Minister of local government and rural development, Inayatuallah Khan. PHOTO: FILE
"We will have to make decisions like an independent nation," he said, adding that as a sovereign state, any threats to the country's integrity should be fought against.
The provincial information minister Shah Farman told the press that Pakistan is more capable of facing its enemies than it was in 1947.
"What if China and India carry out similar strikes in Pakistan tomorrow? Would we also not fight them saying that they are a superpower," Khan questioned.
"We have to come up with a joint strategy. Another All Parties' Conference needs to be called to establish consensus on the issue," he said.
“A day ahead of the strike, advisor to Prime Minister Sartaj Aziz had assured that US will not carry out drone attacks during the peace talks but this was the first drone to have hit a settled area in the province," Farman said.
A drone strike in a seminary in Hangu killed six people including a commander of Haqqani network.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will also hold an anti-drone protest at the South by-pass Ring Road in Peshawar at 11am on Saturday morning. Senior PTI leaders are expected to participate in the demonstration which will ask for the NATO supply to Afghanistan to be blocked if drone strikes are not stopped.
COMMENTS (37)
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@numbersnumbers: Dear numbers, Can you give me your source of of information in regard to TTP activities, and have you a comparison of TTP activities as against US/NATO activities. Also has it ever occurred to you that TTP may well be falsely accused? You do not appear to trust anything Pakistani so perhaps your data is coming from the West, which is hardly trustworthy.
@numbersnumbers: 'Who carried out 911" As usual you ignored 99 per cent of what I said and came up with one of your simplistic conditioned responses, although I have no doubt it will be good enough to satisfy the more challenged members of ET readership. It does appear that Wikipedia appears to be your bible although I cannot think of anyone in the academic world who would quote it as a reference. However, there are dozens of well written articles coming from scientific, architectural and engineering sources which appear to disagree with the official version of 911. I am not an engineer, bit I am still waiting for the Pentagon, which has more CCTVs than any other building in the world, to produce a picture of the airliner which supposedly crashed into the building. I suppose, like the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, I will be waiting a very long time for US authorities to come up with a reasonable vestige of proof in regard to what they have said.
@Sexton Blake: Don't really know who did it (9/11)!!! HMMM, inquiring minds can read all about 9/11 on Wikipedia, complete with hundreds of supporting references and resources! BTW, are you "fully supporting" the TTP, who have killed so many Pakistanis over the years?
@Rex Minor: Dear Rex Minor, What is really scary is that we only have a limited idea as to what happened to two of the four US damaged buildings on 9/11, but do not really know who did it, and we have no idea what damaged 2 others.. Whatever happened, it resulted in one of the longest wars in modern history. Now I know that many of our world leaders are not very bright, but even they are not dumb enough to fight a 12 year war without some type of agenda, so what is the agenda? Additionally, I can only think that the people writing in and supporting our erstwhile leaders are like me, and have no idea what happened either, but are blindly supporting what I can only describe as illegal activity, and illegal is the kindest adjective I can use. Further, why Pakistan at both the political and military level are fully supporting US/NATO forces is beyond me. As Iran has made quite clear it is not difficult to detect and control drones. In spite of US anti Iranian rhetoric the US leaves Iran alone. Pakistan could do the same thing, but as some contributors point out they get a few dollars. There is a saying: "I can be bought, but I am not cheap". I am afraid that Pakistan has sold out for a pittance. Perhaps selling out is cheaper than being bombed into the stone age?
@Sexton Blake: Hope that ET will allow my comments. Well said! No one could have summed it up better! What has transpired in the Pakistan region is mostly due to the incompetence of the military dictatorship which considered itself responsible to the American congress and not the Pakistan parliament, the American laws of amendments instead of Pakistan judiciary order, The military man rode roughshod on the total spectrum of Pakistan civilian and the judicial Nerve Centrum of the Nation. To this end the army doctrine of defense against the foreign enemy was set aside or radicaly altered without the approval of the parliament by converting the million strong force more or less into the policing of the country from within which is relatively a softer task and requires a very close association with the citizenry. How is it possible that countless number of foreigners have been found living in the country without the knowledge of the local residents or the support of the colonial structured police and military force.. Now the elected KPK leadership are going to lead the crusade against the enemies of the country from within and those from outside with whom military protocals seem to be in force. How come that the Drone target in Hangu distract was in the vicinity of the Pakistan miliary base and the PAF defences were neither publicly alerted or srambled to confront the unmanned alien space ship? A drone which is equiped with laser bombs but can be knocked down by a dozen of hot air balloons?
Rex Minor
I see all the foreign paid trolls here. Go get a life!
Only country in the world where Governments protest! Governments suppose to take actions not protest! take action or go home both central and provincial governments!
@rkfrom ny: @Sophya Khan:
Are we going to see the replay of the Tehran uprise ? I guess not at least initialy, the KPK people are relatively well controlled and peaceful.
Rex Minor
You put your boots on the ground to eliminate the terrorists OR the Yanks send in their drones - your call really.
@alamgir:
Is that were Pakistan learned its tactics from?
@np:
Pakistan is the only country I know that really does keep its friends close but its enemies closer.
