Prof Ibrahim, the provincial chief of Jamaat-i-Islami, a coalition partner in the provincial government, visited the protest camp in Hayatabad Township and asked the federal government to consider the drone strike in Hangu an attack on Islamabad and order halting of Nato supplies forthwith.

The entire nation was united against the Nato supplies to Afghanistan via Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because of violation of the country`s territory by the US, he said.

A press release, issued from Al-Markaz AlIslami, said that the JI leader also regretted that Pakistan was unable to deter the US despite having atomic bomb and a large army. The US had carried out 370 drone attacks owing to the silence of the coward leadership, he said.

Prof Ibrahim said that innocent women and children were targeted in drone attacks in tribal areas in clear violation of the international human right laws. The government did-n`t have the courage to stop Nato supplies to Afghanistan, he said, adding that the government instead criticised them for blocking the supplies.

He asked the chief of the army staff and air chief marshal to order downing of the drones.

The sit-in against the drone attacks was attended by workers of Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf, Jamaat-i-Islami and Awami Jamhoori Ittehad at five points in the province. The protesting workers checked documents of the vehicles carrying goods to Afghanistan, the press release said.

It said that the protesters allowed trucks carrying legal supplies under the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement and those destined for commercial markets.

Schoolchildren also took part in the protest, asking the US to stop drone strikes. The protesters declared that their campaign would continue till end to drone attacks.

On Friday, leaders and workers of the ruing parties from Fata would also take part in the anti-drone campaign, the release said. Local MPAs and PTI leaders also visited camps and addressed the protesters.

They asked the workers not to disrupt commercial supplies and focus only on the transportation of stuff meant for Nato forces.