More than 2,000 protesters staged the demonstration in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, shouting slogans against the United States and its Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), responsible for the missile attacks.
Shop owners, students and other residents shouted anti-American slogans, and called for US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and the former CIA station chief in Islamabad to be brought to justice. “They should be arrested and punished by the courts in America,” said Abdul Khan, a student leader.
The United States does not confirm drone attacks, but its military and the CIA operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy the unmanned aircraft in the region. In 2010, the campaign doubled missile attacks in the Tribal Areas with around 100 drone strikes killing more than 650 people, according to a tally.
Addressing on Friday’s rally, a member of a local political committee, Sarfraz Khan, denounced the drone attacks for killing innocent people, including women and children, and said that if it did not stop he would launch a long march to Islamabad in protest. Washington says wiping out the militant threat in tribal belt is crucial to win the war against Taliban in Afghanistan and defeating al Qaeda.
Read More: The us news Tribesmen rally against US drone strikes
