MARDAN, April 2: District Naib Nazim Attaur Rehman has called for a boycott of American products, especially soft drinks, saying that only in this way can the US-led campaign against Iraq be checked.

The official told this reporter that the import of soft drinks from America cost the country billions of rupees in foreign exchange, which, he claimed, was the main hurdle in the development of the country.

The Naib Nazim deplored that the Americans were using weapons of mass destruction against Muslim countries on the pretext of checking nuclear and biological weapons, but even then Muslim rulers imported products from the United States. He termed it a tragedy.

He said that if the Muslim countries in general and Pakistan in particular refused to use these soft drinks, it would shock the United States economy. He urged people to use local products.