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Monday, November 18, 2013
PTI puts off anti-drone protest for three daysPESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday postponed for three days a scheduled blockade of NATO supply lines meant to protest US drone strikes, citing recent sectarian clashes.
Pakistan reacted angrily earlier this month to a US drone attack that killed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud, saying the strike had sabotaged peace talks with the insurgents.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan called for a blockade of NATO convoys to Afghanistan to force the US to abandon its drone programme. He had set a November 20 deadline for the halting of drone strikes and threatened to block supply trucks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
However, he announced via Twitter on Sunday the protest would now be held on November 23.
“This is not a cancellation but a postponement in response to the sensitivities of our people and the acute security situation prevailing in the country,” the PTI Media Cell quoted Khan as saying.
It is not clear how Imran Khan would carry out his threat of blockade as authority over highways lies with the federal government.
Shabeer Ahmad Khan, a leader of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), earlier announced the postponement at a joint press conference with the PTI and smaller parties.
Shabeer said that sectarian clashes that occurred in Rawalpindi on Friday were the reason for the delay.
“Drone strikes are attacks on the sovereignty of Pakistan and to protect it some practical steps have to be taken,” he said.
Islamabad condemns drone strikes as a violation of sovereignty, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged President Barack Obama to end them during recent White House talks.
Mehsud’s death was the third major blow struck against the Pakistani Taliban by the US this year, following the killing of number two Waliur Rehman in a drone strike in May and the capture of another senior lieutenant in Afghanistan last month.
The group has named Maulana Fazlullah its new leader. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk