MIRAMSHAH: Some 2,000 Pakistanis in the North Waziristan tribal region pummelled by US missile strikes demonstrated Friday, calling for an end to the attacks and the arrest of the US officials behind them.

The covert, CIA-run missile program is a source of deep resentment in Pakistan, where many believe large numbers of civilians are killed and maimed in the drone-fired strikes. US officials insist the strikes are precise and kill primarily Taliban and al Qaeda militants hiding along the Afghan border.

The northwest tribal region is said to be home to several militant groups focused on attacking US and Nato forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Shop owners, students and other residents shouted anti-American slogans, and called for US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and the former CIA station chief in Islamabad to be brought to justice.

''They should be arrested and punished by the courts in America,'' said Abdul Khan, a student leader.

Reportedly, around 150 armed Taliban militants watched the rally in North Waziristan's main town of Miramshah. It was not immediately clear whether they had helped organise it.

Pakistan officially protests the strikes as violations of its sovereignty, but Pakistani security agencies are believed to secretly cooperate with the program. Last year, the US fired around 115 missile strikes into Pakistan in a major escalation of the campaign.