Beyond borders: Coalition partners likely to end sit-in against drones soon

The route is crucial for the US as it winds down its mission in Afghanistan.

PESHAWAR:

Coalition partners of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government have decided to end the sit-in against drone attacks and let Nato containers cross the Torkham border to Afghanistan, a person familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune.

According to the source, the decision was taken following Pentagon’s statement on Wednesday about suspending the shipment of equipment out of Afghanistan via Torkham border due to security concerns over the blockade organised by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).



The affected route has been crucial for the United States as it winds down its combat mission in landlocked Afghanistan and moves equipment out of the country. It accounts for the vast majority of ground traffic of US military cargo through Pakistan. Reportedly, protesters - some armed with clubs - have been forcibly searching trucks near the Torkham border in an effort to halt Nato supplies in protest over US drone strikes in Pakistan.

Following a drone strike on November 21 which killed six people, including members of the Haqqani network, and injured at least eight others, PTI Chairman Imran Khan announced they would protest and block the Nato supply route throughout K-P. The unofficial checkpoints began on November 24.

While discussing what happened at the meeting, the source said it was not a unilateral decision but a collective one. He added that even the PTI, which had organised the entire sit-in, was in favour of calling it off. The source believes that the protest camps might be closed in a day or two. He, however, refused to give a specific date.

The PTI’s general secretary for K-P, Khalid Masood, claimed major objectives of the sit-in were to end the Nato supply and stop drone attacks in Pakistan. He said that the objective to suspend Nato supply via K-P had been achieved following Pentagon’s statement while others were still pending.

“I will be present at the sit-in on Saturday (today) and the dharna will continue,” said Masood.

Sources privy to the meeting said that it had been decided to end the sit-in, but it will continue on Saturday (today). They claimed that since the sit-in had been called by political parties, particularly the PTI, the decision to end it will be taken by PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

Day 15

On the 15th day of the sit-in, the protests and checks continued along the Nato supply route to Afghanistan. Documents of more than a dozen containers carrying goods to Afghanistan were verified. All of them were allowed to cross the border after they proved that they were not carrying Nato supplies.

In a press statement issued by the Jamaat-e-Islami, they said the Pentagon’s decision to suspend shipment of equipment out of Afghanistan via Torkham was a victory for the coalition government. The party’s K-P spokesperson Advocate Israrullah said drone strikes were a violation of international laws and an attack on the country’s sovereignty.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2013.