PESHAWAR, Nov 17: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and its coalition partners have deferred their planned sit-in against Nato supplies to Nov 23 and decided to take other political forces on board on the issue. The sit-in was to be held in Peshawar on Nov 20.

The decision has been taken in view of the precarious security situation in Punjab in the wake of violence in Rawalpindi and Multan during the Ashura observance.

“This is not cancellation but postponement in response to the sensitivities of our people and the acute security situation prevailing in the country,” a statement quoted Imran Khan as saying soon after a joint press conference held here on Sunday by leaders of parties in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ruling coalition. Before the press conference, a joint action committee comprising leaders of the PTI, Jamaat-i-Islami and Awami Jamhuri Ittehad Pakistan met at Al Markaz-i-Islami in Peshawar to work out a plan for blocking the Nato supplies. According to sources, provincial ministers Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, Mohammad Atif and Shahram Taraki also attended the meeting.

The partners had planned to hold the sit-in on Nov 20 on Peshawar’s Ring Road for blocking transportation of food and military hardware to Nato forces in Afghanistan.

JI’s provincial general secretary Shabir Ahmad Khan told reporters that a nine-member committee had been constituted for consultations with leaders of other political parties, including the PML-N, and to persuade them to participate in the sit-in.

Provincial Health Minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai and Adviser to the Chief Minister Yaseen Khalil are among the members of the committee.

Shabir Khan said the US drone attacks in tribal areas had killed a large number of innocent people, including women and children, and time had come to force the Americans to stop their aggressive actions against Pakistan. “Enough is enough. We have to take serious steps to end drone strikes,” he added.

He criticised the federal government’s pro-American policies and said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had failed to convince President Obama to stop drone attacks. “It is the federal government’s responsibility to take decisive actions against the drone strikes,” he said.