PESHAWAR, Nov 22: Jamaat-i-Islami on Friday staged a rally in the capital city against the recent US drone attack on a Hangu madrassa.

Led by district JI chief Behrullah Khan, the rally was taken out from the party’s provincial headquarters.

Carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans against drone attacks and shouting slogans against the US and suspension of supplies for Nato forces, the protesters blocked Grand Trunk Road.

The speakers said the US drone strikes and Nato supplies in Afghanistan via Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were unacceptable.

They said the drone attack on madrassa in settled area of the country was a wakeup call for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The speakers said after the drone attack in a settled district, the US could target Islamabad, Lahore or any other place in the country.

They declared the Hangu attack an act of terrorism and said the government should suspend Nato supplies and raise voice against such violence at international forums.

The speakers said despite capability to shoot them down, the US drones were violating Pakistani airspace due to the insensitivity of the government.

Also in the day, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl said the US had declared an open war against Pakistan by firing missiles at a madrassa in the country’s settled area and that the nation should formulate a joint strategy against drone attacks.

In a news release, JUI-F said the government should act upon the joint resolutions of parliament and take practical measures to ensure end to drone attacks instead of resorting to rhetoric. It said the US was trying to destabilise the country and sabotage peace process through drone attacks.