Peshawar drone protesters block NATO supply route

PESHAWAR: Thousands of people protesting U.S. drone strikes blocked a road in Pesahawar on Saturday used to truck NATO troop supplies and equipment in and out of Afghanistan, the latest sign of rising tension caused by the attacks.

The protest, Imran Khan, had more symbolic value than practical impact as there is normally little NATO supply traffic on the road on Saturdays.

The blocked route in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province leads to one of two border crossings used to send supplies overland from Pakistan to neighboring Afghanistan.

Khan, whose Tehreek-e-Insaf party runs the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, called on federal officials to take a firmer stance to force the U.S. to end drone attacks and block NATO supplies across the country.

"We will put pressure on America, and our protest will continue if drone attacks are not stopped," Khan told the protesters.

The demonstrators dispersed after Khans speech, but his party put out a statement saying they will begin stopping trucks from carrying NATO supplies through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa indefinitely beginning Sunday night.

That could spark a clash with the federal government.The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad declined to comment.

The U.S. leads the coalition of NATO troops battling the Taliban in Afghanistan. Drone strikes have been a growing source of friction between Islamabad and Washington. Khan and other officials regularly denounce the attacks as a violation of Pakistans sovereignty, although the countrys government is known to have supported some of the strikes in the past.