THE PTI’s anti-drone blockade seems to have gotten results. US officials have said the transportation of goods from Afghanistan through Pakistan has been stopped due to the protests. It is, in the PTI’s words, a “tactical success” as the US made the move out of apparent concern for the safety of truckers carrying Nato supplies through the Torkham crossing. Yet if Imran Khan and his party members think the blockade will significantly alter the nature of Pakistan-US security relations or stop American drones from striking targets inside Pakistan that’s unlikely to happen. The Americans have other ways to get their cargo in and out of Afghanistan: one route includes the Northern Distribution Network running through Russia and the Central Asian states. Though this is an expensive alternative, it is an option Washington has used before, namely in the aftermath of the 2011 Salala incident. Also, access to Afghanistan is still open through Balochistan. And as long as militants continue to use Fata as their stomping ground, expecting drone strikes to end is naïve.

Staging the protest was the PTI’s right. However, now that it has made its point and scored a ‘victory’ of sorts it needs to consider other methods of protest. For apart from making things difficult for Nato, the blockade is creating hurdles in the way of Pak-Afghan trade. Customs agents have called for the security of trucks and have complained of routine cargo also being stopped. The methods of the PTI notwithstanding, the fact remains that the drone issue has become a major policy headache for Islamabad. While there is growing criticism of the strikes internationally, especially from human rights groups, the popular mood in Pakistan is also largely against drones. Hence instead of leaving the drone debate to be decided on the streets, it is the government’s responsibility to take up the issue with the US and settle it in such a way that Pakistan’s sovereignty is not violated, and the extremist threat is also countered without endangering innocent lives.