Pakistan party votes to block NATO supply routes
Iran Press TV
Tue Nov 5, 2013 3:22PM GMT
The ruling party in Pakistan's northwestern province has passed a resolution threatening to block NATO supply routes by Nov. 20 unless the United States stops its drone strikes.
Lawmaker belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) party passed the resolution in response to a recent CIA-operated drone strike that killed Hakimullah Mehsud, the chief of pro-Taliban militants.
Imran Khan, the leader of Movement for Justice Party that controls Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has repeatedly warned that NATO supply routes to Afghanistan would be cut off if Washington continues with its deadly drone attacks in Pakistan.
"If drone attacks are carried out during peace talks with Taliban, NATO supplies will be stopped," Khan stated at a recent news conference in the eastern city of Lahore.
Mehsud's killing, which took place on Friday, has angered Pakistan with Islamabad accusing Washington of undermining efforts to bring the militants to the negotiation table.
Pakistan says the US assassination drone strike that eliminated Taliban chief was a conspiracy to sabotage peace talks with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and now Islamabad will review its ties with Washington.
The Pakistani government also closed the border crossings used to transfer supplies to the US-led foreign forces in neighboring Afghanistan in late 2011, after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a US airstrike in the border region.
The deadly incident heightened tensions between Islamabad and Washington. Pakistan called for a US apology, which was snubbed by Washington.
Islamabad, however, agreed to reopen the NATO supply routes to Afghanistan on July 3 after then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apologized to Islamabad in a statement over the killing of the soldiers.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has recently blasted the US assassination drone strikes in his country, describing them as a violation of international law and the UN charter.
Islamabad has repeatedly condemned the attacks, saying they violate Pakistan's sovereignty.
US President Barack Obama recently defended the use of the controversial drones as "self-defense."
The aerial attacks, initiated by former US president George W. Bush, have been escalated under President Obama.
The United Nations and several human rights organizations have already identified the US as the world's number one user of 'targeted killings,' largely due to its drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
JR/PR
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