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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>US drone strike kills 15 TTP men in Afghanistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/955144/us-drone-strike-kills-15-ttp-men-in-afghanistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/955144/us-drone-strike-kills-15-ttp-men-in-afghanistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Sep 15 15:38:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=955144</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Some Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed Wednesday's strike, adding that it took place near South Waziristan]]>
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				<![CDATA[A US drone strike had killed at least 15 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan members in Afghanistan's Gomal district on Wednesday, intelligence officials disclosed on Friday.

Three Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed Wednesday's strike in an area in Afghanistan bordering South Waziristan.

"Fifteen dead bodies of killed militants will be shifted soon to their native areas in Dera Ismail Khan," one intelligence official said.

Read: Taliban infiltrate police base, kill up to 15 Afghan officials

Three officials confirmed the 15 militants belonged to the Gandapur faction of the Mullah Fazlullah-led TTP.

Tracking of drone strikes in Afghanistan is patchy - many of them take place in remote regions and are not reported - but Taliban commanders say that fighters there have been increasingly targeted since late last year.

The strikes come a week after Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to end a blame game over a spate of militant attacks and work to restore trust.

Traditionally hostile neighbors, the two countries accuse each other of doing too little to prevent Taliban fighters and other religious militants from operating on their territory.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani made closer ties with Pakistan a priority when he took office last year, hoping Islamabad could push Afghan Taliban leaders to the negotiating table to end Afghanistan's long war.

The relationship appeared to yield fruit in July with groundbreaking official peace talks with the militants.

But after confirmation of the death of the group's founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, the process was suspended and the Taliban launched a wave of attacks in Kabul, killing more than 50 people and souring relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan's foreign policy chief visited the Afghan capital Kabul last week for a regional economic conference and also held meetings with the president, foreign minister and national security adviser.

But officials on both sides said peace talks with Afghan Taliban leaders were not discussed.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan condemns North Waziristan drone strike</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/949613/pakistan-condemns-north-waziristan-drone-strike-3</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/949613/pakistan-condemns-north-waziristan-drone-strike-3#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 02 Sep 15 16:44:53 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=949613</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Foreign office calls for cessation of of such strikes, saying they generate distrust among local populace]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan on Wednesday condemned a US drone strike which killed at least five suspected militants in Shawal area of North Waziristan.

A drone had fired two missiles at a compound in Karwanda area of Datta Khel Tehsil in North Waziristan, just 2.5 kms from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Tuesday. The strike left at least five suspected militants dead.

Read: Drone strike in North Waziristan kills five suspected militants

“Pakistan condemns such strikes which are in disregard of our territorial sovereignty and international law,” a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said.

Read: US to increase military drone flights: report

“These strikes also generate distrust among the local populace. We reiterate our call for cessation of such strikes,” it added.]]>
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			<title>Drone strike in North Waziristan kills five suspected militants</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/949103/drone-strike-in-north-waziristan-kills-four-suspected-militants</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/949103/drone-strike-in-north-waziristan-kills-four-suspected-militants#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 15 18:28:07 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[At least three suspected militants were also injured in the attack. Foreigners were reportedly present in the compound]]>
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				<![CDATA[At least five suspected militants were killed when a US drone fired two missiles at a compound in North Waziristan, officials said on Tuesday night.

The drone, which was monitoring the area for a couple of hours, fired two missiles at the compound in Karwanda area of Datta Khel Tehsil.

"5 militants were killed and three were injured" local sources and officials said on the condition of anonymity. Reportedly, some foreigners were among those killed, however, their names or identities could not be immediately ascertained.

Sources said that the death toll could rise once the rubble is cleared.

Karwanda is located 35 Kilometres west of Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan Agency. The area is adjacent to Shawal where the military recently launched ground operations against terrorists.

This is the second drone attack in the area in the past 30 days.

Read: US drone kills seven in North Waziristan

A US drone killed at least seven suspected militants in Datta Khel, North Waziristan Agency on August 6.

Officials and local sources said that the unmanned aircraft launched two missiles at a compound in the Alwara Mandi area of Datta Khel.

“At least seven militants were killed,” a local official told The Express Tribune while confirming the drone strike. “Another two were injured as well,” he added.

Read: US to increase military drone flights: report

Also in August, a report stated that the US was looking to drastically increase drone flights over the next four years, in a bid to boost intelligence and strike capabilities across a growing number of conflict zones.

TheWall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon was planning to expand the number of daily flights from 61 at present to as many as 90 by 2019, a senior defense official told the Journal.]]>
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			<title>North Dakota permits police taser drones</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/946029/north-dakota-permits-police-taser-drones</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/946029/north-dakota-permits-police-taser-drones#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 15 16:16:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=946029</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The state has become the first to permit police drones with weapons]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[US state North Dakota has legalised drones for police which can fire ‘less than lethal’ weapons to help disperse crowds, The Daily Beast reported.

The state has become the first to permit police drones with weapons.

To legalise the move, the state amended House Bill 1328. The bill previously prohibited police to use drones equipped with weapons.

In an amendment, put forward by lobbyists, the state house committee changed the prohibition only to lethal weapons.

Read: WSJ report: ‘US considering drones in N Africa to monitor Da’ish’

While the drones will not be able to rain down hellfire missiles, like the CIA operated cousins do in Afghanistan to target militants, these drones will be allowed to use "less than lethal" weapons like rubber bullets, pepper spray, tear gas, sound cannons, and even tasers are permitted for police drones.

But the problem is that careless use of “less than lethal” weapons can result in fatalities. Around 39 people have so far been killed by police tasers in 2015, as The Guardian reported.

The military have been using drones for quite some time now but the police find it a bit expensive to acquire them until recently. Lately, a California manufacturer loaned the Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Department two drones.

Read: Facebook's Internet drone ready to fly later this year

The question that now arises is which will be the next state that allows such drones.

The article originally appeared on The Daily Beast]]>
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			<title>North Waziristan drone attack kills 7 suspected militants</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/933655/drone-attack-kills-4-in-north-waziristan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/933655/drone-attack-kills-4-in-north-waziristan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 06 Aug 15 18:12:35 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=933655</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The drone fired two missiles at a house]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[A drone attack in North Waziristan on Thursday evening killed seven suspected militants and injured two others.


According to initial details, a US drone fired two missiles at a house in Lwara Mandi area of Datta Khel, North Waziristan.

Officials confirmed the drone strike and said that at least two people had been injured in the attack.

Sources said that the target of the attack was a house that belonged to a member of the Haqqani Network. They added that the casualties could rise.

This was the first strike after a month of silence in the area, the last drone strike in the area was reported in June.

Earlier on July 27, a US drone had killed at least five suspected militants in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar.

The early morning strike had taken place at Chaknawar in the Lal Pura area, which borders Khyber Agency in Pakistan, Pakistani officials stationed in Torkham told The Express Tribune.

Read: Drone attack in North Waziristan kills six, injures two suspected militants

“The drone launched two missiles at a vehicle carrying the suspected militants, destroying it and killing all five of them on the spot,” said an official.]]>
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			<title>US drone bombs IS target after taking off from Turkey: Turkish official</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/932904/us-drone-bombs-is-target-after-taking-off-from-turkey-turkish-official</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/932904/us-drone-bombs-is-target-after-taking-off-from-turkey-turkish-official#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 05 Aug 15 17:15:17 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=932904</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The drone had taken off from Turkey's Incirlik air base in south Turkey before attacking targets in Syria's Raqa]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[A US armed drone bombed a target in Islamic State-controlled northern Syria on Wednesday, in the first such air strike by a US aircraft after taking off from Turkish territory, a Turkish official told AFP.

"A US drone today carried out one air strike in Syria near Raqa," said the official, referring to the town in northern Syria the IS group sees as its capital.

The drone had taken off from Turkey's Incirlik air base in the south of the country which Ankara has now opened to the US military for armed attacks on IS targets in Syria, the source added.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier announced that Turkey was ready to begin a "comprehensive" fight against IS militants in Syria alongside the United States, after months of staying on the sidelines of the US-led coalition.

Last month Ankara said it would allow US warplanes to launch attacks from the Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey, which is just 200 kilometres (125 miles) from IS positions in northern Syria.

The Pentagon announced this week that US armed drones had taken off from Incirlik to conduct missions over northern Syria but this was the first time an air strike had been carried out.

Turkey, a member of the international coalition led by its NATO ally Washington, had so far declined to take robust action against militants but after a deadly bombing in July in a border town blamed on suspected IS militants, it launched limited strikes against the group in Syria.

Turkish officials have suggested Ankara will step up its strikes against IS once US operations from Incirlik are in full swing.

According to media reports some 30 US fighter jets are due to arrive at the facility in the next days in order to take part in the operation.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan condemns US drone attack</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/783574/pakistan-condemns-us-drone-attack</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/783574/pakistan-condemns-us-drone-attack#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 30 Oct 14 14:55:47 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[kamran.yousaf]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=783574</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Foreign Office reiterates Pakistan’s demand seeking immediate cessation of CIA-piloted campaign in the tribal areas]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan on Thursday condemned a US drone strike in South Waziristan Agency that reportedly killed a senior figure of the Haqqani Network.

The attack which took place in Azam Warsak area of South Waziristan left at least 7 suspected militants dead including Abdullah Haqqani. Abdullah was believed to be responsible for sending suicide bombers to Afghanistan.

However, hours after the latest strike, foreign ministry spokesperson Tasnim Aslam reiterated Pakistan’s demand seeking the immediate cessation of CIA-piloted campaign in the tribal areas.

“Pakistan has consistently maintained that such strikes are a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Government of Pakistan is itself taking decisive action against terrorist elements and therefore believes that such strikes are unnecessary and need to be stopped,” Aslam told reporters at her weekly briefing.

She further said Pakistan continued to raise the issue of drone strikes at all levels with the US.

“Naturally, the United States has its own position which is not backed by international law and the international public opinion,” she added.

The US has recently stepped up drone strikes in the tribal areas at a time when Pakistan military is undertaking a full-scale offensive against militants in North Wazirsitan Agency.

The surge in hell fire missiles is also seen as some kind of ‘tacit understanding’ between Pakistan and the US over the drone program. However, Islamabad always dismissed such a deal.

Pak-India tension

The spokesperson said Pakistan has summoned an acting Indian High Commissioner to the foreign office on Wednesday to condemn the civilian deaths in recent ceasefire violations by Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) and working boundary (WB).

“We also handed over protest note to Indian side in which we strongly condemned the incident and reminded them of their responsibility under bilateral understandings to protect civilians and their responsibility to maintain peace and tranquility on the Line of Control and the international border. We also recalled a number of pervious violations in which Pakistani civilians were killed,” Tasnim said.]]>
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			<title>US Air Force flew killer drone missions in Pakistan: Report</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/695717/us-air-force-flew-killer-drone-missions-in-pakistan-report</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/695717/us-air-force-flew-killer-drone-missions-in-pakistan-report#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 Apr 14 19:57:59 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=695717</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[US air force flies the predators from Creech air base in Nevada.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[According to a latest documentary, a regular US Air Force Unit based out of Nevada is responsible for flying drone missions in Pakistan, TheGuardian reported.

The film identifies the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron as the unit which has been conducting CIA-led strikes in the tribal areas. They operate from a secure compound in a corner of Creech air force base, 45 miles from Las Vegas in the Mojave Desert.

Several former drone operators have claimed that the air force unit has been flying the armed predator drones in Pakistan for last 10 years, in which 2,400 people have been reportedly killed.

Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Security Project, said this posed questions of legality and oversight. "A lethal force apparatus in which the CIA and regular military collaborate as they are reportedly doing risks upending the checks and balances that restrict where and when lethal force is used, and thwart democratic accountability, which cannot take place in secrecy.

When contacted for the comment, National Security Agency (NSA) and CIA declined to comment, while Pentagon did not even respond.

However, former US Predator operator Brandon Bryant, told the film he was speaking out only after senior officials in Obama administration gave a briefing last year in which they said they wanted to "transfer" control of the CIA's secret drones programme to the military, which Bryant said was disingenuous because it was widely known in military circles that the US air force was already involved.

"There is a lie hidden within that truth. And the lie is that it's always been the air force that has flown those missions. The CIA might be the customer but the air force has always flown it. A CIA label is just an excuse to not have to give up any information. That is all it has ever been."

Another former drone operator, Michael Haas, added: "It's pretty widely known [among personnel] that the CIA controls their mission."

Six other former drone operators have also corroborated the claims. But none of them were prepared to go on the record because of the sensitivity of the issue.

"Everyone talks about CIA over Pakistan, CIA double-tap, CIA over Yemen, CIA over Somalia. But I don't believe that they deserve the entirety of all that credit for the drone programme," Bryant said. "They might drive the missions; they might say that these are the objectives – accomplish it. They don't fly it."

The film director said if revelations turned out to be true, then it would raise "a host of additional pressing questions about the legal framework under which the targeted killing programme is carried out and the basis for the secrecy that continues to shroud it."

Shamsi added: "It will come as a surprise to most Americans if the CIA is directing the military to carry out warlike activities. The agency should be collecting and analysing foreign intelligence, not presiding over a massive killing apparatus.

"We don't know precisely what rules the CIA is operating under, but what we do know makes clear that it's not abiding by the laws that strictly limit extrajudicial killing both in and out of traditional battlefields. Now we have to ask whether the regular military is violating those laws as well, under the secrecy that the CIA wields as sword and shield over its killing activities.

Theoretically, the revelations could expose serving US air force personnel to legal challenges for their direct involvement in a programme which UN special rapporteur and numerous other judicial experts are concerned may be wholly or partly in violation of international law.

Creech air force base, situated 45 miles north-west of Las Vegas in the Mojave desert, has played a key role in the US drone programme since the 1990s.

