Drone protest staged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province by Imran Khan (AFP)
Nov 22, 2013
Thousands of people demonstrated against U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan on Saturday, blockading a road used as a supply route for NATO trucks heading to Afghanistan.
Popular politician and former cricket star Imran Khan, and his Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), spearheaded the protest in a bid to put added pressure on the government to deny the U.S.'s ability to conduct drone strikes within Pakistan's boarders.
"We will put pressure on America, and our protest will continue if drone attacks are not stopped," Khan told the protesters.
A senior police official in Peshawar told Agence France-Presse there were up to 15,000 demonstrators at the scene.
Agence France-Pressereports:
Khan accuses the United States of using a drone strike to kill Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud as part of an effort to sabotage potential peace talks in Pakistan.
Mehsud was killed in a drone attack in the North Waziristan tribal area on November 2, sparking outrage in the country.
The Pakistani government said the killing destroyed progress towards talks to end the Taliban's bloody six-year insurgency that has left thousands of soldiers, police and civilians dead.
The latest drone strike occurred on Thursday and was the first strike in over five years to hit outside Pakistan's remote tribal regions.
The scene of the strike in the Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa comes under the jurisdiction of Khan's PTI provincial government.
Khan's party released a statement on Saturday saying they will blockade NATO supply trucks through the province until drone strikes cease, starting Sunday.
_______________________
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Thousands of people demonstrated against U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan on Saturday, blockading a road used as a supply route for NATO trucks heading to Afghanistan.
Popular politician and former cricket star Imran Khan, and his Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), spearheaded the protest in a bid to put added pressure on the government to deny the U.S.'s ability to conduct drone strikes within Pakistan's boarders.
"We will put pressure on America, and our protest will continue if drone attacks are not stopped," Khan told the protesters.
A senior police official in Peshawar told Agence France-Presse there were up to 15,000 demonstrators at the scene.
Agence France-Pressereports:
Khan accuses the United States of using a drone strike to kill Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud as part of an effort to sabotage potential peace talks in Pakistan.
Mehsud was killed in a drone attack in the North Waziristan tribal area on November 2, sparking outrage in the country.
The Pakistani government said the killing destroyed progress towards talks to end the Taliban's bloody six-year insurgency that has left thousands of soldiers, police and civilians dead.
The latest drone strike occurred on Thursday and was the first strike in over five years to hit outside Pakistan's remote tribal regions.
The scene of the strike in the Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa comes under the jurisdiction of Khan's PTI provincial government.
Khan's party released a statement on Saturday saying they will blockade NATO supply trucks through the province until drone strikes cease, starting Sunday.
_______________________
Thousands of people demonstrated against U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan on Saturday, blockading a road used as a supply route for NATO trucks heading to Afghanistan.
Popular politician and former cricket star Imran Khan, and his Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), spearheaded the protest in a bid to put added pressure on the government to deny the U.S.'s ability to conduct drone strikes within Pakistan's boarders.
"We will put pressure on America, and our protest will continue if drone attacks are not stopped," Khan told the protesters.
A senior police official in Peshawar told Agence France-Presse there were up to 15,000 demonstrators at the scene.
Agence France-Pressereports:
Khan accuses the United States of using a drone strike to kill Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud as part of an effort to sabotage potential peace talks in Pakistan.
Mehsud was killed in a drone attack in the North Waziristan tribal area on November 2, sparking outrage in the country.
The Pakistani government said the killing destroyed progress towards talks to end the Taliban's bloody six-year insurgency that has left thousands of soldiers, police and civilians dead.
The latest drone strike occurred on Thursday and was the first strike in over five years to hit outside Pakistan's remote tribal regions.
The scene of the strike in the Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa comes under the jurisdiction of Khan's PTI provincial government.
Khan's party released a statement on Saturday saying they will blockade NATO supply trucks through the province until drone strikes cease, starting Sunday.
_______________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.