US-Pakistan Erupting Volcano: Protests vs. War Threats

Local Editor

Thousands of Pakistanis have held an anti-US rally in "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" province, slamming the US for what they called its intervention in Pakistan's internal affairs.

The activists of Pakistan's largest religious party, "Jamaat-e-Islami", on Sunday called for an end to unauthorized US drone attacks in the country's tribal regions that have left many civilians dead.
 

Anti-American sentiment ran high in Pakistan as more people from different sides joined the rally, chanting slogans against the US and the incumbent Pakistani government which they held responsible for the current unrest and instability across the country.
 

The new wave of anti-US move is rising in Pakistan as the US continues to put pressure on Islamabad to launch military operations against militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border.
 

The US has stepped up its unauthorized airstrikes in Pakistan since President Barack Obama took office in 2009.
 

Washington claims the airstrikes target militants, but most of the attacks result in civilian casualties. The issue of civilian casualties has strained relations between Islamabad and Washington.

Pakistan strongly condemned violation of its airspace by US-led forces stationed in Afghanistan.

In parallel, American Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called his country to consider military action against Pakistan if Islamabad continues to sponsor what he viewed as "militant attacks against US troops in Afghanistan."

The Associated Press quoted Graham as saying "the sovereign nation of Pakistan is engaging in hostile acts against the United States and our ally Afghanistan that must cease.

"They're killing American soldiers," he claimed, adding that "if they continue to embrace terrorism as a part of their national strategy, we're going to have to put all options on the table, including defending our troops."

The remarks come as the outgoing US Joint Chief of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, accused Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of supporting the Haqqani network blamed for a recent assault on the US embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul.


Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org