There is another, far more secretive cluster of units within the wing called the 732nd Operations Group, which states that it "employs remotely piloted aircraft in theatres across the globe year-round".

This operations group is consists of four drone squadrons, namely the 30th, 22nd, 867th and 17th Reconnaissance Squadron.

Established as a regular drone squadron in 2002, the 17thunit transitioned to its new "customer" in 2004 at the same time that CIA drone strikes began in Pakistan, former personnel have said.

According to one former mid-level drone commander, it is the CIA analyst who would decide ultimately whether – and against whom – to carry out a strike.

Creech air force base only confirm that the 17th squadron was engaged in "global operations".

"The 732nd Operations Group oversees global operations of four squadrons – the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22nd Reconnaissance Squadron, 30th Reconnaissance Squadron and the 867th Reconnaissance Squadron. These squadrons are all still active … their mission is to perform high-quality, persistent, multi-role intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in support of combatant commanders' needs."]]>
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			<title>Drone strikes to end 'very, very soon': John Kerry</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/585365/drone-strikes-to-end-very-very-soon-john-kerry</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/585365/drone-strikes-to-end-very-very-soon-john-kerry#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 13 18:42:56 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=585365</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[US Secretary of State says that Obama has a real timeline on when to end drone strikes.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[US Secretary of State John Kerry hinted towards an end of the CIA-operated drone campaign in the tribal areas of Pakistan, as he said in a television interview on Thursday that the signature strikes could end "very soon".

"I think the programme will end as we have eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it," Kerry said in an interview with state-run Pakistan Television.

Pressed on whether a timeline was envisaged, Kerry replied: "The president has a very real timeline and we hope it's going to be very, very soon."

It is the first time that a senior US official has indicated that there could be a definitive end to the programme, which the CIA has in the past called an effective counter-terrorism weapon.

The statement was more than welcome in Islamabad, where the country's top diplomat Sartaj Aziz demanded a complete halt to a series of drone strikes which has recently decreased.

Kerry's comment, though was immediately downplayed by American aides.

State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said that the number of drone strikes had declined owing to the drawdown of American troops from Afghanistan and because of progress in curtailing the al Qaeda threat.

"Today the secretary referenced the changes that we expect to take place in that programme over the course of time, but there is no exact timeline to provide," she said in a statement.

The Secretary of State himself strayed from his television remarks when in a joint press conference with Aziz, he tackled complaints about drones by pointing the finger at al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, believed to be based in Pakistan.

"An al Qaeda leader like Al-Zawahiri is violating the sovereignty of this country. And when they attack people in mosques and blow up people in villages and market places they are violating the sovereignty of the country," he said.

'Pakistan has to overcome extremist forces'

Kerry's visit announced the resumption of strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the United States, and he invited the newly elected Sharif to hold talks with US President Barack Obama in the autumn.

It will be the highest level talks between the two sides since January 2011, after which US troops found and killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011.

In November 2011, US air strikes mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the Afghan border, leading Islamabad to shut down NATO ground supply lines for seven months.

Kerry said it was time to put the relationship on a stronger footing. He said Pakistan's prosperity depends on doing more to eliminate militant havens.

"Pakistan cannot realise its full economic potential until it overcomes extremists," Kerry told the news conference.

"The choice for Pakistanis is clear: will the forces of violent extremism be allowed to grow more dominant, eventually overpowering the moderate majority?"

Kerry paid tribute to Sharif's election, which marked the first time that an elected civilian Pakistani government had completed a full term in office and handed over to another at the ballot box.

Sharif described Kerry as a "wonderful friend".

Kerry also met the outgoing President Asif Ali Zardari and army chief General Ashfaq Kayani.

Taliban broke their promise

On the subject of Afghanistan, Kerry said that the "Taliban broke their word in Doha."

"They had accepted a certain set of requirements and they went back on their word."

He maintained, however, that Washington and Kabul would reach a long-term security agreement that would allow American troops to remain in the country beyond 2014.

"We're making progress, we're working on it. I am personally confident that we will have an agreement," Kerry said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai suspended talks on the deal in June, furious that a Taliban liaison office in Qatar appeared to have been opened as an embassy for a government in waiting.

"Let me be clear: the US is drawing down not withdrawing," Kerry said.

There are concerns that a complete departure of foreign troops in late 2014 could leave Afghan government troops too weak to contain a Taliban insurgency and possibly see the country slide back into civil war.]]>
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			<title>Stop drones to make militants give up their Jihad narrative, Imran tells Kerry</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/585086/separate-pakistan-from-us-war-on-terror-imran-tells-kerry</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/585086/separate-pakistan-from-us-war-on-terror-imran-tells-kerry#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 01 Aug 13 13:24:12 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[zahid.gishkori]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=585086</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Says that Pakistan needs to separate from the US 'war on terror'.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said on Thursday that stopping the drone strikes would motivate militants to give up their Jihad narrative.

In a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry, PTI Chairman said that bringing an end to the drone strikes would allow the militants to own their land and stop them from carrying out attacks.

He explained that the continued US drone strikes were counterproductive as they not only cost civilian lives but also fuel terrorism.

Remarking on the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, Imran asserted that it needed to be carried out in an orderly fashion or else Pakistan will have to face the brunt of the situation left behind, like in the case of Soviet withdrawal.

Upon Kerry inquiring about Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Imran said that it was undergoing a challenging time as it was surrounded by the volatile tribal areas.

The PTI Chairman admitted that the provincial police were ill-equipped to fight the militants, particularly in the absence of an holistic counter terrorism policy.]]>
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			<title>Drone strikes cast 'negative impact' on relationship with US: Pakistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/583512/drone-strikes-cast-negative-impact-on-relationship-with-us-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/583512/drone-strikes-cast-negative-impact-on-relationship-with-us-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Jul 13 12:58:51 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=583512</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The condemnation from the Foreign Ministry came in response to the drone strike in North Waziristan Agency on Sunday.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan has once again strongly denounced the CIA-led drone campaign in the tribal areas of Pakistan on Monday, warning that such unilateral strikes cast a ‘negative impact’ on efforts to forge a cooperative relationship with the US.

The condemnation from the Foreign Ministry came in response to the latest drone strike in Shawal Area of North Waziristan Agency on Sunday.

“These unilateral strikes are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Pakistan has repeatedly emphasized the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes,” the statement said.

It recalled that the Government of Pakistan had consistently maintained that drone strikes were counter-productive, entail a loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications.

“Such strikes also set dangerous precedents in inter-state relations,” the foreign ministry spokesperson said.

Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry maintained that such drone strikes “have a negative impact on the mutual desire of both countries to forge a cordial and cooperative relationship and to ensure peace and stability in the region.”

The latest drone attack was the forth since the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) government took charge following the May 11 parliamentary elections.

A recent report in the Washington Post suggested that the United States had drastically scaled back the number of drone attacks against militants in Pakistan and had limited strikes to high-value targets in response to growing criticism of the program in the country.

Those actions appear to have temporarily appeased Pakistani officials, who publicly oppose the covert CIA strikes, US officials said. But some officials were still worried about a pushback from Pakistan's new civilian leaders, who took power in June with a strong stance on ending the attacks altogether.

The future of the drone program is likely to be a key item on the agenda during US Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Pakistan, which is expected soon.

Only 16 drone strikes have taken place in Pakistan so far this year, compared with a peak of 122 in 2010, 73 in 2011 and 48 in 2012, according to the New America Foundation, a US-based think tank.

The CIA has been instructed to be more cautious with its attacks, limiting them to high-value targets and dropping the practice of so-called ''signature strikes'' — hitting larger groups of suspected militants based purely on their behaviour, such as being armed and meeting with known militants, said a current US intelligence official and a former intelligence official briefed on the drone program.

The US policy of drones has been the major source of anti-American sentiments in Pakistan while Washington considers the use of unmanned aerial vehicles as key anti-terror tool to eliminate so-called high value targets associated with al-Qaeda from the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.]]>
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			<title>Drone strike in North Waziristan kills 6</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/583143/drone-strike-in-north-waziristan-kills-6</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/583143/drone-strike-in-north-waziristan-kills-6#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 28 Jul 13 17:05:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=583143</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[This is the fourth drone strike since Nawaz Sharif assumed office as Prime Minister.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A US drone strike in North Waziristan killed six people late on Sunday, Express News reported.

The drone fired two missiles near Shawal in Mir Ali Tehsil, killing six people. This was the fourth drone strike since Nawaz Sharif assumed office as Prime Minister.

Earlier this month, on July 3, a drone had fired missiles on a house located in the Miranshah Bazaar in North Waziristan killing 17. The July 3 drone attack is considered to be the biggest launched this year.

Another drone strike which took place on July 13 killed two people in Mir Ali Tehsil, North Waziristan.

The Pakistani government has maintained an anti-drone stance and has claimed that drone strikes in the country are illegal, violate sovereignty and are counter-productive as they claim civilian lives.

A 12-page summary report titled Details of Attacks by Nato Forces/Predators in FATA revealed that out of the total 746 people listed as killed in the drone strikes between 2006 and 2009, 147 were civilians.]]>
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			<title>US scales back drone attacks in Pakistan: Report</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/582200/us-scales-back-drone-attacks-in-pakistan-report</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/582200/us-scales-back-drone-attacks-in-pakistan-report#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jul 13 05:40:10 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=582200</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[US tightens up its targeting criteria as a concession to the Pakistani army, senior US officials claim.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The United States has drastically scaled back the number of drone attacks against militants in Pakistan and limited strikes to high-value targets in response to growing criticism of the program in the country, The Associated Press (AP) reported

According to the report, the reduction in strikes has “temporarily appeased Pakistan’s powerful generals but some US officials are still worried about push back from the new government which wants to end the attacks altogether.”

US officials have stressed that the CIA will maintain a significant presence in Kabul and armed drones will continue to patrol Pakistan’s tribal belt after US withdrawal from Afghanistan, The Washington Post reported.

The CIA’s drone campaign will likely be a key item on the agenda during US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Pakistan, which is expected soon.

The AP report – quoting data from a US-based think-tank – stated that only 16 drone strikes took place in Pakistan so far this year, compared with a peak of 122 in 2010, 73 in 2011 and 48 in 2012.

Current and former US intelligence officials said the “CIA was instructed to be more cautious with its attacks, limiting them to high-value targets and dropping the practice of so-called “signature strikes” — hitting larger groups of suspected militants based purely on their behaviour, such as being armed and meeting with known militants.”

The report further mentioned two other senior American officials as saying: “The US scaled back the number of attacks and tightened up its targeting criteria as a concession to the Pakistani army, considered the most powerful institution in the country and the final arbiter on the future of the drone program.”

Senior Pakistani army officers made it clear that the program could not continue at the tempo it was being carried out and expressed concern that civilian casualties were breeding more militants, said the US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

Senior US officials insist they continue to have a secret agreement with Pakistan, or at least from the army, to conduct drone strikes.]]>
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			<title>Steps Pakistan can take to stop drone strikes</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/581444/steps-pakistan-can-take-to-stop-drone-strikes</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/581444/steps-pakistan-can-take-to-stop-drone-strikes#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 24 Jul 13 18:46:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Abdullah Hussain Haroon]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=581444</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Will Pakistan acquire the will to raise their undermined national rights and standing in the international community.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Since times immemorial targeted killing has played a dominant role in shaping world history and destiny and while the legends of men and societies’ nomenclature hastily transferred from assassins to freedom fighters to founding fathers, the only change that the march of civilisation impressed upon the methodology was, ‘how to kill more effectively’. From a stone, to a club, to poison, to a blade, to a bullet then a bomb and now drones, the insatiable drive towards achieving objectives through targeted killing and by shedding human blood remains unabated.

Targeted killings have prompted the civilised world to refine the post-World War policy of  “hot pursuit” to permit the unabashed violation of the sovereign domain of other states through a policy of  “legitimate response to terrorism and asymmetric warfare” and in their justifications have undermined the immense post-Second World War process of laws and legalities that were put in place to ensure that the debacle arising from political word mongering and diplomatic doublespeak does not encourage war to rear its ugly head evermore. The net resultant of the justifications from their exercise is the effect of neutering and unfortunately ensuring “the blurring and expanding the boundaries of the applicable legal frameworks” (from Philip Alston in his Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, 2010) that were laid meticulously over many decades in the form of the UN Charter, the Laws of Armed Conflict,the Convention of Human Rights,the ICJ and the Geneva Convention amongst many others.

As Pakistan bears the brunt of targeted killings through drone strikes by foreign powers even as it publicly denounces the drone campaign upon its sovereign territory and integrity, public rumours abate of tacit understandings and the Wall Street Journal states as flimsy rationale the plea that “the US government interprets the Pakistani lack of response to a monthly memo informing them of the general locations of the planned drone strikes as tacit consent for the programme”.

This raises several legal questions, none framed better than by the highly respected Philip Alston, who is also Professor of Law and Director of the Center of Human Rights and Global Justice at the prestigious New York University and Special Adviser to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Alston raised before the UN, the “legality of targeted killings under the laws of war, international human rights law, and the law applicable when States invoke their right to Self-Defence; the definition and scope of armed conflicts in which the laws of war apply; the definition of who may be targeted and killed, when, and by whom, in the context of armed conflict, the rules which govern the amount of force that may be used, the legality of drone killing in particular and the International law requirements of transparency and accountability”.

These then are the issues which must be pursued to logical conclusion if Pakistan desires to move to put to an end, our muted quandary and self-inflicted predicament. But world authorities do not cagily expound their obvious beliefs, they bellow from the closest lectern. Reproduced below are two such stalwarts, retorting upon claims of legitimacy by drone users intruding beyond the pale.

In 2011, the Special Rapporteur Christof Heyns reporting to the General Assembly stated “the current use of drones where there is not a recognised ‘armed conflict’, to kill an opponent, such as in Pakistan or Yemen, is highly problematic. While such operations may be designed to hit a particular target, civilian casualties remain, and it is used on such a large scale that it can hardly be described as targeted”.

In 2013 the Special Rapporteur to the UN Human Rights Commission, Ben Emerson, stated “the US’s ongoing drone campaign in Pakistan is a violation of the South Asian nation’s sovereignty, as it is being conducted without the consent of its elected representatives or that of the legitimate government”.

It is now self evident upon reading Alston, Heyns and Emerson that the CIA-led drone campaign may be unequivocally in violation of International law but it must also be recorded that the fabric of US nationhood prides itself in primarily upholding the rule of law. Picking up the thread, Alston warns that “the fact such enemies do not play by the rules does not mean that a government can cast those rules aside or UNILATERALLY reinterpret them. The credibility of any Government’s claim that it is fighting to uphold the rule of law depends on its willingness to disclose how it interprets and applies the law — and the actions it takes when the law is broken” as the US did in the case of a drone strike in Uruzgan, Afghanistan, and has sadly not deigned to do so in Pakistan. This leads Alston towards the unfortunate cynical reality in this region that “Intelligence agencies, which by definition are determined to remain unaccountable except to their own paymasters, have no place in running programmes that kill people in other countries”.

Today over 40 countries of the world are honing their drone capabilities many with missile-firing capacity, the ensuing flouted rules being passively accepted today shall in future be taken as granted as norms of behaviour. This, in turn, shall create precedents for the world tomorrow based on assertions of ever-expanding entitlements to targets around the world with an ill-defined licence to kill without accountability and scoring damage upon the carefully crafted rules designed to protect the ‘right to life’ and to prevent’ extrajudicial killings’.

Will Pakistan acquire the will to raise their undermined national rights and standing in the international community and understand that mere domestic grandstanding does not necessarily provide International understanding and recognition of issues and imperatives and that if practical results are desired, the right approach at several levels needs to be initiated. Simply put, recognise that only the voice of one Pakistan must emanate, and that the required relief be clearly defined after due deliberation and understanding of issues and must resonate through application of International Law. Then, the matter be pursued with relentless practicality through a chessmaster precision of a single entity, preferably of cabinet rank with the consensus of the cabinet, reporting only to the prime minister directly. There must be no named respondent, the law and its violations must be the consideration and our cause of action, drone attacks. The following tracks may be considered for approaching the venue for debate and rulings.

As a member of the board, Pakistan can then approach the Human Rights Council in Geneva and initiate a comprehensive debate on the international legal status of International drone attacks in areas not in armed conflict where no permission of the sovereign state has been obtained and its territorial integrity violated, and where innocent lives have been lost, without accountability. The resulting deliberation and preferably a substantial resolution should be sent to the ICJ (International Court of Justice) and the UN Security Council for further deliberations and settlement of the matter for posterity.

Pakistan can also move the ICJ independently or co-jointly through the human rights council to deliberate and review the question of the legitimacy of drone attacks violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent nation state under existing International laws.

As a member of the Security Council, Pakistan can move the Council to deliberate in open session and debate the question of legitimacy of drones being used in areas not in armed conflict in locations situated in third countries without sovereign sanction and if the perpetrators cite that the above-stated criteria are in compliance, force the lack of compliance upon accountability and the lack of aftermath reportage by the said states using drones, thereby initiating a process of accountability to be submitted for clearance before the Security Council on a regular basis. More substantially, it can move for strictures on violation of Article 51 of the UN Charter to consolidate interest in the above points and use it to obtain a detailed acceptable international settlement upon these outstanding issues. Even if any Permanent member of the UN vetoes any resolution, a fair evaluation shall emerge for the record and the resultant debate content may be used substantially as cause and grounds before the ICJ.

Targeted killings are a rapidly growing challenge to the International rule of law, and are increasingly used in circumstances which violate the relevant rules of International law. The International community needs to be more forceful in demanding accountability.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25th, 2013.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>Drones to patrol Pakistan's tribal belt post-Afghanistan withdrawal: Report</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/581308/drones-to-patrol-pakistans-tribal-belt-post-afghanistan-withdrawal-report</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/581308/drones-to-patrol-pakistans-tribal-belt-post-afghanistan-withdrawal-report#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 24 Jul 13 08:15:44 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=581308</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The US administration is expected to reduce the number of troops from 63,000 to nearly 10,000 after next year.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[As the world awaits the proposed withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, US officials stressed that the CIA will maintain significant presence in Kabul and armed drones will continue to patrol Pakistan's tribal belt, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

The process of closing down furtive bases in Afghanistan has already begun, though a footprint will remain even after the process is complete. The station in Kabul will remain among CIA’s largest in the world, and a fleet of armed drones are expected to continue to patrol Pakistan’s tribal belt.

The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif publicly condemns drone attacks and has urged the US to stop such unilateral strikes.

A recent survey conducted by Washington-based Pew Research Center revealed that the US policy of drone use in places such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia is facing broad opposition around the world.

The survey conducted on the issue in 39 countries, found that more than half of the respondents in 31 of these countries disapproved of US drone attacks against extremist groups.

The report noted that in most of the nations polled, there continues to be extensive opposition to the American drone campaign against extremist leaders and organizations.

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>NSA uses phone signals for finding drone targets: Report</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/580397/nsa-uses-phone-signals-for-finding-drone-targets-report</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/580397/nsa-uses-phone-signals-for-finding-drone-targets-report#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 22 Jul 13 16:03:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=580397</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[By September 2004, NSA could find cellphones even when they were turned off, reported Washington Post.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The US National Security Agency (NSA) is using phone signals to track locations of militant targets in real time, a technology that has helped Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) locate targets for drone attacks,  Washington Post reported. 

“The foreign signals that NSA collects are invaluable to national security,” the agency said in a statement released Friday to The Post.

According to current and former counterterrorism officials and experts, NSA has become the single most important intelligence agency in finding al Qaeda and other enemy overseas after Septermber 2011 attacks in Washington.

“This information helps the agency determine where adversaries are located, what they’re planning, when they’re planning to carry it out, with whom they’re working, and the kinds of weapons they’re using.”

The Agency would initially track down drone targets by eavesdropping on telephonic conversations but was later asked to also track locations using phone signals.

By September 2004, it could find cellphones even when they were turned off, reported Washington Post.

Recent revelations about the mass of data collected, including phone and e-mail records by the spying technology resulted in an uproar at home and abroad.

“These disclosures threaten to cause long-lasting and irreversible harm to our ability to identify and respond to the many threats facing our nation," said Robert S. Litt, general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The technology that was first made use of in 2001 to find drone targets had resulted in 200 civilian deaths by 2009 in Pakistan, Washington Post reported.]]>
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			<title>Ending the unmanned war: PM asked to drop plans to seek US drone tech</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/580200/ending-the-unmanned-war-pm-asked-to-drop-plans-to-seek-us-drone-tech</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/580200/ending-the-unmanned-war-pm-asked-to-drop-plans-to-seek-us-drone-tech#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 21 Jul 13 20:54:17 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[kamran.yousaf]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=580200</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Foreign ministry fears such a move will create contradiction in government’s policy towards drone use.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[As the government looks for alternatives to convince the US to call off its drone campaign in the tribal areas, the foreign ministry has asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to drop his plan to ask Washington for the transfer of drone technology from his list of options citing ‘legal implications’.

The government was planning to formally request the US for drone technology during the upcoming visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry as part of efforts to end the impasse over the controversial programme.

However, senior foreign ministry officials recently briefed the government on the likely implications of such a policy.



“We have to take a principled stand against drone use. Seeking drone technology shows a contradiction in our policy,” argued a foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

“Killing people without due process of law through drones is illegal. If Pakistan acquires this technology, should it kill people without due process as well?” he said.

The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif publicly condemns drone attacks and has urged the US to stop such unilateral strikes.

In a recent background briefing, one senior government official told journalists that Islamabad would seek drone technology from the US to deal with the terror threat.

However, the foreign office strongly believes that acquiring drone technology would weaken Pakistan’s case against the illegal use of unmanned aerial vehicles.

“The foreign office has conveyed its position to the government on the issue. It is now up to them to take the final decision,” said another official.

The official recalled that when the head of the UN team investigating the civilian impact of drone use travelled to Pakistan in March this year, Islamabad sought a ban on the unilateral use of drones against sovereign countries. He said Pakistan was engaged in efforts to create consensus for declaring drone use in counter-terrorism operations illegal.

UN special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism Ben Emerson is due to present his report on the legality of drone use before the annual session of world body in September.

Pakistan expects that the final UN report will help develop consensus against use of drones as weapons.

A recent survey conducted by Washington-based Pew Research Center revealed that the US policy of drone use in places such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia is facing broad opposition around the world. The survey conducted on the issue in 39 countries, found that more than half of the respondents in 31 of these countries disapproved of US drone attacks against extremist groups. The report noted that in most of the nations polled, there continues to be extensive opposition to the American drone campaign against extremist leaders and organizations.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22nd, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Drones increasingly opposed: Poll</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/579054/drones-increasingly-opposed-poll</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/579054/drones-increasingly-opposed-poll#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 18 Jul 13 21:39:47 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[APP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=579054</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[In 12 countries, eight-in-ten or more hold an opposing view to drones.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[US drone strikes, one of the key features of President Barack Obama's national security policy, are widely opposed across the world, with 31 of 39 nations surveyed, at least half disapproving the anti-extremists drone campaign in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, according to a poll released Thursday.

In 12 countries, eight-in-ten or more hold this view, a 39-nation study by the Pew Research Center found.

The only countries in which a majority supports American drone strikes are Israel (64%), the US itself (61%), and Kenya (56%), it said.

The poll also said the world increasingly believes China will become the top superpower but the United States enjoys a better image in most regions.

Drones, especially in Pakistan, incite a lot of public anger and are seen as counterproductive, causing civilian deaths as part of collateral damage and violating sovereignty.]]>
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			<title>Drone attack in North Waziristan kills two people</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/576673/drone-attack-in-north-waziristan-kills-two-people</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/576673/drone-attack-in-north-waziristan-kills-two-people#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 13 Jul 13 18:53:46 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=576673</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The drone attacked the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[An unmanned aerial combat vehicle struck in the Mir Ali Tehsil of North Waziristan late on Saturday night, killing at least two people, Express News reported. 

The drone fired two missiles at two people riding a motorcycle in Mossaki village in Mir Ali.

Local security officials said both the militants were believed to be from Turkmenistan but their exact nationalities are yet to be ascertained.

"The target of the drone was the militants on (the) motorcycle, some nearby houses were also damaged," a local security official told AFP in Miranshah.

Another security official in Miranshah added they were "verifying the reports that both the militants" were from Turkmenistan.

This is the second strike this month.

Earlier in July, a drone had fired missiles on a house in Sarai Darpakhel. The attack destroyed the house and a vehicle parked next to it killing at least 17 people.

The drone attack was the biggest launched this year and the second since Nawaz Sharif took office as prime minister following his victory in May elections.

On June 7, 2013, seven suspected militants were killed and three injured when a drone strike targeted a compound in Mangroti village, in the Shawal tehsil of North Waziristan, according to government officials.]]>
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			<title>The drone equation</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/575195/the-drone-equation</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/575195/the-drone-equation#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jul 13 19:15:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=575195</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[A key problem is that we do not quite know what the true official stance on the matter is.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The issue of US drones stealing across the border and striking targets in our territory has come up again and again. It is a matter that simply fails to fade away, with strong opinions expressed on the matter during the election campaign and debate continuing in many quarters. A key problem is that we do not quite know what the true official stance on the matter is, and if we are being told anything resembling the truth, or merely a bunch of lies.



Suspicions on this count will be raised further by the leaked comments of the former ISI chief Lieutenant General (retd), Ahmed Shuja Pasha, who told the Abbotabad Commission that the drone attacks “had their uses”. The contents of that document strongly suggest Pakistan has for years covertly backed the drones. The former ISI chief, in his comments, also said it was no longer easy to stop the incursions by unmanned aircraft and that in the past, the Shamsi airbase had indeed been used by the Americans. This has, of course, never been officially acknowledged by our government. It should be noted that the drone attacks, which began in 2004, were initially approved by former army chief General (retd) Pervez Musharraf. He should be asked about his decision.

Given the leaked information, and all the conjecture that existed even before this, it is time to come clean. The PML-N government, now in power, has stated publicly many times that it is opposed to drone attacks and sees them as counterproductive as far as tackling militancy goes. If this is indeed genuinely its position, it needs to take the matter up with the US and make its desire to end the strikes known. If, for any reason, it is unable to do so or if there is a dichotomy of opinion amongst forces within the country, then we must be told about it. After all, we have been lied to for far too long, creating confusion in minds. In a democracy, people must not be fooled on so crucial an issue, central to our sovereignty, but must be informed of the full facts, whatever they may be, as well as the government’s real role in the drone affair and all that it entails.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2013.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>Leaked report reveals Pakistan-US 'understanding' on drones</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/574505/leaked-report-reveals-pakistan-us-understanding-on-drones</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/574505/leaked-report-reveals-pakistan-us-understanding-on-drones#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jul 13 12:26:51 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=574505</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[According to the former intelligence chief, the systemic failures showed Pakistan was a &quot;failing state&quot;.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan reached an understanding with the United States on drone strikes targeting militants and the attacks can be useful, said the leaked remarks of a former intelligence chief.

Pakistan publicly condemns US missile attacks on Taliban and al Qaeda operatives as a violation of its sovereignty, but the new revelations are the latest sign of double-dealing in private.

They come in findings of a Pakistani investigation into how al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden evaded detection for nearly a decade, which were published by the Al-Jazeera news network Monday.

Ahmed Shuja Pasha, who headed Pakistan's premier Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency at the time of bin Laden's killing in 2011, told investigators that drone strikes had their uses.

"The DG (director general) said there were no written agreements. There was a political understanding," the report said.

The Americans had been asked to stop drone strikes because they caused civilian casualties, but "it was easier to say no to them in the beginning, but 'now it was more difficult' to do so," it quoted the former spymaster as saying.

"Admittedly the drone attacks had their utility, but they represented a breach of national sovereignty. They were legal according to American law but illegal according to international law," the report quoted the ISI chief as saying.

He also confirmed that Shamsi air base, in southwestern Pakistan, had been used for US drone strikes against people in the country.

Pakistan ordered US personnel to leave the base after botched US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November 2011.

His interviews also laid bare extraordinary levels of distrust between Pakistan and the United States, particularly in 2011 when relations plummeted over the US raid that killed bin Laden and a CIA contractor who shot dead two Pakistanis.

Pasha said US arrogance "knew no limits" and accused the Americans of waging "psychological warfare" over the whereabouts of Taliban leader Mullah Omar and bin Laden's successor Ayman al-Zawahiri.

He quoted a US intelligence officer as saying "you are so cheap... we can buy you with a visa," and said himself that systemic failures showed Pakistan was a "failing state".

The Pakistani report condemned the US raid as an "American act of war" and said the military should have responded much more quickly to a three-hour operation, 100 miles inside its territory.

It was Pakistan's "greatest humiliation" since East Pakistan seceded in 1971, it said.]]>
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			<title>Waziristan drone strike: Al Qaeda men among fatalities, confirms official</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/573528/waziristan-drone-strike-al-qaeda-men-among-fatalities-confirms-official</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/573528/waziristan-drone-strike-al-qaeda-men-among-fatalities-confirms-official#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 07 Jul 13 04:50:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[jamshed.baghwan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=573528</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[It was this year’s deadliest strike and the second since Nawaz Sharif took office as prime minister.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Two al Qaeda militants and as many Punjabi Taliban were among the 17 people killed in Tuesday night’s drone strike in North Waziristan Agency, The Express Tribune has learnt.


Remotely-piloted American aircraft fired a barrage of missiles at a compound in the Sarai Darpa Khel area near Miramshah Bazaar late Tuesday night, killing 17 suspected militants.

Two al Qaeda militants – Abu Yousaf Aljaziri and Maulana Akhtar Zadran – and as many Punjabi Taliban – Rana Ashraf from Sargodha and Naveed Butt from Lahore – were among the fatalities, an intelligence official confirmed to The Express Tribune. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity.

Local tribesmen said US drones had been hovering at low altitude in the main town of the agency since a day before the strike.

It was this year’s deadliest strike and the second since Nawaz Sharif took office as prime minister following his party’s victory in the May 11 elections. Earlier on June 7, a US drone targeted a compound in Mangroti village, in the Shawal tehsil of North Waziristan, killing seven suspected militants.

Cross-border shelling 

A dozen mortar shells fired from across the Durand Lind landed in a border village of South Waziristan Agency Saturday night, injuring five tribesmen, government officials confirmed to The Express Tribune.

Six mortar shells landed in the Angor Addar Bazaar and as many in the surrounding areas, the officials added. The shelling triggered a fire on a pile of fuel wood and coal in the bazaar. However, local tribesmen managed to put out the blaze.

The injured tribesmen were taken to the agency headquarters hospital in Wana and a private clinic in Rustham Bazaar. One of them was shifted to DI Khan for treatment of his critical wounds.

Angor Adda, also known as Birmal, is a tehsil of Wana subdivision. The mountainous region has frequently been hit by shelling from neighbouring Afghanistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>US drone strike: Death toll rises to 17 as Pakistan lodges protest</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/572273/un-drone-strike-death-toll-rises-to-17-as-pakistan-lodges-protest</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/572273/un-drone-strike-death-toll-rises-to-17-as-pakistan-lodges-protest#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 13 04:51:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=572273</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Islamabad renews call for cessation of drone campaign.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[As the death toll from Tuesday’s drone strike in North Waziristan rose to 17, Pakistan condemned the attack and called for an immediate end to the CIA-led campaign in the tribal areas.


A US drone launched four missiles at a suspected militant compound in Miramshah late Tuesday night – the third drone attack since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif assumed office and the deadliest one this year so far.

“The death toll has risen to 17,” said a security official based in North Waziristan.

Intelligence officials claimed the compound belonged to militants from the Haqqani network. But while officials maintained that both Afghan and Pakistani militants were among those killed, there was no immediate confirmation of the death of any high-value target.

The latest strike drew condemnation from Pakistan’s foreign office. “The government of Pakistan strongly condemns the US drone strike that took place in Miramshah,” stated a press release issued on Wednesday.

“These strikes are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Pakistan has repeatedly emphasised the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes,” it argued.



The statement said that Pakistan has consistently maintained that drone strikes are ‘counter-productive, entail the loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications’.

Meanwhile, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan was quick to dispel any notion that its members may have been killed in the strike.

“No Taliban men were killed in the drone attack which claimed 17 lives,” TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told The Express Tribune via phone.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2013.

Correction: In an earlier version of the article, the headline mistakenly said "UN drone strike". The error has been rectified.]]>
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			<title>FO rejects Afghan army chief’s allegations</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/572317/fo-rejects-afghan-army-chiefs-allegations</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/572317/fo-rejects-afghan-army-chiefs-allegations#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 13 04:33:46 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=572317</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Gen Sher Mohammad Karimi Pakistan is complicit in US drone strikes.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Foreign ministry rejected allegations by the Afghan Army chief that Taliban were under its control and it could end the war ‘in weeks’ if it was serious about peace.


In an interview with BBC on Wednesday, Gen Sher Mohammad Karimi accused Pakistan of ‘controlling Taliban’ adding that Pakistan could do far more to promote a nascent peace process.

He said Pakistan is complicit in US drone strikes despite its denunciations of the anti-militant campaign. “The US has not started drone attacks on their own,” he said, arguing that Islamabad had “given the lists” of militants it wants taken out.

The allegations that Pakistan ‘controls’ the Taliban and has ‘unleashed’ them on Afghanistan have no basis, said foreign ministry spokesperson Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry.

“We reject them categorically. Pakistan has exercised extreme restraint in the face of highly provocative language used by the Afghan civil and military officials over the last few months, not to mention some totally fabricated accusations,” he added.

The spokesman said such comments also reflected ‘insincerity on part of some elements in Afghan government.’

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Double dilemma: US drones and Afghan denouncements</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/572307/double-dilemma-us-drones-and-afghan-denouncements</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/572307/double-dilemma-us-drones-and-afghan-denouncements#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 13 04:29:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[imtiaz.gul]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=572307</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[This issue merits scrutiny in the context of two major geo-political factors.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The July 2 drone strike on a target 50 kms off Miranshah -14th this year - evoked another strong protest from the ministry of foreign affairs. This “outrage” came less than four weeks after the Foreign Office summoned US Charge d’ Affaires (CdA), Deputy Ambassador Richard Hoagland, on June 8 to lodge a similar “strong protest” against a strike that had killed seven people in a North Waziristan village.


Do these expressions of rejection and demands for cessation in strikes count? Apparently little because of the US-UK understanding that drones represent an important tool in hunting down terrorists.

This issue merits scrutiny in the context of two major geo-political factors to explain as to why these strikes, though on the wane, are likely to continue

i)  The broad US-NATO agreement on the use of drones against common “enemies”,

ii)  Increasingly wobbly leadership of  a volatile Afghanistan

Speaking in Los Angeles on June 25, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said about the UK’s policy on intelligence-sharing with the United States: “We operate under the rule of law and are accountable for it.

In some countries secret intelligence is used to control their people. In ours, it only exists to protect their freedoms.”

Allegations that Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) used a US programme to circumvent the law and spy on British citizens have led to renewed calls for the agency to disclose what its policy is on providing intelligence to support CIA drone strikes. Anti-drone campaigners claim that by sharing intelligence in support of the campaign, GCHQ may have broken both domestic and international law.

As for Afghanistan, the pressures  from across the border are mounting; the Afghan army chief General Sher Mohammad Karimi who, in a BBC interview broadcast July 3, claimed that Pakistan was complicit in drone attacks because  Islamabad had “given the lists” of militants it wants taken out. He also alleged that the drones are used against those Taliban who are part of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The drones are never used against Haqqani or Afghan Taliban, he said, in reference to one of the most feared Afghan insurgent groups.

This also meant to run down Pakistani protests as a mere “eyewash for public consumption.”

Gen Karimi’s claim comes two days after Deputy Foreign Minister Ershad Ahmad publicly accused Pakistan of having asked the Afghan government to cede power in some provinces to the Taliban in a power-sharing deal. The idea, Ahmad said, was raised during a recent meeting between Pakistani national security adviser Sartaj Aziz and Afghan ambassador Umer Daudzai in Islamabad.

In both cases Islamabad issued strong rebuttals but this will neither blunt the chorus of allegations from the Afghan leadership nor cause a cessation to the CIA drone strikes which are predicated on, and declared justified, the presence of Al-Qaeda militants in Waziristan. And the US-UK argument runs like this: as long as these “enemies of the West” are nestled in Waziristan we will keep hunting them.

Herein lies Pakistan’s predicament; the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on May 9 declared the CIA’s drone campaign to be a war crime, and ordered the Pakistani government to take steps to put an end to it. Also, almost the same day, families of victims of US drone strikes on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Sharif, urging him to stop the campaign - by shooting the unmanned aircraft down if necessary.

Even condemnation by the UN chief and criticism by his special envoys such as Ben Emerson matter little when it comes to the deployment of unmanned vehicles for missions in Pakistan, Afghanistan or African countries.

In June, the UN Secretary General described reports of child casualties caused by drones as “increasingly worrisome,” and called on the states involved to conduct “transparent and effective investigations.”

Can the government make similar strong and effective noises to counter the CIA drone campaign? Probably not; it seems currently too focused on how to revive the fledgling economy, which apparently leaves little time to craft a transparent narrative on the drones or conclusively respond to the string of derisive statements out of Kabul. In the absence of a real focus and strategy, external geo-politics is certainly precipitating Pakistan’s internal weaknesses. Only a demonstrable break from the cold-war era reactive foreign policy tactics will convince others that the new leadership means business for the better. Credibility will automatically follow.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Global perspective: Postcards from across the globe start ‘dialogue’ over drones</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/571564/global-perspective-postcards-from-across-the-globe-start-dialogue-over-drones</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/571564/global-perspective-postcards-from-across-the-globe-start-dialogue-over-drones#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jul 13 21:36:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=571564</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Students gathered at the Art Chowk Gallery to discuss ‘drone strikes’ and ‘terrorism’.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The controversial drone strikes in the northern parts of the country came under discussion in its southern-most tip when a group of students gathered young people from across the world to debate their effectiveness. 

“We were not happy what the US and Pakistani governments were saying regarding the drone strikes,” said Neha Ansari, the event organiser and a recent graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at the Tufts University. She organised ‘Drone Dialogue: A transnational yet personal conversation’ at ArtChowk gallery on Monday in an attempt to divulge the reasons, limits and consequences of the drone strikes by the US in Pakistan.

Was the debate being grounded on ‘false premises’ or the issue too ‘new’ to discuss, was the question Ansari asked the audience, when she explained how Shayan Rajani, their fellow student, had come up with the idea to make people talk about the drone strikes. “The idea was to ask our friends from different countries to write postcards expressing their views on the issue,” she said. “We ended up receiving two dozen post cards.”
Postcards received from acquaintances and students across the world were displayed at the dialogue. The postcards contained messages condemning the drone strikes and portrayed sympathy for those affected by the attacks. PHOTO: AYESHA MIR/ EXPRESS
The postcards sent by the students from the US, Indonesia and France caught the most attention from the audience. Andi Sparinga from Indonesia, in her postcard, wrote: “Deepest condolences, coming from a country that was also labeled by the US as a ‘safe haven’ for terrorists. I’m against terrorism but the policies regarding war on terror, especially drone strikes that kills lots of innocent lives, simply goes too far.”

Azka Shoaib, a Pakistani student condemning the drone strikes as ‘inhumane’, described the magnitude of these strike. “With a click of a button, millions of lives are destroyed,” she wrote.

The postcards written by American students proved to be of greater interest for the attendees as the perspective of the Americans on the issue was an interesting addition to the dialogue. “The fact that a US military member can sit in front of a joystick as if he’s playing a video game and kill people (innocent or not) - that is morally objectionable to me,” Nathan Kennedy, an American student, wrote in his postcard. “I agree with many people that our methods should be as moral as possible but I think most of us agree that issues, such as violence and extremism, need to be addressed.”



Several students, who were studying in the America, also shared their views on the issue through recorded video messages. The students hoped for transparency in the details of the strikes and expressed their sympathy over the loss of innocent lives.

Azhar Jamil, a political activist who was formerly associated with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, considered ‘Taliban’ as a major threat for the national security of Pakistan. “We have to understand the enemy within - only then will be able to maintain peace,” said Jamil.

He termed the concept of drone attacks as ‘unethical’. “Someone sitting in Nevada presses a button and destroys scores of human lives - this is not right,” he said.

He lamented that the US foreign policies were ‘imperial’ while clarifying his stance that he was not against the American people but their government’s bipolar policies.



“American forces would leave soon, it is now up to us to take the initiative for peace,” Jamil told The Express Tribune. “Every single citizen must play their part - it should be the people standing up to the Taliban, peacefully, as they can open fire on us but we cannot. We have to remain peaceful for peace to prevail.” he concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan protests as drone strike in Miranshah kills 17</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/571675/drone-strike-kills-three-people-in-miranshah-bazaar</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/571675/drone-strike-kills-three-people-in-miranshah-bazaar#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jul 13 20:06:34 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=571675</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The drone fired missiles on a house in main bazaar.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[An unmanned aerial combat vehicle on early Wednesday fired missiles on a house located in the Miranshah Bazaar in North Waziristan, killing 17, Express News reported.

According to details, the drone fired missiles on the house in Sarai Darpakhel. The attack destroyed the house and a vehicle parked next to it.

The identity of the casualties was unclear

The foreign office protested against the drone campaign and said innocent people are killed in these strikes.

The drone attack was the biggest launched this year and the second since Nawaz Sharif took office as prime minister following his victory in May elections.

On June 7, 2013, seven suspected militants were killed and three injured when a drone strike targeted a compound in Mangroti village, in the Shawal tehsil of North Waziristan, according to government officials.

The village is sited 50 kilometres west of Miramshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan Agency, close to the Pak-Afghan border.

“The drone fired two missiles at a suspected militant compound,” a local administration official told The Express Tribune. “At least seven people were killed,” he added.

The Pakistan government maintains that the drone strikes cause civilian casualties and are counter productive.]]>
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			<title>Civilian deaths in Pakistan drone attacks at all-time low: Report</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/571348/civilian-deaths-in-pakistan-drone-attacks-at-all-time-low-report</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/571348/civilian-deaths-in-pakistan-drone-attacks-at-all-time-low-report#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jul 13 10:47:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=571348</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Report states around 200 children lost their lives in drone campaigns.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The number of reported civilian deaths caused by the CIA’s drone campaign in Pakistan is at an all-time low, a report by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) stated.

According to the data mentioned in the report, the number of drone strikes conducted under Obama’s administration stands at 318, while the total number of strikes carried out since 2004 is 370.

These hundreds of strikes in Pakistan’s tribal region killed at least 2,500 people, 400 of whom are said to be civilians.

The report stated that around 200 children lost their lives in drone attacks.

The campaign carried out with the help of unmanned aircraft left around 1,100 injured.



There is said to be a steep decline in the number of US drone strikes in Pakistan; strikes are now at their lowest level since early 2008.

The average number of people being killed in each drone strike has fallen sharply too, an analysis of the Bureau’s data shows. On average, four people now die in each attack – just a third of the rate in the first six months of 2010.

TJIB data indicates that the highest casualties in the US drone war occur when the CIA carries out “signature strikes” – attacking groups of men judged to be behaving in a suspicious manner.

TBIJ is a not for profit organisation based at City University in London.]]>
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			<title>No prosecution over German national killed by drone strikes in Pakistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/570924/no-prosecution-over-german-national-killed-by-drone-strikes-in-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/570924/no-prosecution-over-german-national-killed-by-drone-strikes-in-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 13 15:14:56 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=570924</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Prosecutors say they don't consider the German as a civilian but a militant involved in an armed conflict.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[German prosecutors said they won't be pressing charges over the death of German militant killed in a drone strike in Pakistan, as he was involved in an armed conflict, reported Associated Press.

The drone strike was carried out in the town of Mir Ali in October 2010 against militants present in the area and killed Buenyamin E. as a result.

The federal prosecutors initiated an investigation last year to ascertain whether the death constituted a war crime under international law.

The prosecutors said on Monday that they are dropping the investigation since they don't consider the German as a civilian covered by international humanitarian law.

The Pakistani government has openly maintained an anti-drone stance, claiming that they are illegal and counterproductive.]]>
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			<title>Petition filed in Supreme Court against US drone strikes in FATA</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/564955/petition-filed-in-supreme-court-against-us-drone-strikes-in-fata</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/564955/petition-filed-in-supreme-court-against-us-drone-strikes-in-fata#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 13 16:23:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[mudassir.raja]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=564955</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[US drone strikes are in violation of the Constitution of Pakistan, says petitioner.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A petition filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday has sought the court’s direction to the federal government to stop US drone strikes which has contributed to the deaths of innocents in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

Mado Jan filed the petition under Article 184(3) of constitution, listing the federation through secretaries Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Information and US diplomats as respondents.

The petitioner argued that according to a report from political authorities of North Waziristan Agency, 896 civilians in the district have been killed by drone attacks over the last five years till December 2012. The attacks also left at least 209 people with serious injured. Only 47 foreigners were killed and six injured.

Similarly, in South Waziristan Agency 70 drone strikes were carried out in the last five years till June 2012. Jan stated that 553 local civilians were killed and 126 injured in those attacks.

The petitioner mentioned that the National and Provincial Assemblies of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan passed the resolutions but the respondents did not take the necessary steps to restrain drone attacks.

He complained that TV news channels and journalists have showed no interest in demanding permission to visit the site of a drone strike and show the real picture of drone devastation.

The petitioner contended that the drone strikes, with or without the consent of respondents, against its citizens was in violation of Article 245 of the Constitution of Pakistan. Under the constitution, he argued that the Armed Forces can be called either to defend Pakistan against external aggression or threat of war or to act in aid of civil power.

Jan added that Pakistan’s Armed Forces are fully prepared for national defence. He quoted Brig (retd) Masood’s statement that Pakistan has the capability to shoot down drones, but the government does not wish to spoil relations with the United States.

The killing of Pakistani citizens on a large scale is an offence of murder for which US President Barack Obama and others should be dealt with in accordance with the law, Jan stated.]]>
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			<title>Concerns on drone strikes to be addressed mutually: State Dept</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/563512/concerns-on-drone-strikes-to-be-addressed-mutually-state-dept</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/563512/concerns-on-drone-strikes-to-be-addressed-mutually-state-dept#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 15 Jun 13 02:11:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[APP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=563512</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Spokesperson says disclosure of secret surveillance has raised concerns.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The United States and Pakistan have a strong ongoing dialogue in all areas of their bilateral relationship, including counterterrorism, and will work together to address any concerns, the State Department said.


Secretary of State John Kerry is looking forward to visiting Pakistan and India at an appropriate time, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told a daily press briefing. She, however, had no precise travel schedule to announce.

Asked about Islamabad’s objections to US drone strikes, the spokesperson indicated that the two countries would work together to address any concerns. “But we do have a strong, ongoing dialogue with Pakistan regarding all aspects of our bilateral relationship and shared interests, including security and counterterrorism cooperation, and we’ll work together to address any of these concerns.”



She confirmed that four US embassy officials, who flew from Islamabad to Karachi, were detained by airport officials and have since returned to Islamabad. “In terms of the reasoning, we’re still gathering information on what happened here ... I don’t want to over read, and I would encourage none of you to over read, into it while we’re still looking into what the specifics of the events were.”

Asked about the reaction of foreign countries to revelation of US secret surveillance programme, the spokesperson acknowledged the disclosure has raised concerns with some governments.

“We are, of course, aware recent disclosures in the press about classified US intelligence activities have raised concern with some other governments. I would refer to all of them to speak for themselves. And we have ongoing dialogues with allies and partners around the world on a range of issues, including counterterrorism, cyber-security, and privacy concerns, and all of these programs.  And so we’ll continue to discuss those issues and others raised through our diplomatic channels.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>The theory of modern war</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/562506/the-theory-of-modern-war</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/562506/the-theory-of-modern-war#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 12 Jun 13 20:36:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[shahzad chaudhry]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=562506</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Newer determinants of international engagement for war, peace, trade are generating their own addendums to rule books.]]>
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				<![CDATA[President Barack Obama, in his famous “crossroads” speech, has brought to the fore the inherent contradictions in the theory of war, predicated on the UN Charter and the Laws of Armed Conflict (LOAC), and war’s modern mutations in conception, doctrinal evolution and tooling. There is a worldwide debate challenging the legal and moral standing of the use of drones with a growing possibility that more impersonal means will automate war to the extent of removing any moral underpinnings enshrined in the above two international frameworks.

The UN Charter outlaws war and grants nations only the right of self-defence. The trouble with the Charter is the relative calm of the graveyard in which it was charted after World War II. The A-Bomb, the weapon to end all wars, had already wrought pervasive and widespread death; peace had been won, and was now to reign eternal. It didn’t. Instead, now more own the deadly weapon, some as much as integrating those as an element of war strategy — engendering the “you attack us, we will nuke you”, syndrome. The world sits perpetually at the edge of a cliff.

There are other parables. The non-state actor has diluted the conventional formulation of an interstate war that the LOAC envisaged and for which the rules were formulated. Hence the new term, fourth-generation war that places a nation(s) in an armed conflict against a group constituting non-state actors alone. The contemporary classification that typifies such a group is pillared around al Qaeda and its various affiliates that coalesces more around a “sentiment” than the neat boundaries that define nation-states. This has forced doctrinal revisions in the theory of war the world over. This has meant retooling and rapidly changing methods of war, challenging moribund strictures. Drones remain the prime exponents of the kind of war that states now resort to. The first to come under stress in such a conduct of war is the notion of sovereignty — a concept that itself needs separate requalification.

Another is the notion of victory. Conventional war doctrines envisaged outright victory; the adage was always simple: “nations do not go to war, if they are not going to win it”. Perhaps, in the interstate scenario, it must continue to be the ruling maxim; but in a fourth generation war, there never is finite victory or loss; except when a non-state group is pushed into fighting a conventional war, as was the case in Sri Lanka. The modern war between a state and a non-state adversary permits a “relative victory” or a “relative loss”, and is used to garner space for the more critical plank, the political manoeuvre. This has been the missing link in Pakistan’s own undertaking against the TTP and is now the preferred means of the PML-N and the PTI to seek an end to the war.

War doctrines are most buffeted by technology, and quite frequently, too. Innovation introduces newer possibilities that change the way a warrior thinks. Drones have done exactly that. Their impact is, however, far deeper and challenges the basic construct of the UN Charter and the LOAC. The Charter envisioned a civil process to war, and a more deliberate and intellectual approach to conflict resolution; while the LOAC enshrined notions of proportionality, morality and chivalry in an armed conflict. Mankind over years, though, has trumped the intended civility by celebrating undiluted success and annihilation through stealth, deception and surprise. Has technology rendered the Charter and the LOAC obsolete and irrelevant? To avoid an expansive finality, there are parts that have not kept pace and are irrelevant.

This brings into focus the modern tools of war, such as the drones. Drones are brilliant in how they meld surveillance, targeting and precision engagement into one — a dream weapon combining three essential functions, all working in parallel, making decision-making almost instantaneous. And that is where complications arise because of the instant nature of the engagement. President Obama identified “imminence” of a threat; “insufficiency” of the capacity to apprehend; and “near certainty” of no collateral damage, which would drive the decision process to execute an engagement. That loosely translates into one more layer above the operator in decision-making, seeking improved fidelity while still retaining the carte blanche nature of instant engagement, albeit now with a procedural and a legal cover. But, where the operator is the CIA, as in the Af-Pak region, accountability withers in the face of exigencies. This accentuates the challenge to the conventional notions of war and armed conflict. Yet, such excursions beyond the convention would be unthinkable without technology enabling tools and application methodologies.

Notions such as “imminence” validate concepts such as pre-emption; the nature of the threat which builds itself around a “sentiment” threatens the Westphalian order of the nation-state; inciting responses, such as through drones, that place the concept of sovereignty almost into turmoil. Add to it the modern notion of trading sovereignty for mutual benefit and the entire edifice around which nations clamour to safeguard sovereignty seems archaic. Not only the principles of international engagement but the laws governing conflict have slid past fast into irrelevance. These need a major overhaul to align with contemporary needs. The principle of  “overwhelming force” trumps proportionality, stealth, surprise and deception negate chivalry, and ends justify means to do away with pretensions of morality.

Drones are not the only tools that are challenging ancient conventions; other contraptions such as the “robotic mule” or the “robot-soldier” are the newer forms without any sense of chivalry, proportion or morality. When these get operationalised, the law books will need to be revised. Cyberwar is another hostile engagement between states not covered yet by the UN Charter or the LOAC.

To trump conventionality completely, the newer determinants of international engagement for war, peace, trade or interdependence are generating their own addendums to the rule books that remain hopelessly out of place and mired in the past. When success validates relevance, it writes its own rule books.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2013.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>PTI files a resolution against drone strikes in NA</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/561382/pti-files-a-resolution-against-drone-strikes-in-na</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/561382/pti-files-a-resolution-against-drone-strikes-in-na#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 10 Jun 13 15:52:43 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=561382</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Drone strikes are a blatant violation of the sovereignty of Pakistan and international laws, the petition says.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) filed a resolution in National Assembly on Monday against drone attacks by US that have killed over 3000 civilians in the country since 2004.

According to the draft of resolution submitted by PTI spokesperson, Shireen Mazari, drone strikes have killed more innocent Pakistanis than the militants themselves.

The draft stated that the drone strikes carried out by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and now by the Pentagon were in direct violation of the sovereignty of Pakistan.

It said that drones do not provide the suspects a chance to surrender and the strikes are conducted without affirming the identity of the suspect.

Many drone strikes have targeted rescue workers that come to the site of the drone attack, it argued.

The resolution called on the Government of Pakistan to take immediate steps to put an end to the drone attacks, including asking US to end drone strikes, taking diplomatic and, if need be, military measures to respond firmly to such an attack.

Furthermore, it said that that the government should remember the judgement of the Peshawar High Court on April 2013 where the Court decided that under Pakistan's Constitution, the drone strikes carried out in FATA were a blatant violation of basic human rights, the UN Charter, UN General Assembly Resolution, provisions of Geneva Convention and are regarded as a war crime.

It maintained that in view of the established facts and figures with respect to civilian casualties and damaged, the US government is bound to compensate the victims' families.

The resolution filed by PTI hoped that the government of Pakistan would protect the sovereignty of Pakistan, the International Law and enforce the judgement of the Peshawar High Court as soon as possible.]]>
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			<title>Anti-terror policy: Trade-off with Washington mulled over drone strikes</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/561238/anti-terror-policy-trade-off-with-washington-mulled-over-drone-strikes</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/561238/anti-terror-policy-trade-off-with-washington-mulled-over-drone-strikes#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 10 Jun 13 01:08:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[kamran.yousaf]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=561238</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Party leaders reveal Nawaz may convey offer to US to clean out terror havens in return for end to drone attacks .]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[In an effort to persuade the US to cease drone strikes on Pakistani territory, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz will offer to eliminate ‘terrorist sanctuaries’ from the tribal areas itself, The Express Tribune has learnt.


A senior PML-N leader engaged in foreign policy matters has revealed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will soon inform Washington that his government is ready to address US concerns pertaining to terrorist threats in Pakistan’s tribal region in return for the cessation of the CIA-piloted drone campaign. He reiterated that the government was principally opposed to unilateral strikes on Pakistani territory and hence would urge Washington to put an end to the campaign.

“But having said that drone attacks must not be seen in isolation,” said the ruling party member, who asked to remain anonymous. “There are reasons for drone attacks and we have to address those,” he added.

He explained that the newly-elected PML-N government was working on a new anti-terror strategy that not only opposes drone attacks but all elements violating the country’s sovereignty by keeping “safe havens on our territory.” The issue will come up at the maiden meeting of federal cabinet set to take place today (Monday).



Last week, in his victory speech soon after his election as the country’s Prime Minister, although Nawaz called for an immediate end to drone attacks, he made it clear that Pakistan must also address the concerns of others.

“We must learn others’ concerns about us and express our concerns about them, and find a way to resolve this issue,” the Prime Minister said in his maiden address to the National Assembly.

Pakistan and the United States will hear each others’ concerns later this month when Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Islamabad. This will be Kerry’s first trip to Pakistan after the installation of a new government in the country.

“We are confident that we will be able to resolve the issue of drones with the US,” said another official.

He said Prime Minister Nawaz, after consultations with all stakeholders, will announce a policy statement making it clear that the government would not allow its territory to be used against any other country.

However, it is not clear how the new government plans to achieve that objective.

The country’s security establishment, despite carrying out operations in other tribal agencies, has in the past remained reluctant about launching a full-scale military offensive against alleged terrorist hideouts – including those alleged to belong to the Haqqani network – in the North Waziristan Agency.

Sources said a clearer picture would emerge after a high-level civil-military huddle to discuss important national security issues.

The government, on the other hand, is quite confident that it can convince the US to stop drone attacks if its ‘genuine concerns’ are addressed.

In new policy guidelines approved recently by President Barrack Obama, the US has set certain conditions for drone use. One such condition is that US will use drones only when the host country is either incapable or lacks the will to eliminate the specific terror threat.

“This means that if we can act decisively against such specific targets then the US has no justification for drone use,” the official said.

“If the new government does bring a policy shift and act against all foreign militant groups finding refuge in tribal areas, this will have far-reaching implications,” commented international affairs analyst Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed, who is currently Jinnah fellow at the Oxford University.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Drone attacks must stop: Nawaz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/560824/drone-attacks-must-stop-nawaz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/560824/drone-attacks-must-stop-nawaz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 08 Jun 13 19:16:49 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[APP]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=560824</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Prime minister invites German investment in energy sector, offers support in resolving situation in Afghanistan.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday categorically said that drone attacks must stop as these were violating country's sovereignty and international laws.

"Drone attacks must stop. We have protested many a time. This is simply unacceptable," he commented in a meeting with German Foreign Minister Dr Guido Westerwelle who called on him along with a six-member delegation at the Prime Minister's House on Saturday.

The comments came after the US Charge d’ Affaires (CdA), Deputy Ambassador Richard Hoagland was summoned by the Foreign Office to lodge a “strong protest” against the drone strike in North Waziristan which killed seven people on Friday.

A statement released by the Foreign Office said that the “Government of Pakistan strongly condemns the drone strikes which are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Hoagland was handed a demarche, emphasising the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes.

Nawaz invites German investment

During the meeting, the German Foreign Minister discussed bilateral relations as well as the prevailing regional situation with the Prime Minister.

Nawaz said that Pakistan regarded Germany as a close friend and as the prime minister it would be his endeavor to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. He hoped that Pakistan would benefit from the technological advancement and economic development of Germany.

Dilating on the acute power shortage in the country, the premier said his government was working on a plan to overcome load shedding. He invited the German investors to exploit this opportunity by investing in Pakistan's power sector and welcomed investment by some Germans to set up thermal power plants which could be run on coal and gas. Nawaz also offered to facilitate the setting up of their plants near coal mines in Pakistan.

The prime minister expressed the hope that German investors visit Pakistan to see the business climate and opportunities that the country had to offer.

Dr Westerwelle said that the German government was keen to send a business delegation to Pakistan and the German Ambassador in Pakistan would be facilitating the visit of this delegation comprising 60 German businessmen, which would be visiting Pakistan shortly. He also proposed a joint investment conference in which German and Pakistani investors participate and share their knowledge and explore the prospects of investment in Pakistan.

The German foreign minister also assured Germany's continued support for Pakistan's efforts to get GSP Plus status in the European Union.

"There is a positive sentiment in the Pakistani business community which looks towards my government for good economic policies and encouraging the business sector," Nawaz observed.

"We have a tough situation at hand but we have team and the determination to turn around the economy".

Multi-pronged policy for Afghanistan

Germany, which is a major stakeholder in Afghanistan, invested with troops, economic  and financial commitments, the country’s foreign minister also spoke to Nawaz about restoring peace in the war torn country.

Dr Westerwelle said that he was coming from Kabul where he had meetings with President Karzai and sought assessment of the regional situation.

Nawaz said that Pakistan wanted to expand cooperation with Afghanistan and support the Afghan nation. He added that there had to be a multi-pronged policy to tackle the situation in Afghanistan.

The premier added that Pakistan was ready to facilitate the withdrawal of coalition troops from Afghanistan and hoped that Afghan army and security forces would be able to manage the situation after the withdrawal of coalition troops.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan protests drone strike, summons Deputy Ambassador Hoagland</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/560669/pakistan-protests-drone-strike-summons-ambassador-hoagland</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/560669/pakistan-protests-drone-strike-summons-ambassador-hoagland#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 08 Jun 13 11:01:46 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=560669</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Foreign Office statement says drone strikes have a negative impact on the Pak-US relationship.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Foreign Office summoned US Charge d’ Affaires (CdA), Deputy Ambassador Richard Hoagland, on Saturday to lodge a “strong protest” against the drone strike in North Waziristan which killed seven people on Friday.

A statement released by the Foreign Office said that the “Government of Pakistan strongly condemns the drone strikes which are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Hoagland was handed a demarche, emphasising the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes.

Friday’s attack came two days after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the United States must call off the drone campaign.

“It was also pointed out that the Government of Pakistan has consistently maintained that drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications,” the FO statement added.

“It was also stressed that these drone strikes have a negative impact on the mutual desire of both the countries to forge a cordial and cooperative relationship and to ensure peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.

Islamabad has repeatedly called for an end to the highly controversial US drone campaign in the tribal regions which, it says, is damaging its counter-insurgency efforts. Washington, however, considers its unmanned war effective in taking out high-value targets.]]>
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			<title>Drone strike kills seven in Waziristan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/560588/drone-strike-kills-seven-in-waziristan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/560588/drone-strike-kills-seven-in-waziristan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 07 Jun 13 22:37:37 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[nasruminallah.]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=560588</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The attack came two days after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the United States must call off the drone campaign.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[In an apparent snub to a call from Pakistan’s new administration for an end to US drone strikes in tribal regions, an American remotely-piloted aircraft struck in the North Waiziristan tribal region on Friday.


Seven suspected militants were killed and three injured in the drone attack targeting a compound in Mangroti village, in the Shawal tehsil of North Waziristan, according to government officials.

The village is sited 50 kilometres west of Miramshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan Agency, close to the Pak-Afghan border.

“The drone fired two missiles at a suspected militant compound,” a local administration official told The Express Tribune. “At least seven people were killed,” he added.

The attack came two days after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the United States must call off the drone campaign.

“We respect the sovereignty of others and they should respect our sovereignty and independence. This campaign must come to an end now,” he told the National Assembly in a policy speech after his election as leader of the house.

Islamabad has repeatedly called for an end to the highly controversial US drone campaign in the tribal regions which, it says, is damaging its counter-insurgency efforts. Washington, however, considers its unmanned war effective in taking out high-value targets.

&nbsp;

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Drone strike in North Waziristan kills 7</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/560307/drone-strike-in-north-waziristan-kills-7</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/560307/drone-strike-in-north-waziristan-kills-7#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 07 Jun 13 17:41:40 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Drone fired two missile on a compound in the Mangroti village of Tehsil Shawal of North Wazirstan Agency.]]>
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				<![CDATA[At least seven people were killed in a drone attack in North Wazirstan Agency late on Friday night, Express News reported.

A drone fired two missile on a compound in the Mangroti village of Tehsil Shawal of North Wazirstan Agency. The compound was reportedly destroyed in the attack.

Earlier a drone strike on May 29, killed the number two of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Waliur Rehman, in the North Waziristan region.

The covert strikes are publicly criticised by the Pakistani government as a violation of sovereignty but American officials believe they are a vital weapon in the war against militants.]]>
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			<title>Families of drone attack victims urge Nawaz to halt strikes</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/559749/families-of-drone-attack-victims-urge-nawaz-to-halt-strikes</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/559749/families-of-drone-attack-victims-urge-nawaz-to-halt-strikes#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 06 Jun 13 16:00:58 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category><category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=559749</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Lawyer representing the families urges new premier to implement ruling of Peshawar high court to halt drones.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The families of Pakistani victims of US drone strikes on Thursday wrote to new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urging him to stop the campaign - by shooting the unmanned aircraft down if necessary.

The Peshawar High Court had on May 9 declared the CIA drone strikes targeting suspected Taliban and al Qaeda militants to be a "war crime" and ordered Islamabad to take steps to halt them.

Victims' families and their lawyer Mirza Shahzad Akbar have written to Sharif urging him to heed the court's ruling, which calls on the government to take the matter up at the UN Security Council.

While Islamabad regularly issues statements condemning the missile strikes as a violation of sovereignty, it has yet to take any stronger action publicly to pressure Washington to end the campaign, which began in 2004.

"The court has ordered the government of Pakistan and its security forces to administer a proper warning to the United States that future drone strikes will not be tolerated," Akbar wrote in the letter, seen by AFP.

Akbar said that if Pakistan failed to persuade the US to stop the strikes through the United Nations, "the court has very clearly ordered to shoot down the drones".

At a news conference with two relatives of drone victims, Akbar warned that Sharif would face contempt of court proceedings if he did not implement the court order within 14 days.

Mohammad Nazir, whose son was killed in a US drone strike in June 2006 in North Waziristan tribal district, a haven for insurgents, endorsed the demand and said he wanted revenge for his son's death.

"My son was 25 years old, he was a labourer and was working in a house with other labourers in the night when the drone strike took place," he told AFP.

"According to tribal law, you kill the son of that person who kills your son, so I will take revenge of my son's killing whenever I have the opportunity."

According to the British Bureau of Investigative Journalism, since 2004 up to 3,587 people have been killed in Pakistan by drone attacks, which Washington says are an effective weapon in the fight against Islamist militancy.

On Wednesday Sharif used his first speech as prime minister to urge the US to end the strikes and said a comprehensive strategy for tackling extremism should be worked out.]]>
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			<title>The search for a new drone policy</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557860/the-search-for-a-new-drone-policy</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557860/the-search-for-a-new-drone-policy#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 02 Jun 13 18:21:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=557860</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Pakistan’s existence is threatened by the economic and energy challenges rather than by drone attacks.]]>
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				<![CDATA[It may be possible for a political party in Pakistan to perform better in elections by playing up the anti-American and anti-drone attack disposition but no federal government can adopt these two issues as the hallmark of its foreign and security policies. The freedom to make unrealistic promises and wild statements is available to a leader and a party out of power, especially in the course of an election campaign. However, such an option cannot be exercised by a ruling party.

Imran Khan, chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), can afford to ask the leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to use the Air Force to shoot down American drone aircraft. This enables him to show his supporters that he can take on the superpower and embarrass Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N, whom he sees as his main political adversary.

If the PML-N leaders review their statements before the elections and during the election campaign, they will know that they were no less critical of the PPP-led federal government for pursuing pro-America policies in the region, quietly endorsing the drone attacks and unnecessarily dragging Pakistan into the American war on terrorism. Though Nawaz Sharif was often cautious, his colleagues never shied away from demanding an end to security operations in the tribal areas and withdrawal from the ongoing “American war on terrorism”.

Therefore, Imran Khan’s demand to the PML-N leadership for shooting down drone aircraft is not completely baseless. However, with the electoral victory that has opened the PML-N’s way to state power, it cannot implement all what it had been saying about Pakistan’s relations with the US and drone attacks in the tribal areas. It is interesting to note that some leaders of the PML-N criticised Imran’s demand in TV talk shows. Their perspective appeared close to the last PPP government.

The PTI is leading the coalition government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and its new chief minister boasted in his first address to the provincial assembly that the PTI would have responded differently to the drone attack if it had its government at the federal level. The PTI is not expected to set up the government at the federal level in the near future. The K-P provincial government is at its command and it would be interesting to see how it deals with the Taliban and other militants in K-P and the tribal areas. Will it cultivate a special accommodating relationship with the Taliban groups to save Peshawar, Bannu and other cities from suicide attacks and other bombings by the Taliban? What kind of concessions it offers to them in return for peace in K-P? Perhaps, it may adopt a policy similar to the MMA government (2002-2007) of letting the Taliban spread quietly in the settled areas in return for no attacks. Another issue, the American/Nato goods from Afghanistan are passing through K-P on way to Karachi for return shipment. Furthermore, most Pakistani troops pass through K-P on their way to the tribal areas. What would be the PTI government’s policies towards these two issues?

There is no military solution of the drone attacks in the tribal areas. The diplomatic option is available. The statement by Nawaz Sharif on May 31 that drone attacks violate Pakistan’s sovereignty and negate the UN Charter is a reiteration of the policy of the erstwhile PPP government. Pakistan’s Foreign Office criticised the drone attack as a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and termed it unhelpful in fighting terrorism, within a day of the drone attack.

If the PML-N leadership wants to put an end to drone attacks and increase its foreign policy options, it needs to adopt a number of measures pertaining to Pakistan’s domestic situation.

The PML-N should remember the two basic principles of the present-day globalised international system. First, the foreign policy strength of a country is derived from its domestic political stability and economic resilience. Second, the diplomatic clout of a country also depends on positive and multifaceted economic, trade and cultural ties with the rest of the world. Isolation is no option for any state today. It is, therefore, important to understand how the world looks at Pakistan and what are the concerns of other countries about Pakistan?

Pakistan should establish its firm control over the tribal agencies, including North Waziristan in order to make the sovereignty argument credible at the international level. However, if Pakistan is unable to assert its primacy in all tribal areas in the near future, its capacity to do so will be reduced further after 2014 when most American troops quit Afghanistan and it plunges into a bitter internal strife.

Drones are a foreign policy side show. The real test of the PML-N government is how it handles domestic problems like the faltering economy, electric power and gas shortages, internal law and order problems, especially religious extremism and terrorism.

If the new federal government is able to salvage the economy in a manner that it attracts internal and external investment in large quantity and creates new jobs, it will be better placed to pursue a more autonomous foreign policy. These objectives cannot be achieved without addressing the energy problem, which has three interlinked dimensions: immediate mobilisation of funds to enable the power generation companies to buy fuel; management and distribution of electricity; and long-term new projects.

Other issues pertaining to the economy are reduction of wastage of resources, increased tax and revenue collection and expansion of the tax net. Economic turnaround can also be facilitated by improved relations with neighbours, especially strengthening economic ties and energy related cooperation

The new government should avoid getting into polemics on drones either within Pakistan or outside because this will not bring an end to drone strikes. Rather, push it to the background and give the highest priority to meeting the economic and energy challenges and bring terrorism under control by using a carrot and stick approach. Pakistan’s existence is threatened by these challenges rather than by drone attacks.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2013.                                                                                           

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>PTI’s stance: Centre should stop drones, says K-P CM</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557730/ptis-stance-centre-should-stop-drones-says-k-p-cm</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557730/ptis-stance-centre-should-stop-drones-says-k-p-cm#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 02 Jun 13 05:33:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=557730</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The US is carrying out attacks in FATA which is directly administered by the federal govt.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak said it was the responsibility of the federal government to announce a comprehensive policy to stop the US drone attacks in the tribal areas.


“The drone hits are being carried out in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) which is directly administered by the federal government,” said Khattak, the head of the PTI-led provincial government.

Stopping drone hits was among a host of promises that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) made in its election campaign.

Khattak was talking to media men after a meeting with PTI chief Imran Khan at his residence on Saturday. “I came here to receive guidelines from the PTI chairperson and inquire about his health,” he said.

“If the federal government fails to stop drone strikes the K-P government will protest, as continuation of this practice will damage our credibility,” Khattak said.



The K-P government will raise all issues the province is facing with the centre for peaceful resolution. “We hope the federal government will give positive response, if not then it will be responsible for all odds faced by the province,” Khattak said.

Change has started

The K-P government would keep a lid on the law and order situation and attempt to create a graft-free environment in the province. “Change has started in the province and the government would ensure safety of life and property of masses at any cost, Khattak added.

The morale of police, according to him, would be improved and a zero-tolerance policy would be enforced if police officials showed an inclination towards highhandedness, Khattak added.

The vision of Imran Khan and policies of PTI would be implemented in all institutions without any delay in an effort to improve the situation in the war-stricken province, Khattak added.

Responding a question about supplies going to Nato forces via Pakistani land routes and the use of these routes by American forces leaving Afghanistan, Khattak said, “We will take on board all the coalition political parties on this issue and decision will be made according to the aspirations of the masses.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2013.]]>
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			<title>War on Reason</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557523/war-on-reason</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557523/war-on-reason#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 01 Jun 13 18:20:21 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saroop.ijaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=557523</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[For liberal, secular &amp;amp; democratic voices to retain the little influence they have right now, a fight has to be put up.]]>
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				<![CDATA[In traditional Islamic jurisprudence, there is considerable debate on when an individual who has gone “missing” can be pronounced dead. The primary focus was when the wife can be declared a widow for the purposes of inheritance and remarriage, etc. The position in the Hanafi School varies from 90 to 120 years since the “missing” person’s date of birth, a fair bit of wait. It is always unnerving in Pakistan to talk about “missing” persons, waiting periods and closure. However, the intention today is to draw attention to something else. Imam Abu Hanifa believed that the maximum period a woman can remain pregnant (gestation period) with a child was two years; Imam Malik, Imam Shaafaee and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal believed it to be four. We now know that to be medically impossible. All the four great Imams were amongst the best jurists of all times, with unparalleled nuance and insight, yet they did not get some of these things completely right. Why? Simple, because they were not men of science, they laid no claim to be as such and the scientific facts we hold to be self-evident today were not completely established or, at least, known to them at the time.

The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has no great men of science and the position seems to be identical on the religious jurist front. The CII has recently said that DNA evidence should not be acceptable as primary evidence in rape cases. The declaration is an affront to religion, science and basic sensitivity towards rape victims. To get some perspective on rape, Alexander Pope’s, “Rape of the lock” was proposed to be taken out of the curriculum because it had the undesirable word “rape” in it, while we have no problems with actual rape and its perpetrators — some priorities, right?

The CII has said this despite a relatively recent Supreme Court judgment, where the Court upheld DNA evidence as admissible. The petitioner in that case was one of the finest lawyers in this country, Mr Salman Raja, himself. The CII further said that the blasphemy law needs no amendment and other assorted gems. In a country where the Constitution not only lays down state religion but also stipulates that no law can be made against injunctions of religion, has an Islamised criminal justice system, a Federal Shariat Court, one should pause and ask, are we not trying a bit too hard? A body comparable with the CII in principle is the Guardian Council in Iran, an incredibly regressive body of jurists who act as a supra-legislative chamber.

Parliament is already under a legal obligation to make laws in accordance or, at least, not in conflict with religious dictates. What justification then is there for the existence of a body like the CII? Perhaps, because nobody wants the heat; in any event, it has only advisory jurisdiction, etc. True as that may be, the CII and the likes define the discourse and the space available for rational dialogue. And precisely for that reason needs to be abolished.

The strength and depth of Islamic jurisprudence has been its vibrancy, with Ijtihad being the primary vehicle. A discussion on the closing of the “gates of Ijtihad” and difference between small and capital “I”, Ijtihad are probably not suited for an opinion piece and I am certainly not equipped to do it. Yet, a basic template was laid down by Allama Iqbal, where ijtihad is conducted by Parliament. The collective will of the people decides matters of statecraft and the application of religious principles (if absolutely necessary) to it. It will not always be perfect, sometimes will be outright horrendous (the 2nd amendment) yet all things being equal, is still the best bet; actually the only bet. Somewhat ironically, the sole ownership of Iqbal, like much else now rests with idiotic conspiracy theorists and hate-mongers.

The refusal to think or think less than rationally is not restricted to matters of spirituality. Mr Imran Khan implores the new federal government to start shooting down drones. This is Mr Khan employing the “water-kit” model of politics, if you will. Drones are illegal and need to stop and the job of cleaning out the terrorists has to ideally be done by the Pakistani state. Considering the most recent strike, this might not be the best time to oppose their effectiveness. Apart from illegality, the main objection to drone strikes should be that they also reduce intellectual space. It gives the terror apologists an excuse to get riled up, they are ready and willing to be riled up by very little, yet the illegality of drones gives them the additional push. The only really interesting thing about the serious national debate in Pakistan on drones, terrorism and sovereignty is that there is practically none.

With the abdication of this space for rational discourse, it is useful to remember that things do not remain the same. The most harrowing example remains when Salmaan Taseer was assassinated because disagreement on the current temporal blasphemy law provisions in the Penal Code was construed by some as blasphemy. A lot of space had to be ceded for something like that to happen, more was ceded in the aftermath, now there is not much space left to surrender. For the liberal, secular and democratic voices to retain the very little influence that they have right now, a fight has to be put up. That is true for the role of religion and the tenability of the federation. The demand for abolishing the CII and the Federal Shariat Court might seem unrealistic right now, yet it has to be made. In this instance, the case for abolishing the CII has to be made for the rape victims and for decency. Also to stop making the demand, to stop protesting means to surrender. And it never means status quo, it will get worse. To quote one of the most eloquent religious conservatives, GK Chesterton, “If you leave a thing alone, you leave it to a torrent of change. If you leave a white post alone, it will soon be a black post. If you particularly want it to be white, you must be always painting it again; that is, you must be always having a revolution. Briefly, if you want the old white post, you must have a new white post.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2013.

Like Opinion &amp; Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.]]>
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			<title>Drone strikes: Khattak asks Centre to come out with a clear policy</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557340/drone-strikes-khattak-asks-centre-to-come-out-with-a-clear-policy</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557340/drone-strikes-khattak-asks-centre-to-come-out-with-a-clear-policy#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 31 May 13 21:57:10 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[manzoor.ali]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=557340</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[New K-P chief minister promises support if policy is in the province’s interest.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Be it the issue of US drone strikes or the scourge of terrorism, the federal government should come out with a clear policy, says Pervaiz Khattak, the newly-elected chief minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).


If the policy is in the interest of our province, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its allies will support or else we’ll protest it, Khattak told the house in a policy speech following his election as provincial chief minister on Friday.

“Had the PTI been in power at the Centre, the United States would have not been allowed to carry out drone strikes inside Pakistan,” he added.

Khattak’s remarks came a day after the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) rescinded their dialogue offer to the new government. The TTP was angered by the killing of its deputy chief Waliur Rehman in a US drone attack on Wednesday.

The PTI has been campaigning against the missile attacks by remotely driven US aircraft with the party chief leading a huge march to the edge of the Waziristan region against America’s deeply unpopular drone campaign in Pakistan’s tribal region.

Even before assuming power, the PTI spelled out its policy vis-à-vis the war on terror, saying that it would pursue dialogue with the TTP to restore peace to the strife-torn province. However, Waliur Rehman’s killing has apparently scuppered the nascent peace initiative.

Khattak admitted that tackling the fluid security situation and restoring peace in the province was the biggest challenge for the new administration. “The provincial government can control crime – but it cannot tackle terrorism on its own,” he said.

In his all-encompassing speech, Khattak outlined his administration’s plans about law and order, corruption, health, local government, job creation, education, and minorities and women issues. Undeterred by the multiplicity and gravity of problems, he promised to take all the challenges head-on.

“My party has already done its homework and we’ll start implementing our plans the day we assume our offices,” he added emphasising on the clarity of vision of his party.

Khattak said his administration would have a policy of zero-tolerance towards financial corruption which has become endemic over the past few years. “Government departments and officials should mend their ways. They have minted millions and billions of rupees – but this must end now,” he added.

The chief minister announced that his government would set up a powerful commission, which will hold all public office holders, including provincial lawmakers, chief minister and his cabinet members, accountable.

Earlier, the house elected Pervaiz Khattak as new chief minister with a heavy majority vote. Of the total 121 votes, he bagged 84, while his rival, JUI-F’s Maulana Attaur Rehman, secured 37 votes. PML-N candidate Waji-uz-Zaman Khan withdrew from the race in Khattak’s favour.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1st, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Tackling drones: Nawaz ‘disappointed’ by latest US attack</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557351/tackling-drones-nawaz-disappointed-by-latest-us-attack</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557351/tackling-drones-nawaz-disappointed-by-latest-us-attack#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 31 May 13 21:49:56 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=557351</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Incoming premier says unilateral measures not a solution.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Incoming Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif voiced dismay and disappointment on Friday over this week’s US drone attack – the first one since the May 11 election and days after  US President Barack Obama revised his government’s policy on the use of unmanned aircraft.


Nawaz said the drone attack – which incidentally killed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s deputy chief - was not only a violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also an action that has been declared a violation of international law and the UN Charter.

The premier-in-waiting’s sentiments were conveyed to US Ambassador Richard Olson by a close aide, who stressed in his conversation with the US diplomat that the drone attack, coming within days of President Obama’s ‘crossroads’ speech was highly regrettable, particularly as Obama had spoken of initiating a new policy that would ensure greater exercise of care and caution in the use of drones.

The aide also pointed out that meaningful consultations and close cooperation between Pakistan and US should be the desired course of action, rather than unilateral measures.



PML-N will evolve joint national policy

The drone attack has reignited discourse on the future policy direction of the new government with PML-N’s senior leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, saying his party will evolve a joint national policy on drone attacks, while taking all stakeholders on board.

“The policy related to the drone attacks will be formulated after taking all the political parties and concerned stakeholders on board,” Chaudhry Nisar told reporters outside the Parliament House. He said the PML-N will draw up a national policy on the drones issue in light of these consultations.

Maintaining that drone attacks were against the country’s sovereignty, Chaudhry Nisar said that they are also a key hurdle in the way of maintaining regional peace.

