UmarJustice
FULL MEMBER
New Recruit
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2012
- Messages
- 50
- Reaction score
- 0
Pakistani cricket star turned politician Imran Khan has launched a so-called motorcade march against U.S. drone strikes.
Khan and his Movement for Justice Party, along with Western and local activists, began the drive Saturday in Islamabad. The convoy is headed to the South Waziristan tribal district along the Afghan border, the target of frequent U.S. drone attacks.
Khan has dismissed concerns that the convoy could be attacked by the Taliban and other Islamist militants.
A Pakistan Taliban spokesman said Friday it will not provide security for the motorcade and labeled Khan a Westernized and secular man.
Drone strikes are a contentious issue between the U.S. and Pakistan. Islamabad says the strikes violate its sovereignty. The U.S. believes they are a key tool in the effort to defeat al-Qaida.
Khan Leads Drone Protest in Pakistan « VOA Breaking News
Imran says Waziristan people to provide security; march crosses Talagang
ISLAMABAD: Over 1,000 people who had on Saturday departed from Rawalpindi and Islamabad under the leadership of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan for the peace march toward South Waziristan had just left Talagang, with Rikhi as its next stop. Moreover, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had decided to provide security to the march until its stay in Tank.
Earlier today, the march had left Islamabad for the anti-drone march towards the northwestern tribal region.
Speaking to media representatives prior to departing for South Waziristan’s Kotkai town, Khan said the people of South Waziristan would provide security to the peace rally.
The PTI chief said he was leading the march for peace against US drone strikes and that his party’s rally should not be stopped from proceeding.
Moreover, at least 30 anti-drone campaigners from the United States were taking part in the march which began from Islamabad Saturday morning.
Khan said the government wanted to stop the peace rally but the people of South Waziristan were going to provide security to it.
He said the government’s policy on US drone attacks was dubious and that Interior Minister Rehman Malik was trying to scare people away from participating in the rally.
Khan said attempts were being made to sabotage the march, adding that, the rally was only aiming for peace and he had no intention of initiating a fight with any group.
The PTI chief said the Taliban had no intention of attacking the rally.
Supporters cheer en route
At the Balkasar interchange near Chakwal, hundreds of supporters carrying green and red PTI banners gathered in hot sunshine to welcome Khan and the convoy of around 100 jeeps, buses and cars.
Party workers in “Cornered Tigers” T-shirts — a reference to Khan’s inspirational talk to Pakistan before their 1992 World Cup victory — formed a human chain round his 4×4 to clear a path through a scrum of media and well-wishers.
Akhtar Syal, 63, from Sarghoda in Punjab, told AFP he had joined the protest because drones were destroying lives.
“It is a great thing that Imran Khan has raised his voice against it, so I am going to make his voice stronger and join him in this noble cause,” he said.
The march plan
As per the plan, the march starting from Kashmir Highway would be joined by activists from Rawalpindi, Attock and Mansehra at the motorway toll plaza.
After making a brief stopover at Balkasar interchange, the marchers would be received in Talagang, Rikhi, Mianwali, Kundian and Paharpur before reaching Dera Ismail Khan for an overnight stay.
On Sunday morning, the march would start from Tank for Kotkai in South Waziristan via Jandola and Aspikai Raghzai.
Sources in the party said that in the event of authorities intervening and stopping the march at any place a gathering would be held there.
Moreover, unconfirmed reports on Saturday quoted sources as saying that attempts were being made to stop the rally at Jandola, Tank.
The reports moreover said that barbed wires were being laid at Jandola’s entry points.
The PTI chief was expected to hold a press conference later on Saturday after the march reached D I Khan.
Khan was also expected to hold a meeting with citizens from the tribal regions in D I Khan.
KP govt to provide security till Tank
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to provide security to the march until Tank.
For this purpose, the KP government has posted an additional 400 police personnel and has also posted personnel from the Frontier Constabulary.
The Pakistan army has also been directed to remain on stand by for this purpose.
TTP declines to provide security
The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Friday declined to provide security to the peace march and declared that Khan was a westernised and secular man.
TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said in a statement that the TTP was an ideological organisation based on fundamentals of Islam and performed all activities in accordance with the teachings of Islam.
“Imran Khan is a liberal and secular person and so is his party. Therefore, we deny all baseless statements that we have offered to provide security for his so-called peace rally,” the spokesman said.
Earlier on Friday, local and foreign media had quoted unnamed sources as saying that Taliban had offered to provide security to the rally.
US drone strikes in Pakistan
Missiles fired by US drones routinely target militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) in what US officials say is a key weapon in the ‘war on terror’.
Peace campaigners condemn the strikes as a violation of international law, Pakistanis as a violation of sovereignty that breeds extremism, and politicians, including Khan, as a sign of a government complicit in killing its own people.
Khan, who has regularly condemned the US-led ‘war on terror’, says he wants to show the world the damage inflicted on innocent people by the drone campaign.
But critics accuse the PTI chief of blatant electioneering ahead of polls next year and of ignoring atrocities blamed on militants.
A report commissioned by Reprieve, Stanford Law School and the New York University School of Law last month gave a devastating account of the affect that drone strikes have on ordinary people.
Reliable casualty figures are difficult to obtain but the report estimated that 474 to 881 civilians were among 2,562 to 3,325 people killed by drones in Pakistan between June 2004 and Sept 2012.
