PESHAWAR: It is noteworthy to mention that no document has been discovered yet by the United Nations (UN) that either indicates or provides any evidence of the Americans being given the liberty to attack Pakistani territory through the active and indiscriminate use of drones. According to Ben Emmerson, the UN’s special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, there was “no tacit consent by Pakistan to the use of drones on its territory”.
It must be realised that the use of these unmanned aerial vehicles inside Pakistan is in complete contradiction to the understanding that had taken place between the two countries prior to our involvement in this war. It was established that no foreign presence will be tolerated inside Pakistan and that any offensive that needs to be launched against the enemy will be done by the Pakistani security forces alone. Not only has the superpower breached trust, but it has continued to violate Pakistan’s sovereignty first, by continuing its self-designed and self-approved programme of “droning” thousands of innocent people along with a few militants. Furthermore, the unilateral operation in Abbottabad that resulted in the killing of Osama bin Laden, is part of the same charade.
The “drone efficiency” narrative that had been built over the fundamental premise that drone attacks were an essential feature that improved the security environment at a very minimum cost is being challenged by the international community, human rights organisations, as well as the American public.
Despite the fact that Pakistan has made various calls on the US to cease its drone programme due to the high civilian casualty rate and its counterproductivity in the war on terror, no action has been taken by the US administration as it still terms it a viable war strategy. International concerns have finally been raised after Emmerson’s high-profile investigation on the use of drone attacks. In Pakistan alone, over 2,200 people have died, with 600 having been injured. Moreover, the psychological trauma that the locals undergo is far more potent than the physical injury that is inflicted. Thus, Pakistanis need to speak up and endorse what Emmerson states that the drone campaign “involves the use of force on the territory of another state without its consent and is, therefore, a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty”.
Professor Kabil Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2013.
