ISLAMABAD: This is with reference to Maria Waqar’s article “Why drones won’t work” (June 11). Drone attacks have stoked hatred against the US in Pakistan. After every drone attack, a series of condemnations from politicians follows but no one ventures out of the traditional rhetoric and dares to understand the other side of the story.
American forces are launching these strikes in a bid to wipe out local and al Qaeda militants, which are lending support to the Afghan Taliban. These local Taliban, in partnership with al Qaeda, not only orchestrate bombings in our cities, but also supply military hardware and human resource to the Afghan Taliban. Why else will the US stage drone attacks in Pakistan, which are not only tarnishing its image in the country, but are also adding to its already surging military expenses?
On the other hand, the Pakistan Army has not acted against the Haqqani network, which is the driving force behind the Afghan Taliban. All these factors have contributed to the mistrust that the US has developed towards Pakistan. Therefore, the US is forced into increasing the number of drone attacks in the country. We must realise that drones are effective in hunting down the sanctuaries of these militant groups. However, what the US needs to do is to make these strikes more accurate and precise in order to scale down the deaths of innocents who are killed in the process.
Rehan Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, June 16th, 2012.
