ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday called upon the United States to immediately stop drone strikes on its territory.
It comes the same day as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Imran Khan-led party which rules the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, is all set to stage sit-in protest on Peshawar’s Ring Road against US drone attacks.
The sources said that the Ring Road has been closed for NATO supplies by placing containers, while Pak-Afghan Torkham border has also been closed.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Foreign Office strongly condemned the recent drone attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu district ‚ and said that drone strikes violate Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Foreign Office said these strikes have a negative impact on efforts to pursue the consensus achieved in all parties conference to explore the dialogue process to bring peace and stability in Pakistan and the region.
On Friday, a meeting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet was held in Peshawar with Chief Minister Pervez Khattak in chair which approved a series of protests against drone strikes and announced that it would stage sit-in protest against drone strikes in front of United Nation offices and US embassies in various cities of Pakistan.
Following the meeting, the provincial information minister Shah Farman said that the cabinet decided that the provincial government will also hold protests in Peshawar city and one outside Parliament House in Islamabad
Moreover, the provincial cabinet also constituted a three-member committee to contact different political parties to invite them to participate in the protest rallies.
