Pakistan closes border with Afghanistan ahead of drones protest

Pakistan closed border with Afghanistan in the country's northwest on Saturday ahead of protest against the American drone strikes, official sources said. Thousands of people will begin a protest sit-in on the main supply route in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, later on Saturday. Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PIT) or Justice Movement, which rules the province, has announced to close the supply line for NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan as part of its anti-drones protest strategy. The cricket-turned politician, Imran Khan, who leads PTI, said the protest will continue unless the U.S. stops drone strikes. Protest rallies outside the U.S. embassy and UN mission in Islamabad have also been planned in the coming days, spokesman for the provincial government, Shah Farman, has said. The authorities closed the main border point of Torkham with Afghanistan ahead of the protest over security concerns, officials said. It is one of the two main border points used for NATO supplies. Officials say nearly 70 percent of supplies for thousands of foreigner troops are transported through Pakistan, the cheapest and shortest route. The police in Peshawar Saturday morning blocked "Ring Road," the route NATO containers use to head to Afghanistan, for all kind of traffic hours ahead of the protest rally. Officials said that hundreds of police personnel were deployed in the city to tighten security in Peshawar and surrounding areas. Experts from the Bomb Disposal Squad also visited venue of the sit- in and searched the area. PTI chief Imran Khan will speak at the rally and will announce future protest strategy, organizers said. Activists of the Jamaat- e-Islami party, a coalition partner in the provincial government, will also join the protest. Processions from other areas of the country are on the way to Peshawar to make the show successful, PTI leaders said. The protest was planned after the November 1 drone strike in North Waziristan which killed the Pakistani Taliban chief, Hakimullah Mehsud just a day ahead of a meeting between a government team and the Taliban. Pakistan accused the U.S. of sabotaging the peace process with the Taliban. The U.S. expanded its drone campaign and rained missiles on a religious school in a non-tribal district of Hangu on November 21 and killed six students and teachers.