RAWALPINDI: General (retd) Pervez Musharraf is being castigated by all and sundry for many things, including the drone strikes in Pakistan. Yes, Musharraf did allow the use of drones but has anyone also given a thought to the reasons why he did this? Are the drone strikes doing harm to Pakistan or good? Who are they used against and who do they actually kill? We are only shown the pictures of the children, women and old people living in nearby houses, who die due to the collapsing of temporary mud walls and roofs, but not of the terrorists killed, who had been provided sanctuary in the adjacent houses. The drone technology and missiles are so accurate that they can target a rupee coin lying inside the floor of a house. A drone is fired only to kill terrorists and with each and every drone strike, at least one or more known terrorists are eliminated.
Now, are these terrorists only anti-US or anti-Pakistan as well? I think they are doing more harm to Pakistan than to the US/Nato/ISAF in Afghanistan. As Pakistan does not have drone technology nor can it afford to spend a million dollars for each missile fired, apart from the immense costs involved in the initial purchase and subsequent operation of the pilotless drones, I think the US is rendering us a huge service by eliminating the terrorists and curtailing their nefarious activities. Had they been let loose, allowed to operate freely and not killed, I shudder to think of the havoc they would have played with Pakistan.
So, Musharraf did allow drones and so would have anyone else in his place, including the pygmies crying themselves hoarse against him.
Colonel (retd) Riaz Jafri
Published in The Express Tribune, April 16th, 2013.
