Beyond condemnations: Islamabad to raise US drone campaign at UN

Preparations started in consultation with missions in Geneva and New York: FO.

ISLAMABAD:

After years of formal and informal protests over America’s highly controversial unmanned war in Pakistan’s tribal regions, Islamabad has finally decided to take up the issue at the United Nations.

“We have initiated necessary work in this regard in consultations with our missions in Geneva and New York,” Foreign Office spokesperson Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry told a weekly briefing on Thursday.

The announcement came three days after an all parties conference recommended the government to take up the unpopular US drone campaign at the United Nations.

This is the first time Islamabad is taking measures beyond just condemnation to stop the CIA-led programme which Pakistan says violates its sovereignty and stokes anti-Americanism in the region.

The spokesman said that the foreign ministry would be taking all possible steps to implement the recommendation of the APC in the most effective manner.

“The position of the government of Pakistan on drone strikes is principled and clear. Drone strikes violate our sovereignty and international law and they are also counter-productive,” he said.

An international debate is now well under way on the humanitarian and human rights implications of the drone campaign as well as their legitimacy and effectiveness, he added.



Despite strong public reaction from the government, the US administration considers the drone programme crucial to eliminating ‘high value targets’ associated with al Qaeda and the Taliban in the tribal regions.

A senior commander of the Haqqani network, the deadliest of all Afghan Taliban factions, was reportedly killed in a recent drone strike in the North Waziristan Agency. However, rights crusaders say many civilians have also died in such attacks.

The Pakistan government believes that unabated drone attacks damage its efforts to deal with the threat of militancy effectively.

Responding to a question, the spokesman insisted that Pakistan did not have any secret understanding with the US on the drone programme.

Aziz-Salman meeting

The spokesman confirmed that Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz would be meeting Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

“The talks will focus on the overall bilateral relations between the two countries,” he added.

However, sources said the two leaders would likely finalise the agenda of summit-level talks between the two neighbours later this month in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.

Afghan Taliban prisoners release

In reply to another question, Chaudhry said the objective of releasing the Afghan Taliban detainees was to contribute to the reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

“Pakistan is convinced that an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process can contribute to lasting peace in Afghanistan,” he said. He added that the former Taliban deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar would be freed at an appropriate time.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2013.