PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf here on Monday staged a protest demonstration against killing of civilians, especially women and children, in quadcopter ammunition drops in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Protesters expressed sorrow and grief over casualties in quadcopter ammunition drops and demanded of the government to conduct an impartial inquiry into the incident. The protest against what PTI called ‘drone attacks’ was staged on the directives of founder of the party, Imran Khan.
Protesters chanted slogans against alleged drone attacks. They also raised slogans against terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Around 500 PTI activists participated in the protest rally organised at Hashtnagri Bazaar.
PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar Khan, Peshawar region president MNA Atif Khan and its general secretary MNA Sher Ali Arbab, MNA Asad Qaiser, MNA Shandana Gulzar and other office-bearers and MPAs attended the rally.
Qaiser pledges to raise the issue in National Assembly
Addressing the rally, Asad Qaiser said former prime minister Imran Khan was the first Pakistani leader, who staged protest demonstrations against drone strikes in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
He said that PTI had also blocked supply to Nato forces in Afghanistan as protest against drone attacks.
“When Imran Khan became prime minister, he strongly resisted a super power in connection with drone strikes,” claimed Mr Qaiser. He said that innocent civilians were killed in drone strikes. “To stop such strikes, PTI will use all available resources and no one will be allowed to continue this practice,” he said.
He said that the PTI provincial government had already given its policy statement, condemning the drone strikes, while he would raise the issue on the floor of National Assembly.
Mr Qaiser said that the leadership of PTI wanted good relations with Afghanistan. He demanded of government to open all trade routes with Afghanistan.
He said that a large number of Pakhtuns were engaged in trade with Afghanistan. He added closure of trade routes badly affected Pakhtuns, who were already suffering from the continued war against terrorism.
“We want formation of such foreign policy of Pakistan which reflects the desires of citizens,” he said. He said that soon the entire nation would come out on roads for the release of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan.
Mr Qaiser said that Imran Khan would not sign a deal with authorities at the helm of affairs for his release rather it would only be done for the supremacy of the Constitutions and rule of law.
MNA Shandana Gulzar said that three children, who were siblings, were mercilessly killed in North Waziristan in a drone strike.
She said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was rich of minerals but its people were deprived of such minerals.
She urged people to resist drone attacks in merged districts otherwise the days were not away when bombs from such drones would be dropped in the provincial capital.
PTI leader Taimur Jhagra demanded of the government to conduct inquiry into the killing of civilians in drone strikes.
Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2025
