PESHAWAR, Nov 23: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has decided to stop Nato supplies at five points in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Sunday, but there’s considerable confusion among the provincial bureaucracy as well as its coalition partners on the subject.
That’s why a statement on the matter by the chief minister’s information secretary said the parties in the coalition government had announced blockade of the supply route at five points from Monday.
Official sources said the provincial government had not issued any order to stop Nato supplies or about what to do in case workers of political parties disrupted traffic at other points. The decision has also put the Jamaat-i-Islami, a major coalition partner of the PTI, in an awkward position. A JI leader, Behrullah Khan, told Dawn: “They (PTI leaders) took the decision in haste and caused confusion.”
He had attended a meeting of the coalition partners at the Jamaat’s provincial secretariat soon after PTI chief Imran Khan addressed participants of a sit-in on Ring Road on Saturday.
Behrullah Khan said there was no clear strategy about trucks carrying goods other than Nato supplies during the blockade of major highways.
The sources said JI’s provincial chief, Prof Ibrahim Khan, had discussed the situation with Chief Minister Pervez Khattak.
All coalition parties had chalked out a strategy for stopping Nato supplies, it added. Interestingly, the provincial government had earlier decided to keep itself aloof from the ongoing protest.
The statement, quoting PTI’s provincial information secretary MPA Ishtiaq Umar said Nato supply containers moving to and from Afghanistan would be stopped and joint teams of the coalition partners would monitor the movement of vehicles.
According to the plan, the teams would stop the supplies at Khairabad on GT Road, Charsadda and Swabi motorway interchanges, Dera Ismail Khan toll plaza and Hayatabad toll plaza on the Ring Road.
An official said the provincial government had yet to issue any order regarding stoppage of Nato supplies transported through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“There is no formal order from the government so far. This will be a tricky situation in case the supply routes are blocked and traffic disrupted.”
The sources said the coalition partners’ announcement had left confused the officials concerned.
A spokesman said workers of the PTI, JI and Awami Jamhuri Ittehad Pakistan would hold sits-in at the five places.
The official statement said supplies for Nato forces in Afghanistan would remain suspended until America stopped drone attacks and apologised for killing people in Pakistan.