Anti-drone Peace March in Pakistan Slug: Pakistan peace march Reporter: Mudassar Shah Date: 10/10/2012 INTRO Tens

of thousands of Pakistanis joined the first-ever Peace March against the United States drone strikes in the tribal area of Waziristan. Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles that the United States uses to attack so-called Taliban militants but Pakistan says they have killed thousands of innocent civilians. Mudassar Shah joined the march for Asia Calling. TEXT SFX 1 sound of music The Peace March started in Islamabad to sound of traditional drum and pipe music. The 500-kilometres march to Kotkai in South Waziristan was led by former cricket star turned politician Imran Khan. Imran Khan clip 1 (Male, Urdu): We are conveying our message to the world, which the Pakistani government has failed to convey. We convey the message about the affect the drones have on our people to the world. We are on a long and dangerous journey to convey our message to the world that we want peace." SFX 2 sound of Vehicles start moving to Waziristan from Islamabad Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles, used by the US military to target Pakistans tribal region believed to be a stronghold of Taliban and Al Qaeda militants. US officials believe that the use of drones is effective to wipe out militants and insist civilian casualties are rare. There are no official records but Pakistani political leaders say 35 thousand civilians have been killed in drone attacks since 2004. High school student Abullah Shah held a banner that says drone attacks increase the number of militants. Abdullah Shah clip 1 (Male, Pashtu Language) "We go to South Waziristan to show our sympathies and solidity with drone affected people and to show the world that drones kill innocent people more than high targeted value people." Pakistani authorities had warned that the demonstration would not be allowed to enter South Waziristan for security reasons.

Thousands of people cancelled their participation, but not 27-year old engineer Nadeem Ali. Engineer Nadeem Ali clip (Male, Urdu Language) We want to show the world that drones kill innocent people with the support of our government. If they would come to know about the reality then they would strongly protest against the drones. It is a March for Peace in the tribal regions of Pakistan and tribal people are peace loving people. We want to convey to the world through the Peace March that Hundreds of thousands of tribal people only demand peace in the area. SFX sounds of young girls standing on roadside for the Peace March About half a dozen young girls were holding Imran Khans pictures while standing by the road side to welcome the Peace March in Dabara town in South Waziristan. They waved hands showing V with their fingers for victory. SFX sound of welcome to guests from US and UK A delegation of activists from the US-based women-initiated peace group Code Pink joined the march. Lady clip (Female, English): We know that saying sorry is never enough when it comes to having human lives. But we are here to say from the bottom of our hearts that we apologise for our governments actions that have caused the deaths and sufferings of your people. The American people are being lied to by our government that says that these drone attacks only kill militant people who want to kill the Americans, and not killing innocent people. SFX sound of vehicles But the district administration blocked the main road to Kotkai by placing 10 steel shipping containers. Around 15 other routes to Kotkai were also sealed off for security reason. Khan directed protesters to turn back. Khalid Khan Gandapor is one of the March organizers. Khalid Khan Gandapor Clip 1 (Male, Pashtu Language) We now return back from Waziristan and it is all Waziristan area where we are now. It would not be good if anything wrong would happen to our guests who have come from far away so we decided to return back since it is very late. Many houses have been destroyed and very few people live there so we would not be able to host people there. The security situation is not good there. SFX sound people shouting in Peace March The Peace March might not have reached its final destination, but 22-year old Feza Zeeshan is happy to finally visit the dangerous area of South Waziristan.

Feza Zeeshan Clip 1 (Female, English Language) You wont believe that people are so welcoming here. I mean everybody is waving us and we are so amazed to see people here. They are so much welcoming and they are so happy to see us here as if they were waiting for us. We could not imagine that it could be such a success. I had no idea that people are so nice and they are not at all extremists like the impression that the international media has given. SFX sound of shouting and clapping Before going back to Islambad, Imran Khan talked to the protestors at the border of South Waziristan. Imran Khan Clip 2 (Male, Urdu Language) Drones are a violation of human rights. It is against International Law. Drones are the violations of basic human Rights of Pakistanis. I want to convey a message to United States that the more drone attacks, the greater the hatred for Americans and the more people will resist against US. The tribal people are not be scared of drones. Imran Khan is now planning a demonstration outside the United Nations headquarter in New York to submit a petition against drone attacks. For Asia Calling, this is Mudassar Shah from South Waziristan.

B/A: After the Peace March, US drone strike killed five people in North Waziristan. The identities of those killed in the strike was not clear.