Supporters of Imran Khan's party, on Saturday, blocked a key NATO supply route to Afghanistan to protest US drone strikes as the cricketer-turned-politician claimed the attacks had sabotaged the peace process with militants.
The Ring Road, the main supply route for NATO container trucks, and the Torkham crossing on the Afghan border were blocked due to a rally organised by Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf.
Containers were placed on the Ring Road to obstruct trucks as hundreds of Khan's supporters gathered for the rally in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakthunkhwa province that is ruled by the Tehrik-e-Insaf.
Addressing the rally, Khan said the drone strike which killed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan leader Hakimullah Mehsud on November 1 had sabotaged the peace process.
"But without drones being stopped, peace cannot be attained," he said.
Khan said the Khyber-Pakthunkhwa government should also block NATO supplies. "We cannot go to the UN Security Council or shoot down missiles. But our provincial government can at least block NATO supplies. We can and we will block NATO supplies," he asserted.
The Tehrik-e-Insaf said in a statement that its workers would stop NATO containers at entry and exit points of Khyber-Pakthunkhwa from tomorrow night.
Referring to a decision made at an All-Parties Conference that was organised recently by the federal government, Khan said: "For the first time in the history of Pakistan, a democratic government along with all other parties had agreed that the time for war has ended, and it is time for dialogue."
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