Thousands of tribesman joined protest against US drone attacks in Pakistan
Islamabad: Thousands of Pakistani tribesmen on Saturday joined a protest against US drone strikes in South Waziristan tribal region, two days after pro-government Taliban commander Mullah Nazir was killed by a CIA-operated spy plane.
The tribesmen took to the streets in South Waziristan Agency and shut all markets in Wana, the main town in the region.
The protestors demanded that the Pakistan government should take a tough stand against US drone strikes in Waziristan, journalists and local residents said. The tribesmen claimed the CIA-operated spy planes were killing “innocent civilians”.
A large number of people travelled from Wana to Azam Warsak, some eight kilometres away, in a motorcade of hundreds of vehicles and staged a demonstration there.
They waved black flags as a sign of protest against the US. Tribal elders and religious scholars paid tribute to Nazir and said he had established peace in areas under his influence.
The American act of killing Nazir was “cruel”, tribal elders Shereen Jan and Malik Dost Muhammad said.
Commander Bahawal Khan alias Salahuddin Turabi, who once fought in Jammu and Kashmir, has been appointed the new commander of Nazir’s group.
Despite Pakistan’s protests, the US has continued its drone campaign in the tribal belt as it views these attacks as an effective tool to eliminate Taliban and al-Qaeda operatives. Washington described the death of Nazir as a major development.
