PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet ministers will not participate in a sit-in organised by the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) to block Nato supplies going via the province.
Earlier, PTI chief Imran Khan had vowed to block Nato supplies from crossing through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in response to the US drone strike that killed Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud on November 1 and 'sabotaged' peace talks.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one of the two key routes Nato supplies move in and out of Afghanistan and is seen as crucial as US-led allied forces prepare to draw down from the war-torn country in 2014.
Opposition parties in Pakistan have accused the US of using the drone strike to stymie the peace process before proper talks had even started.
Khan, whose party leads the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, had said: “Even if we lose our provincial government, we will not let Nato supplies pass through as long as drone strikes do not stop.”
The sit-in, scheduled to take place on Nov 20, will not be attended by KP chief minister Pervez Khattak, provincial ministers and other government officials.
Khan has directed the provincial government to remain distant from the sit-in whereas the party's central and provincial leadership will assume responsibilities of the event.
In order to transport PTI workers from other cities to Peshawar, arrangements have been made on a large-scale.
Moreover, arrangements have also been made to bring workers from tribal areas and from internally displaced camps to participate in the sit-in.
