The sit-down protest, which closed the route for two days, was against US drone strikes in north-west Pakistan, and was organised by Khan’s Tehrik-e-Insaf party, with the support of other opposition and Islamist groups as well as tribal elders. It came a day after two drones were reported to have killed 25 people, including women and children in the North Waziristan tribal region.
Khan has demanded that drone strikes end by June, threatening a permanent closure of the Khyber pass and blockades all along the US supply route: “We will also, in the next phase, march onto Islamabad if the government fails to halt drone strikes in which innocent men, women and children are being killed.”
Khan is reportedly demanding that the Pakistan government stops supporting NATO’s actions in Afghanistan and allowing NATO supplies through Pakistan, saying: “Pakistan will not be made a servant of the United States.”