PAKISTAN: Students in Peshawar down pens to protest recent deadly NATO strike while truck drivers in Karachi back the government's decision to block supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan

Record ID: 213940

  • Title: PAKISTAN: Students in Peshawar down pens to protest recent deadly NATO strike while truck drivers in Karachi back the government's decision to block supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan
  • Date: 4th December 2011
  • Summary: KARACHI, PAKISTAN (DECEMBER 3, 2011) (REUTERS) OFFICES OF TRUCK DRIVERS AND CONTAINER SERVICE ASSOCIATIONS SIGNBOARD READING (Urdu): "CONTAINER SERVICE" VARIOUS OF DRIVERS AND CONTAINER SERVICE OWNERS HOLDING PAKISTANI FLAGS, GATHERED UNDER AWNING PRESIDENTS AND CHAIRMEN OF VARIOUS TRANSPORT ASSOCIATIONS SITTING ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) CHAIRMAN OF ALL PAKISTAN CUSTOMS-BONDED CARRIERS ASSOCIATION, SHAMS AHMED BURNEY, SAYING: "All transport associations are present here, and their presence here is meant to convey a message to America which has violated our borders, which has injured our pride, and has challenged our sovereignty. Transporter workers from all over Pakistan are here and have agreed on one thing: that Pakistan should come first, and everything else after it." WORKERS LISTENING
  • Embargoed: 19th December 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan, Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Education,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAQKP85P2ZP1ROIFJK6LHRGNXZ
  • Story Text: Around five hundreds school students in the northwest city of Peshawar walked out of their classes on Saturday (December 3) to protest against a NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani troops in military outposts near the Afghan border last weekend.
    Led by their teachers, the students marched through the streets of the Peshawar University campus chanting "Long live the Pakistan army" and "Any friend of America is a traitor".
    "We are holding this protest against NATO. We want to show them that our nation is united, and we are capable of fighting against them. We are not among those who run away," said one Year 9 student, Mohsin Obaid.
    It is still unclear what happened at the Pakistani posts along an unruly and poorly defined border, but the attack sparked fury in Pakistan, fuelling anti-U.S. and anti-NATO sentiments across the country and giving rise to a spate of protests in several cities.
    Pakistan has shown its anger over the attack by blocking ground supply routes for NATO forces in Afghanistan, and pulling out of an international conference in Germany on Afghanistan, depriving the talks of a central player in peace efforts.
    Thousands of oil tankers and trucks carrying supplies into Afghanistan are now parked across Pakistan, threatening the livelihoods of truck drivers and container owners. But dozens of transport workers voiced their support for the government's decision at a gathering in Karachi.
    "All transport associations are present here, and their presence here is meant to convey a message to America which has violated our borders, which has injured our pride, and has challenged our sovereignty. Transporter workers from all over Pakistan are here and have agreed on one thing: that Pakistan should come first, and everything else after it," said Shams Ahmed Burney, chairman of the All Pakistan Customs-Bonded Carriers Association.
    The United States and NATO have promised to investigate the incident, expressing regret on the deaths of Pakistani soldiers, but the White House said it was premature to consider an apology when an investigation was still in its early stages.
    Western leaders have urged Islamabad to rethink its decision to boycott the Bonn conference, but the Pakistani parliament's national security committee endorsed the government's decision on Friday (December 2).
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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