Letter: Drone strike in Pakistan

In just the last three months, more than 20 drone strikes have hit unknown targets in tribal areas and killed several innocent people. Despite serious concerns of the Pakistani government, the United States wants to expand its drone attacks outside North and South Waziristan.  

The Pakistani government fears that some militant groups, especially Moulvi Nazir, who are still sitting silent amid the conflict between them and the Taliban, can be turned against them.

Recent WikiLeaks documents revealed tragic stories regarding drone attacks in Pakistan. The former Musharraff government openly supported the drone attacks against their own people, and the present government also supports the drone attacks, albeit silently.  This is the main reason that despite the killing of large numbers of people this year, the government is still sitting silent and still not able to raise this matter in any forum.

After the miserable role played by the government, the Pakistani judiciary has become last hope of affected people.

Now for the first time, Report 25 in the Islamabad secretariat police station’s record, has become a symbolic document in the government’s relations with the United States.  

The secretariat police station registered an application submitted by a victim of a drone attack seeking registration of a case against an American diplomat, Jonathan Banks, an alleged CIA functionary, working in the US embassy in Islamabad and providing operational guidance for drone attacks in tribal areas, including the one that killed the complainant’s son and brother.

Leading human rights group, the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, has also implored the Obama administration that drone strikes are against international law and can’t distinguish between combatants and non-combatants while hitting targets.

Khawaja Umer Farooq
Jeddah