Hangu drone strike: K-P govt to organise mass protest in Islamabad

Emergency meeting of K-P cabinet held; three-member committee formed to plan protest.

PESHAWAR/ LAHORE:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to organise a mass protest in Islamabad against the controversial US-sponsored drone campaign.

This decision was taken in an emergency meeting of the K-P cabinet that was called on Friday, after the drone strike at a seminary in Hangu a day earlier killed six people, including a senior figure of the Haqqani network.

A three-member committee, comprising K-P Minister for Information Shah Farman, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Inayatullah Khan and Minister for Science and Technology Shahram Khan Tarakai, is spearheading the organisation of the protest, which will be an attempt by the provincial government to register its concern and objection to the killing by the unmanned aircraft.



This protest is different from today’s (Saturday) protest to block Nato supply lines, which is being organised by members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in Peshawar, explained Shah Farman to reporters at the after the emergency cabinet meeting.

The timing and strategy of the K-P government protest will be decided by the three-member committee. It still has to be decided whether the protest will be held in front of the US Embassy, Islamabad, the United Nations office in the capital, the Prime Minister House or in front of parliament, explained the K-P information minister.

“We consider this a drone strike on peace and dialogue and there is a serious need to call another All Parties’ Conference to strategise our policy,” he insisted.

He was of the view that the K-P government would pressure the Centre to organise another APC; if they did not, then they would have to take independent decisions at the provincial level.

Inayatullah Khan said that all parties in the coalition government are on the same page regarding the issue and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz was also given the mandate to stop the drone strikes. “So they need to follow their manifesto.”

“Nobody has stopped our forces and intelligence to track down those people residing in our country without legal documentation. This is no excuse to violate our sovereignty on the pretext of people wanted by the US hiding in Pakistan,” responded Inayatullah Khan when asked what the government’s strategy is on arresting foreign militants.

Today, PTI will hold an anti-drone protest at the southern bypass of Ring Road.

PTI Punjab in support

PTI provincial leader Ejaz Chaudhry and general secretary Dr Yasmin Rashid said that a large contingent of PTI workers and office bearers are going to Peshawar to take part in the protest against drone attacks.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, they claimed that the PTI was the only party who had the courage to take on the US. All other parties have shown their “true face” by backing out from the protest and have revealed that they are pro-America, he maintained.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2013.