CIA campaign In Pakistan: UK judges block action over drone attacks
Lawyers for Noor Khan, 27, launched the action at the High Court in London.
LONDON:
Judges blocked on Friday a legal action brought by a Pakistani man against Britain over allegations that British intelligence has been used in US drone attacks in the tribal regions.
Lawyers for Noor Khan, 27, launched the action at the High Court in London in March after the death of his father Malik Daud Khan in a drone strike last year in North Waziristan Agency.
They sought to challenge the lawfulness of the help British intelligence gathering agency GCHQ reportedly provides to the CIA, such as information targeting militants, which is then used in drone strikes.
However, lawyers for British Foreign Secretary William Hague had urged the court to block the legal proceedings, saying the case was unarguable. They said it raised issues relating to sovereign foreign states that cannot be determined by English courts, adding that any ruling would have a “significant” impact on British relations with the United States and Pakistan.
Lord Justice Alan Moses refused Khan permission to bring the legal challenge at the High Court on Friday.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2012.
Judges blocked on Friday a legal action brought by a Pakistani man against Britain over allegations that British intelligence has been used in US drone attacks in the tribal regions.
Lawyers for Noor Khan, 27, launched the action at the High Court in London in March after the death of his father Malik Daud Khan in a drone strike last year in North Waziristan Agency.
They sought to challenge the lawfulness of the help British intelligence gathering agency GCHQ reportedly provides to the CIA, such as information targeting militants, which is then used in drone strikes.
However, lawyers for British Foreign Secretary William Hague had urged the court to block the legal proceedings, saying the case was unarguable. They said it raised issues relating to sovereign foreign states that cannot be determined by English courts, adding that any ruling would have a “significant” impact on British relations with the United States and Pakistan.
Lord Justice Alan Moses refused Khan permission to bring the legal challenge at the High Court on Friday.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2012.