Obviously, if we don’t want foreign troops on our soil, then drone attacks will to continue.
JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: On May 4, a young suicide bomber in Bajaur kills at least 30 people; on May 5, an American drone kills around 10 suspected militants in North Waziristan; on May 6, nine Pakistani soldiers are killed in an ambush in North Waziristan.
We have a crystal-clear situation in front of us — we have armed militant groups in the tribal areas who want to establish an Islamic emirate in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s tribal areas and in whatever settled areas they can capture. We don’t have many options before us. We can either surrender and withdraw from the tribal areas and leave these groups to govern as they like (and pray that they will not attack the rest of the country), or alternatively, we can act against the militants to eliminate and disarm them. Obviously, if we don’t want foreign troops on our soil, then drone attacks will to continue.
Let us hope that common sense prevails. Otherwise, Pakistan’s future does not look bright — the defence minister has put it quite bluntly that we may face sanctions if we don’t agree to resume the Nato supplies. On top of that, militants will keep attacking militant and civilian targets and religio-political parties will keep singing their songs on sovereignty. The choice is in our hands.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, May 10th, 2012.
