 staged a protest in Hashtnagri, Peshawar, to denounce drone strikes in the tribal regions.){kind=link}
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) staged a protest in Hashtnagri, Peshawar, to denounce drone strikes in the tribal regions. Government ministers, party officials, and assembly members took part in the demonstration, showing strong unity on the issue.
PTI leaders firmly stated that drone attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are unacceptable. They warned, “If these attacks continue, PTI will take all necessary actions to stop them.” This protest came after a direct call from the party’s founding chairman, who had urged demonstrations across the tribal areas.
Several senior figures joined the protest. Among them were former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, PTI’s provincial president Junaid Akbar, and Peshawar region president Atif Khan.
In addition, provincial ministers Ihtesham Ali, Abdul Karim Tordher, Meena Khan Afridi, and Arif Ahmedzai attended, along with Pir Maswar, district president Irfan Saleem, Arbab Sher Ali, Kamran Bangash, Fazal Elahi, Shandana Gulzar, and many other party officials.
During the protest, speakers strongly condemned the drone strikes. One of them declared, “Innocent civilians are being targeted.” They described the strikes as clear violations of both human rights and national sovereignty.
Moreover, they called on the federal government to take immediate and firm action.
They also emphasised that the founding chairman had always opposed drone attacks—even at international forums. Notably, no drone strikes took place during PTI’s time in power, which they attributed to the party’s uncompromising position.
“The whole country stands with the founding chairman’s position,” one speaker said. PTI, they highlighted, was the first party to challenge drone strikes by staging a sit-in to block NATO supply routes.
According to them, “The founding chairman was the only leader brave enough to say ‘Absolutely Not’ to a superpower.”
Furthermore, the speakers warned, “If these attacks are not stopped, we will stop them ourselves.” The provincial government supported this stance and issued a clear policy, declaring it would not allow drone strikes within the province.
They added that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has suffered over 40 years of conflict, which has deeply harmed its economy. Since the region relies heavily on trade with Afghanistan, they stressed the need for peaceful and cooperative relations with its neighbour.
In conclusion, they vowed to continue opposing the 26th Constitutional Amendment. They said that citizens would once again take to the streets to demand the release of PTI’s founding chairman.
Finally, they criticised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by saying, “He only has a mandate of 16 seats.” They also questioned the legitimacy of his administration and claimed, “Even the families of some government MPs do not accept them as MNAs.”
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