Tribesmen to rally against U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan

Pakistani tribesmen will march in Islamabad on Friday against the U.S. drone aircraft strikes in the tribal regions, which they said many innocent people had been killed, local media reported on Friday. Several victims of the drone attacks will also hold the protest march outside the parliament house. Representatives of foreign and Pakistani human rights groups will also take part in the protest. The protest comes just a day after two strikes conducted by U.S. spy aircraft killed at least 10 people in Waziristan tribal region. Tribal elders Thursday told a news conference in Islamabad that nearly 2,000 innocent people have so far been killed in 300 drone strikes in the tribal regions. The tribal elders will meet before their march and will discuss a protest plan and legal action against the CIA which runs the secret drone mission. Chief of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (justice party) Imran Khan will preside over the tribal jirga and will later lead a protest march. Mr. Khan said Pakistan was capable of shooting down drones but the government was reluctant to do so because it was beholden to the West. Mr. Khan wondered why human rights organizations had failed to see the gross violation of human rights and international laws in case of drone attacks. He said his party had made efforts to stop American aggression against innocent people by trying to stop NATO supplies through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi port, but the protesters were detained by the administration despite parliament's resolutions against drone attacks. Khan said the government should resign if it was unable to stop the drone attacks. He alleged that the attacks were being carried out with the tacit consent of the rulers.