Pakistani tribesmen rally against US assassination drone attacks

The rally took place on Wednesday where protesters chanted slogans against the US. Reports say that a similar protest was also held in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Sunday.
 
    This comes after at least five people were killed and many others wounded in an attack carried out by a US assassination drone in the Pakistani tribal region of North Waziristan on February 6.
 
 
Washington claims that its airstrikes target militants crossing the border with Afghanistan, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the attacks.
 
The killing of Pakistani civilians, including women and children, has strained relations between Islamabad and Washington.
 
On January 22, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar expressed concern over the US drone strikes in her country, describing them as “counterproductive.”
 
Referring to thousands of Pakistani civilians who have been killed by CIA-operated drones in recent years, she added that Islamabad “will take up drone attacks issue with Washington and its ambassador to Pakistan.”
 
In December 2012, Pakistan’s Jama’at ud-Da’wah political group took legal action against the ongoing drone attacks. The group said despite a resolution passed by the Pakistani parliament in condemnation of the US attacks, the drone strikes continue to claim the lives of civilians.
 
Over the past months, massive demonstrations have been held across Pakistan to condemn the United States for violating Pakistan’s sovereignty.