Protesting drone attacks

Protesting drone attacks in UN is Pakistan's right but it should not use this as an excuse for lack of action.

Pakistan’s position on the use of drones on its territory varies based on who’s asking. In public, we denounce drone attacks as an unconscionable violation of our sovereignty but, as the WikiLeaks cables showed, we have not only privately agreed to their use but even provide the US with the intelligence for their attacks. It is this disconnect between the rhetoric we spout for domestic consumption and our acceptance of the reality of drone attacks, which makes our request at the United Nations (UN) for a ban on unilateral drone attacks little more than grandstanding. If what the WikiLeaks cables say is true then, even by our own definition of illegal drone attacks, the US is waging a war with our permission and so, it is perfectly legal.

Even if the UN were to accept our proposal and somehow agree that the government has not allowed the US to conduct drone attacks on our territory, the question of enforcement is sure to arise. Right now, the US is the only country in the world able to use mechanised drones in this manner. Any UN resolution against drones is sure to be vetoed by the US in the Security Council and no legal action can be taken since the US does not submit itself to the International Court of Justice. This is where questions of legality ram against the realities of a unipolar world, where the US can get away with whatever conduct it decides is lawful. A far more fruitful proposition would be to continually highlight the civilian casualties of drone attacks and hope to influence the debate that has been sparked recently by Republican Senator Rand Paul.



For our part, we need to be honest with ourselves about the doublespeak of our government and the effect this has had on the proliferation of drone attacks. Also, we need to realise that the only alternative to drones is military action by the Pakistan Army. This, too, would cause many civilian deaths, but the fact of the matter is, that given the thousands that have been slaughtered by the Taliban, we need to take on the militants in a decisive action, while at the same time, protecting our sovereignty. Protesting the use of drones in international forums is well within our rights but we should not use this as an excuse for our lack of action against the true enemy — the extremist militants who are a far greater threat.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2013.