DHAKA: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan vowed Saturday to block Nato supplies from crossing through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in response to the US drone strike that killed Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud and ‘sabotaged’ peace talks.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one of two key routes Nato supplies move in and out of Afghanistan and is seen as crucial as US-led allied forces prepare to drawdown from the war-torn country in 2014.

Opposition parties in Pakistan have accused the US of using the drone strike to stymie the peace process before talks proper had even started.

Khan, whose party leads the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said, ‘Even if we lose our provincial government, we will not let Nato supplies pass through as long as drone strikes do not stop,’ reports dawn.com.

He was speaking at a news conference in the eastern city of Lahore after a meeting of the party’s central committee.

He said the all parties’ conference had decided to pursue the path of peace talks, and that the Taliban had only put forth the condition of halting drone attacks.

BDST: 2122 HRS, NOV 02, 2013
RoR/RIS