The real reason they picked the U.S. Embassy to protest in front of is because it's the only secure area in all of Pakistan they can do so. What happened to shutting down Peshawar's roads?
Excuse me! Still protest??? Please KP Govt..For Allah Sake do some thing now. You just cant blame federal government for everything..Just close the NATO supply or don't give an false hope to this nation..
Its irritating me now..
Although it is not quite clear how it happened 4 US buildings were seriously damaged on 9/11, and Uncle Sam has never stopped complaining about it, so obviously Americans did not approve of it. However, in the 12 years since then they have subjected Islamic countries from North Africa, the Middle East, and the Western Sub-Continent to continual military bombardment, laying waste to vast areas, damaged thousands of buildings and created hundreds of thousands of casualties quite illegally, unless of course one considers the UN Security Council to be legal. Additionally, 99.999 per cent of the people bombed, droned and strafed had nothing to do with 9/11, and in fact Pakistan has bent over backwards (probably Illegally) to help the Americans, but Pakistan gets bombed as well, and it is getting worse. When one or two Pakistanis protest, such as IK, hundreds of people write in to ET abusing them. One can only shake ones head in disbelief. Best of luck to IK and Inayatullah Khan for pointing out what even a blind person should be able to see, and what the irresponsible Pakistan Government is not doing, but should be.
Why cant pti ask nawaz sharif to stop nato supplie? At least we'll know his stand.
@Sophya Khan:
You have nothing to fear from drone if you are not Taliban or harbouring Taliban.
@Nadir: It is about time that KPK mangement take a walk into the green zone and see who is in control of what is happening in KPK There will be lots of surprises.
Rex Minor
@shiraz:
You bet you will! The epi centre of terror is in Islamabad from where the signals are sent out to guide the Drones to their targets!
Rex Minor
@Adnan Siddiqi: Wouldn't it be easier just to ask our PM to grow a pair? LOL. Chal hut!
hahhhaa....a protest before an embassy..?? that s it..?? not even asking the US ambassador to leave town..?? hahahha
@Nadir: how can you run govt if people are fearing for their life by the unending flying drones above their heads? and yes to stop NATO supply you need Fed Govt... and to shoot down or stop drones, you need Fed Govt... and to move army around, again you need Fed Govt..and to do anything in FATA, you need Fed Govt... hope this answer your ques...
Some excellent points made by "unbelievable." PTI is just interested milking this issue to draw attention away from the real issues facing the people i.e. hyperinflation and worsening economy. All the non-stop xenophobia coming from Imran and PTI is sickening.
Wow, a provincial government is protesting outside a foreign embassy, what have we come to
DRONE seems to be the new national bird of Pak.
@shiraz:
I hope so. Plenty Taliban supporters there. Plus people like Haqani "hiding" in plain sight there.
@shiraz: Uptil now it was tribal areas,now it is settled areas…are we next going to see drones flying over Islamabad?
Keep providing protection to the terrorists and the drones will follow them anywhere these terrorists go.
@shiraz:
If you want to keep the drones confined to tribal areas I suggest you confine the terrorist to the tribal areas - if you want to eliminate drones entirely get rid of the terrorist. One of those elephant in the room things that Taliban Khan and many Pakistani's can't seem to see.
@anti PTI trolls....What ever PTI will do,you will definitely find some excuses to discredited it...please give some new ideas and comments other then those old ones...I know you guys can pull it off...looking forward for you sweet and nice comments about PTI protesting outside US embassy and UN office..
“What if China and India carry out similar strikes in Pakistan tomorrow? Would we also not fight them saying that they are a superpower,” Khan questioned. . Classic chest thumping bravado - long on emotion short on logic. Does anyone doubt that China would retaliate if Pakistan willing allowed terrorist to use Pakistan as a base to attack China? Does anyone serious believe that the Pakistan military wants to start a shooting war with the USA or China. . India isn't a superpower and remains the primary purpose of Pakistan's military - IK bring them into the issue is classic trolling.
“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion-but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.”(Samuel Huntington)
Evict all the yanks working for USAID and cease all funding from USA destined for KPK.......you dual faced morons!
While you folks are at it, ask your wiz kid Asad Umar to lay a siege outside the Pentagon who is visiting USA as we speak. If all of this not doable, just ask your chairman to have his B1/B2 visa rescinded and vow never to go to states side and beg for Chanda and zakat money.
Drones have to fly also to take bad guys sitting in lahore,karachi,islamabad.
@shiraz: If you continue to provide safe haven to designated terrorists like Dr. Haqqani in Islamabad - looks like that is the route that US plans to take. In any case wasn't Abbotabad very close to Islamabad - did US not come and deal with their man there?
Uptil now it was tribal areas,now it is settled areas...are we next going to see drones flying over Islamabad?
So there is absolutely no power in the hands of those, who claim to have power.
KP govt to protest outside US embassy and UN? How will they get to the US embassy to begin with? Second, dont they have a day job....like running KP for start? Who is going to do that? If so outraged, stop NATO trucks from passing through KP? Or do you need the Fed Gov to make that decision?