Thousands of Pakistani protest drone attacks and NATO supply route

ISLAMABAD - The main supply route for NATO forces in Afghanistan was temporarily closed on Sunday (04/24/2011) after thousands of people blocked the main highway in Pakistan to protest the U.S. drone attacks, officials said, quoted by Reuters.

However, the ISAF in Kabul said the two-day blockade is not going to have a significant impact on Allied operations in Afghanistan.

"Coordination with Pakistan government officials have done and we understand the government will maintain security," said an ISAF spokesman. "There is no major impact for the ISAF."

The route through Pakistan to carry 40 percent of supply Crusader needs NATO in Afghanistan, according to U.S. Transportation Command. While the rest, 40 percent came through the neighbor to the north of Afghanistan and 20 percent more through the air.

Appeals to block the supply line is one of them came from the cricketer who became a politician, Imran Khan, after U.S. officials rejected the request Pakistan to stop drone attacks in tribal areas where they claimed that al Qaeda and Taliban militants hiding.

Activists of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI), the Khan, and some Islamic parties staged a sit on the highway heading to Afghanistan via the Khyber Pashtun tribal areas.

"This is intended to send a message that we oppose the attack drone. We will never accept them," said Asad Qaiser, president of PTI in the northwestern province of Pakhtunkhwa Khyber.

Incoming supplies to Afghanistan through the Khyber region had been suspended since protests began on Saturday (23 / 4), a senior provincial government official, Siraj Ahmed, said.

Supplies transferred through the Chaman border in the southwest, another official said.

Attacks by U.S. aircraft without a pilot is a source of concern for the government of Pakistan, which said the civilian casualties sparked public outrage and increased support for Islamic militancy.