News
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Imran announces peace march to Waziristan
* PTI chairman says innocent Pakistanis are being killed in drone strikes* Asks government to disclose names of those killed in US attacks
Staff Report
PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan announced on Saturday he would lead a peace march to North Waziristan to let the world know how the United States was killing “innocent Pakistanis”.
Addressing a public meeting to protest restoration of NATO supply routes, Imran said the participants of the march would include human rights activists and journalists and it would visit Waziristan in September. The aim behind taking the peace march to Waziristan was to let the media meet the violence-affected families, whose loved ones lost their lives in drone attacks. The PTI chief criticised the government for fighting the “American war”.
“The nation wants to get out of this war, as their blood is being sold out,” said Imran amidst chanting party activists.
He demanded the government to reveal names of the victims of US drone strikes, claiming the dead were “common people and not terrorists”.
“The people being killed in these drone strikes were the citizens of this country. The government should make their names public,” Imran said, who also vowed to raise voices at every fora against the government’s stance of fighting the “American war”. Imran used the occasion to slam President Asif Ali Zardari for “hypocrisy” over these drones attacks. “Zardari does not condemn drone attacks. He does hypocrisy,” he claimed.
The PTI chief also renewed the party’s and his personal stance over the issue of executive-judiciary tussle, siding with the Supreme Court in case the government tried to undermine the apex court.
“We will come to Islamabad with ‘tsunami march’ if the government tried to undermine the sanctity of the Supreme Court,” he said.
He accused the Awami National Party of being a ‘pawn’ of President Zardari and pledged to build a “new Pakistan” if he was voted to power. “The PTI tsunami will build a new Pakistan and will end American slavery from the country,” he said.
Separately in Quetta, 5,000 people, who oppose the anti-terrorism alliance with Washington, began a march to the border on Saturday to protest over the reopening of NATO supply routes.
The protesters joined a convoy of buses, trucks and cars, many carrying the black-and-white striped flags of their Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC) movement.
They will make stopovers in various cities and towns on the 120-kilometre highway from Quetta to Chaman on the border with Afghanistan.
“We have started this march to protest against the resumption of NATO supply. We warn our government to get out of the war on terrorism,” DPC Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq said as the convoy set off.
“If they think that the United States' war is only against Afghanistan, they are wrong. The US will target all the Muslim countries after strengthening its control on Afghanistan,” he said.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk