- 20 May 2011
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The truth for once, please
If we can’t get them on ground, then we have to ask the Americans to remove them.
JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: WikiLeaks is back, this time with explosive revelations. For one, it exposes the double-talk that Pakistan has been employing on this issue. According to one particular cable dated November 24, 2008, then US ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, wrote that drone strikes were “being carried out at their own [Pakistani’s] request” but that Islamabad was “politically weak” to inform its own people of the truth. As per several cables released this week, the military requested the US to assist it in its fight against militants by asking for drone attacks. “Operating zone corridors” for drone strikes in FATA were jointly discussed and approved. Even video feeds from Predator drones were to be shared by the Americans with the Pakistani army.
Numerous cables document Pakistani military and civilian leadership support for drone strikes while Pakistani government officials asking for drone technology to be placed in their hands. The issue which was conveyed to the Americans was not of accuracy of the strikes but of managing public perception.
I think the time has come for Pakistan to tell its public the truth: We have got enemies (our own militants assisted by numerous groups and people from Central Asia and Middle East) in our tribal and adjoining areas. If we can’t get them on ground, then we have to ask the Americans to remove them. We can’t continue with this double-talk any more. We need to prepare our public to face the truth.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2011.
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Reader Comments (1)
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The writer has expressed the following viewpoint: “If we can’t get them on ground, then we have to ask the Americans to remove them. We can’t continue with this double-talk any more. We need to prepare our public to face the truth.”
I agree that these insurgents must be dealt with militarily, but asking the US to continue drone strikes which inflict “collateral damage” by killing innocent civilians is only going to legitimize the Anti-American and Anti-Pakistan sentiment amongst the locals of FATA. Instead of countering insurgency, such a policy will only serve to isolate and infuriate the families and clans of innocent civilians killed in drone strikes, and fuel militancy in the tribal areas.
Pakistan must communicate to the US, the need to discontinue drone operations as they are harmful to the interests of both parties. If the US can agree to unconditional dialogue with the Afghan Taliban, then what harm does Pakistan see in sitting at the table with its own civilians, the tribal leaders, and chalking out a solution to rid Pakistan of the menace of militancy. I know for a fact that the tribal leaders wield great influence in their own lands. With their assistance, it is almost impossible not to succeed in driving out foreign militants and suppressing local terrorist elements in the tribal areas of Pakistan.Recommend