Dawn.com’s Sajjad Haider, who is travelling with the march, contributed to reporting
http://dawn.com/2012/10/06/people-of-south-waziristan-to-provide-security-to-peace-rally-imran/
Khan and his Movement for Justice Party, along with Western and local activists, began the drive Saturday in Islamabad. The convoy is headed to the South Waziristan tribal district along the Afghan border, the target of frequent U.S. drone attacks.
Khan has dismissed concerns that the convoy could be attacked by the Taliban and other Islamist militants.
A Pakistan Taliban spokesman said Friday it will not provide security for the motorcade and labeled Khan a Westernized and secular man.
Drone strikes are a contentious issue between the U.S. and Pakistan. Islamabad says the strikes violate its sovereignty. The U.S. believes they are a key tool in the effort to defeat al-Qaida.
Khan Leads Drone Protest in Pakistan « VOA Breaking News
Imran says Waziristan people to provide security; march crosses Talagang
ISLAMABAD: Over 1,000 people who had on Saturday departed from Rawalpindi and Islamabad under the leadership of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan for the peace march toward South Waziristan had just left Talagang, with Rikhi as its next stop. Moreover, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had decided to provide security to the march until its stay in Tank.
Earlier today, the march had left Islamabad for the anti-drone march towards the northwestern tribal region.
Speaking to media representatives prior to departing for South Waziristan’s Kotkai town, Khan said the people of South Waziristan would provide security to the peace rally.
The PTI chief said he was leading the march for peace against US drone strikes and that his party’s rally should not be stopped from proceeding.
Moreover, at least 30 anti-drone campaigners from the United States were taking part in the march which began from Islamabad Saturday morning.
Khan said the government wanted to stop the peace rally but the people of South Waziristan were going to provide security to it.
He said the government’s policy on US drone attacks was dubious and that Interior Minister Rehman Malik was trying to scare people away from participating in the rally.
Khan said attempts were being made to sabotage the march, adding that, the rally was only aiming for peace and he had no intention of initiating a fight with any group.
The PTI chief said the Taliban had no intention of attacking the rally.
Supporters cheer en route
At the Balkasar interchange near Chakwal, hundreds of supporters carrying green and red PTI banners gathered in hot sunshine to welcome Khan and the convoy of around 100 jeeps, buses and cars.
Party workers in “Cornered Tigers” T-shirts — a reference to Khan’s inspirational talk to Pakistan before their 1992 World Cup victory — formed a human chain round his 4×4 to clear a path through a scrum of media and well-wishers.
Akhtar Syal, 63, from Sarghoda in Punjab, told AFP he had joined the protest because drones were destroying lives.
“It is a great thing that Imran Khan has raised his voice against it, so I am going to make his voice stronger and join him in this noble cause,” he said.
The march plan
As per the plan, the march starting from Kashmir Highway would be joined by activists from Rawalpindi, Attock and Mansehra at the motorway toll plaza.
After making a brief stopover at Balkasar interchange, the marchers would be received in Talagang, Rikhi, Mianwali, Kundian and Paharpur before reaching Dera Ismail Khan for an overnight stay.
On Sunday morning, the march would start from Tank for Kotkai in South Waziristan via Jandola and Aspikai Raghzai.
Sources in the party said that in the event of authorities intervening and stopping the march at any place a gathering would be held there.
Moreover, unconfirmed reports on Saturday quoted sources as saying that attempts were being made to stop the rally at Jandola, Tank.
The reports moreover said that barbed wires were being laid at Jandola’s entry points.
The PTI chief was expected to hold a press conference later on Saturday after the march reached D I Khan.
Khan was also expected to hold a meeting with citizens from the tribal regions in D I Khan.
KP govt to provide security till Tank
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to provide security to the march until Tank.
For this purpose, the KP government has posted an additional 400 police personnel and has also posted personnel from the Frontier Constabulary.
The Pakistan army has also been directed to remain on stand by for this purpose.
TTP declines to provide security
The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Friday declined to provide security to the peace march and declared that Khan was a westernised and secular man.
TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said in a statement that the TTP was an ideological organisation based on fundamentals of Islam and performed all activities in accordance with the teachings of Islam.
“Imran Khan is a liberal and secular person and so is his party. Therefore, we deny all baseless statements that we have offered to provide security for his so-called peace rally,” the spokesman said.
Earlier on Friday, local and foreign media had quoted unnamed sources as saying that Taliban had offered to provide security to the rally.
US drone strikes in Pakistan
Missiles fired by US drones routinely target militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) in what US officials say is a key weapon in the ‘war on terror’.
Peace campaigners condemn the strikes as a violation of international law, Pakistanis as a violation of sovereignty that breeds extremism, and politicians, including Khan, as a sign of a government complicit in killing its own people.
Khan, who has regularly condemned the US-led ‘war on terror’, says he wants to show the world the damage inflicted on innocent people by the drone campaign.
But critics accuse the PTI chief of blatant electioneering ahead of polls next year and of ignoring atrocities blamed on militants.
A report commissioned by Reprieve, Stanford Law School and the New York University School of Law last month gave a devastating account of the affect that drone strikes have on ordinary people.
Reliable casualty figures are difficult to obtain but the report estimated that 474 to 881 civilians were among 2,562 to 3,325 people killed by drones in Pakistan between June 2004 and Sept 2012.
Dawn.com’s Sajjad Haider, who is travelling with the march, contributed to reporting
http://dawn.com/2012/10/06/people-of-south-waziristan-to-provide-security-to-peace-rally-imran/
