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Drone Strikes in Pakistan: Immoral, Illegal and Criminal
The opening of Nato's Ground Lines of Communication last week after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said 'sorry' noting that in a telephonic conversation "Foreign Minister Khar and I acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives", clearly was not the apology Pakistanis were looking for. Sorry would have sufficed, but not when the onus is equally shared.
All along Rawalpindi had been insisting that the Salalah killings were the result of American forces' deliberate attack that went on for nearly two hours despite the Pakistani commanders' attempts to stop it. Either Pakistan's earlier story was wrong or it has made some unsavoury compromises now in 'acknowledging' that it too made mistakes that caused the murderous assault on our soldiers.
The 'apology' notwithstanding, it can be argued that the seven-month closure of GLOCs which badly hurt the US is enough to send home the message that the Americans better be careful the next time they think Pakistani soldiers can be mistreated or harmed - said to be a common attitude among American forces based on the knowledge that Pakistanis are paid to fight in aid of America's war in Afghanistan as per the Coalition Support Fund terms and conditions. Still, another sensitive issue continues to inflame public sentiments.
Islamabad had also been saying that it would talk about reopening the GLOCs after the Parliament completes its deliberations to recommend guidelines for a reset of the Islamabad-Washington relationship. The Parliament recommended linking the resumption of Nato supplies to an end to drone strikes. In its subsequent official statements, the government had remained insistent on two demands: first that the US apologise for killing 24 Pakistani soldiers manning the Salalah border checkpost; and second, the drone attacks must cease. As if to mock, just a day after Islamabad agreed to forgive the Salalah outrage and open the supply route drones struck to slay more than 20 people in North Waziristan.
Washington, it seems, did not take Pakistani officials seriously when they demanded a stop to drone attacks. For, in the past, our leadership, both civilian and military, had adopted a deceptive policy, publicly condemning and privately condoning drone operations. President Zardari is actually reported to have told an American interlocutor during one of his visits to Washington that he did not worry about 'collateral damage' - euphemism for civilian casualties. In fact, for long these killing machines flew from a base in Pakistan to attack Pakistanis on Pakistani soil. Who knows if the old policy of saying one thing in public and another in private is still being followed? Little wonder then if the US continues to ignore this government's public protestations vis-a-vis drone strikes.
All along Rawalpindi had been insisting that the Salalah killings were the result of American forces' deliberate attack that went on for nearly two hours despite the Pakistani commanders' attempts to stop it. Either Pakistan's earlier story was wrong or it has made some unsavoury compromises now in 'acknowledging' that it too made mistakes that caused the murderous assault on our soldiers.
The 'apology' notwithstanding, it can be argued that the seven-month closure of GLOCs which badly hurt the US is enough to send home the message that the Americans better be careful the next time they think Pakistani soldiers can be mistreated or harmed - said to be a common attitude among American forces based on the knowledge that Pakistanis are paid to fight in aid of America's war in Afghanistan as per the Coalition Support Fund terms and conditions. Still, another sensitive issue continues to inflame public sentiments.
Islamabad had also been saying that it would talk about reopening the GLOCs after the Parliament completes its deliberations to recommend guidelines for a reset of the Islamabad-Washington relationship. The Parliament recommended linking the resumption of Nato supplies to an end to drone strikes. In its subsequent official statements, the government had remained insistent on two demands: first that the US apologise for killing 24 Pakistani soldiers manning the Salalah border checkpost; and second, the drone attacks must cease. As if to mock, just a day after Islamabad agreed to forgive the Salalah outrage and open the supply route drones struck to slay more than 20 people in North Waziristan.
Washington, it seems, did not take Pakistani officials seriously when they demanded a stop to drone attacks. For, in the past, our leadership, both civilian and military, had adopted a deceptive policy, publicly condemning and privately condoning drone operations. President Zardari is actually reported to have told an American interlocutor during one of his visits to Washington that he did not worry about 'collateral damage' - euphemism for civilian casualties. In fact, for long these killing machines flew from a base in Pakistan to attack Pakistanis on Pakistani soil. Who knows if the old policy of saying one thing in public and another in private is still being followed? Little wonder then if the US continues to ignore this government's public protestations vis-a-vis drone strikes.
Read more: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=31875