The PML-N now faces a daunting challenge in convincing the US to halt its drone campaign in the tribal areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1st, 2013.]]>
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			<title>John Kerry defends US drone strikes</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557344/john-kerry-defends-us-drone-strikes</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557344/john-kerry-defends-us-drone-strikes#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 31 May 13 20:56:43 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=557344</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[US Secretary of State insists drone attacks are legal and that they are still at war with al Qaeda, Taliban.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday defended the legality of US drone strikes in the "war" against al Qaeda and the Taliban, days after such an unmanned aircraft killed a top Pakistani Taliban.

"Despite our first preference for detention and prosecution of terrorists -- that's our first preference -- sometimes, lethal action is necessary in order to protect US lives," the top US diplomat told reporters alongside his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle.

"Our actions are legal. We were attacked on 9/11. Within a week, the United States Congress overwhelmingly authorised the use of force," Kerry said. "Under domestic law and international law, the United States is at war with al Qaeda and the Taliban and their associated forces."

Kerry's comments took up arguments articulated by President Barack Obama, who on May 23 laid out new guidelines for drone strikes while mounting a firm defense of the covert drone war as legal.

The guidelines state that drone strikes can only be used to prevent imminent attacks and when the capture of a suspect is not feasible, and if there is a "near certainty" that civilians will not be killed.

On Wednesday, a US drone strike killed the deputy chief of the Pakistani Taliban in the country's lawless tribal northwest, officials said, dealing a major blow to the militant network.

Waliur Rehman, the number two in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction, died along with at least five others when an unmanned US drone fired two missiles on a house in North Waziristan district.

The White House has not confirmed the killing, but on Friday Pakistan's incoming prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, condemned the strike.]]>
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			<title>Germany not aware of US drone strikes conducted from its bases</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557063/germany-not-aware-of-us-drone-strikes-conducted-from-its-bases</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/557063/germany-not-aware-of-us-drone-strikes-conducted-from-its-bases#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 31 May 13 17:21:19 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=557063</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[US denies it directly flies or controls any manned or remotely piloted aircraft from the base.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Germany said on Friday it had no knowledge of US drone strikes being directed from its territory after media reports alleged that the US military was steering attacks on guerrillas in Africa from German bases.

The use of drones is highly controversial in Germany, where an aversion to military conflict has prevailed since World War Two, and the reports sparked a strong response from opposition parties hoping to score points against popular Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of a September election.

Thomas Oppermann, parliamentary floor leader of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), said German law prohibited targeted attacks outside of armed conflicts and demanded an explanation from the government.

"The German government has no knowledge of such operations being planned or carried out by US armed forces," Merkel's spokesperson, Steffen Seibert, told a regular government news conference.

Asked about the reports, Major Ryan Donald of United States European Command (EUCOM) based in Stuttgart said: "We maintain robust civilian and military cooperation with Germany and manage all base activities in accordance with the agreements made between the United States and German governments."

"The Air and Space Operations Center at Ramstein Air Base monitors and assesses assigned airpower missions throughout Europe and Africa, but does not directly fly or control any manned or remotely piloted aircraft," he said in a statement.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, one of several news outlets to carry the reports, said the US military had directed drone attacks against suspected Islamist guerrillas in Somalia and other African countries from its Africom command in Stuttgart and air force base in Ramstein.

The paper quoted German legal expert Thilo Marauhn saying that Germany's constitution forbade it from having any role in the killing of suspected terrorism suspects outside the theatre of war.

Oppermann said he would pursue the issue in a parliamentary oversight committee. The pacifist Left Party demanded the closure of all US bases on German territory following the reports.

After months of criticism over civilian casualties linked to US drone strikes, US President Barack Obama announced tighter limits on the use of remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles last week.

Martin Schaefer, a spokesman for the German foreign ministry, declined to offer an outright condemnation of drones, suggesting their use could be justified in certain circumstances.]]>
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			<title>Conflict: TTP withdraws peace talks offer</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/556895/conflict-ttp-withdraws-peace-talks-offer</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/556895/conflict-ttp-withdraws-peace-talks-offer#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 30 May 13 22:42:37 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[K-P]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=556895</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Taliban spokesman holds govt responsible; Imran says Nawaz should halt drone attacks or shoot them down.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Confirming the death of its deputy leader in a US drone strike a day earlier, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has withdrawn its earlier offer for peace talks with the incoming government.


“I confirm the martyrdom of Waliur Rehman Mehsud in a drone strike on Wednesday. We are shocked and very sad at the martyrdom of our leader but are proud of his sacrifices,” TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told The Express Tribune via phone on Thursday. He said the Taliban consider the Pakistan government fully responsible for Rehman’s death and believe it is complicit in the US drone campaign in the tribal areas.

“We believe all drone strikes are carried out with the consent of the Pakistani government and information is passed on to Americans by Pakistani authorities,” he maintained. “The US is carrying out the strikes on the behest of the Pakistani establishment and Pakistani intelligence agencies are also partners in the drone campaign.”



The TTP have already appointed a new deputy chief to replace Waliur Rehman. According to sources in North Waziristan, the group has appointed Khan Syed as his replacement.

Ehsan claimed that the drone strikes had rendered the dialogue offer useless. “That is why the Taliban central ‘shura’ has decided to completely cancel the offer, Ehsan added. “We had made a sincere offer of peace dialogue with the government but we strongly believe that the government has a role to play in the drone strikes.”

He vowed that the TTP would avenge the killing of its deputy chief.

“Now we will take revenge… talks can not be held when our leaders are being killed in drone strikes with the help of Pakistani government,” he added. Ruling out the possibility of reconsidering peace talks, the TTP spokesman issued a very typical threat.

“This is now a final decision… We will teach a lesson to Pakistan and United States for depriving us of our leader.”



Waliur Rehman was killed along with several other militants in a US drone strike targeting a compound near Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan Agency, on Wednesday.

Taliban circles say that Rehman, 42, was a strong supporter of dialogue to end the bloodshed in Pakistan and his death was believed to be a setback to the elusive peace process.

Tribal journalists, who had interviewed the slain TTP deputy commander, said he was a ‘ray of hope’ for the talks.

Sailab Mehsud, former president of the Tribal Journalists Association, said that Rehman’s death has killed prospects for possible peace talks between the TTP and the new government.

The TTP founder Baitullah Mehsud, who was also killed in a US drone strike in August 2009, had named Waliur Rehman his successor in his will, Sailab told The Express Tribune.

Waliur Rehman’s successor

Reportedly, the TTP have already appointed a new deputy chief to replace Waliur Rehman. According to sources in North Waziristan, the group has appointed Khan Syed as his replacement.

A TTP committee met late on Wednesday to choose a deputy after Rehman was buried in a low-key ceremony, three Taliban members told Reuters. According to sources, the slain deputy chief was buried at Khati Kaley near Miramshah.

“There was absolute consensus over Khan Syed [for deputy chief],” said one Taliban member said.

The new supposed number two, Khan Syed, 38, formerly served as Waliur Rehman’s deputy. He was involved in planning the 2011 attack on PNS Mehran, in which 18 people were killed, and the 2012 Bannu jail break, where nearly 400 militant inmates escaped, the members said.

TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan did not confirm reports regarding the slain TTP deputy chief’s successor.

Reactions

Condemning the drone strike that killed the TTP deputy chief, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan has said that prime minister-in-waiting Nawaz Sharif should start his term by shooting down a US drone.

“The nation has given Nawaz Sharif a mandate against drone attacks. If the US cannot be convinced to stop the campaign, then the government should start shooting them [drones] down,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

“We shall support Nawaz, but he should fulfill his responsibility… drone attacks cannot be tolerated at any cost,” he added.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Samiul Haq (JUI-S) chief Maulana Samiul Haq, meanwhile, condemned Waliur Rehman’s killing saying the incident had sabotaged the peace process between the militants and the Pakistani government.

In a telephonic interview on Express News, Haq claimed, “America sabotages the process, whenever peace talks are proposed.”

The JUI-S leader also said that Pakistan must prove to the Taliban that it was not complicit in the killing of Rehman. “The first priority for Pakistan should be to launch an investigation into this incident. And Pakistan must prove that it was not complicit in this attack.”

Chief of JUI-Fazl, Maulana Fazlur Rehman also expressed regret at Rehman’s killing and the lost opportunity for peace talks.

“I regret the Taliban’s withdrawal of their offer for talks, and I believe they did so in despair… International forces have lost an opportunity to see peace in Pakistan,” Fazl said on Twitter.

“The next government has to evolve a coherent strategy on drones. We need to revisit our thinking and policies to bring peace and move forward,” he added.

&nbsp;

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31st, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Imran urges Nawaz to shoot down drones if US does not stop attacks</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/556853/imran-urges-nawaz-to-shoot-down-drones-if-us-does-not-stop-attacks</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/556853/imran-urges-nawaz-to-shoot-down-drones-if-us-does-not-stop-attacks#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 30 May 13 19:50:52 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=556853</guid>
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				<![CDATA[PTI chief says his party would offer public support to Nawaz if he fulfills his responsibility on the matter.]]>
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				<![CDATA[On a day when the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) withdrew their offer of talks after their high ranking official was killed in a drone attack, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief reiterated his campaign slogan of shooting down the unmanned aircraft.

The PTI, in a statement from their Punjab chief, urged the Prime minister-elect Nawaz Sharif to realise that he had been given a mandate by the people  against drone attacks. The PTI chief said that if the US cannot be convinced to stop drone attacks, then the state should shoot them down.

Despite taking up seats on the opposition benches, Imran said that his party would support the government in fulfilling their responsibility on the matter before adding that drone attacks will not be tolerated at any cost. ]]>
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			<title>US drone strike kills Pakistan Taliban number two: Officials</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/556015/us-drone-strike-kills-pakistan-taliban-number-two-officials</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/556015/us-drone-strike-kills-pakistan-taliban-number-two-officials#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 29 May 13 10:02:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=556015</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Waliur Rehman had been poised to succeed Hakimullah Mehsud as leader of the Pakistan Taliban.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A US drone strike killed the number two of the Pakistan Taliban, Waliur Rehman, in the North Waziristan region on Wednesday, three security officials said in what would be a major achievement in the fight against militancy.

The drone strike killed seven people, the security officials said, including Taliban deputy commander Waliur Rehman, in the first such attack since a May 11 general election in which the use of the unmanned aircraft was a major issue.

Waliur Rehman had been poised to succeed Hakimullah Mehsud as leader of the Pakistan Taliban, a senior army official based in the South Waziristan tribal region, the group's stronghold, said in December.

Intelligence officials said that Mehsud’s brutality had turned his own subordinates against him, while the more measured Rehman had emerged as the group’s primary military strategist.

“If a leader doesn’t behave like a leader, he loses support. For the longest time now, Hakimullah has done the dirty work while Waliur Rehman is the thinker. Taliban fighters recognise this,” said the first Pakistani military source.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)  have launched devastating attacks against the Pakistani military and civilians.

Drone casualties are difficult to verify. Foreign journalists must have permission from the military to visit the tribal areas along the Afghan border.

Taliban fighters also often seal off the sites of drone strikes immediately so Pakistani journalists cannot see the victims.

The Taliban were not immediately available for comment.

The security officials and Pashtun tribesmen in the northwestern region said the drone fired two missiles that struck a mud-built house at Chashma village, 3km east of Miranshah, the region's administrative town.

They said seven people were killed and four wounded.

"Tribesmen started rescue work an hour after the attack and recovered seven bodies," said resident Bashir Dawar. "The bodies were badly damaged and beyond recognition."

Militant stronghold

The Pakistan government had yet to confirm Waliur Rehman's death. A US drone killed Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in 2009.

US President Barack Obama recently indicated he was scaling back the drone strike programme, winning cautious approval from Pakistan, a key ally in the US fight on militancy.

A Pakistani Foreign Ministry official, speaking before the identity of the Taliban number two had been revealed, condemned all such strikes.

"Any drone strike is against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan and we condemn it," the official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

North Waziristan is on the Afghan border and has long been a stronghold of militants including Afghan Taliban and their al Qaeda and Taliban allies.

Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif said this month that drone strikes were a "challenge" to Pakistan's sovereignty.

"We will sit with our American friends and talk to them about this issue," he said.

Obama's announcement of scaling back drone strikes was widely welcomed by the people of North Waziristan, where drones armed with missiles have carried out the most strikes against militants over the past seven years, sometimes with heavy civilian casualties.

The strike also coincided with the first session of the newly elected provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party won most seats in the assembly and denounced the strike, saying Obama had gone back on his word.]]>
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			<title>Drone strike in North Waziristan kills 7</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/555951/four-killed-in-a-drone-strike-in-north-waziristan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/555951/four-killed-in-a-drone-strike-in-north-waziristan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 29 May 13 00:26:08 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=555951</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Foreign Ministry official condemns strike as a breach of sovereignty.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A Foreign Ministry official condemned Wednesday's drone strike which killed seven people in North Waziristan as a breach of sovereignty.

"Any drone strike is against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan and we condemn it," the official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

The strike, reported by security officials, was the first such attack since a May 11 general election in which the use of the unmanned aircraft was a major issue.

US President Barack Obama recently indicated he was scaling back the drone strike programme, winning cautious approval from Pakistan.

Security officials and tribesmen said the drone fired two missiles that struck a mud-built house at Chashma village, 3km east of Miranshah.

They said seven people were killed and four wounded. It was not immediately clear if the victims were the intended targets.

"Tribesmen started rescue work an hour after the attack and recovered seven bodies," said resident Bashir Dawar. "The bodies were badly damaged and beyond recognition."

Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif said this month that drone strikes were a "challenge" to Pakistan's sovereignty.

"We will sit with our American friends and talk to them about this issue," he said.]]>
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