The activists of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) led by its chairman Imran Khan staged a sit-in on a road leading to Karachi Port to protest transportation of supplies to Nato forces and drone attacks inside Pakistani territory. The protest began at the Jinnah Bridge in Keamari area, where PTI activists including women, children and aged people participated in the sit-in, along with workers and leaders of other political and religious parties.
People continued to raise anti-US and anti-government slogans. The carried banners, placards and portraits of Imran Khan and Dr Aafia Siddiqi. Banners and placards were read: "Go America go", "3 idiots - US, India, Israel", "Nato supply should stop", "No more drones", "Rejecting the US order in Pakistan", "Wake up Pakistan", Go Zardari go". People from across the country also joined the protest.
JUI - Samiul-Haq, Sindh Tarraqi Pasand Party, Sindh National Front, Sunni Tehreek, Awami Tehreek, Tehreek-Istiqlal, Pasban and Doctor Aafia Movement, besides labour unions, fishermen associations, goods transporters and traders supported the sit-in. Addressing the rally, PTI chief Imran Khan slammed the PPP-led government and PML-N led opposition for not taking a strong stance against the US strikes in Pakistan.
He said the US immediately trashed the parliament's joint resolution by dual drone attacks in the Pakistan's northern parts. He also slammed the rulers for striking a covert deal with the US allowing the superpower to continue exercising its military power and killing innocent tribesmen. Khan said the greedy leaders could not bring the nation out of present economic and law & order crisis for they had no interest in solving the people's problems. He said the nation was undergoing the worst-ever era in the history, as the people of sub-continent had never been subjected to such humiliation.
Imran said Pakistan lost 34,000 people in the US war on terrorism and suffered $70 billion losses alone because of the rulers' personal financial interests. He told protesters the US had only paid $20 billion to Pakistan for fighting the war on terror. He said he would make an important announcement on Sunday evening and appealed to protestors to reappear on the next day to continue the agitation against the US terrorism in Pakistan.
Famous pop singer Ali Azmat said the US had waged a psychological warfare against Pakistan through its "Zionist media". He warned the superpower against its ugly designs of defaming "Pakistan and Islam," urging the nation to get united to fight the war. He said the US was a terrorist country killing people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Japan by dropping atomic bombs. PML-Q leader Marvi Memon also joined the sit-in and sought apology from the nation for not solving their problems. She termed the PML-Q 'deal' with PPP as "an unholy alliance".
She criticised the government for not protesting against the drone attacks which were against the national sovereignty. Aafia Siddiqi's sister Dr Fauzia Siddiqi, Sunni Tehreek's Shakeel Qadri, former Justice Wajihuddin, and other political leaders also spoke on the occasion.