"We call for the immediate cessation of drone attacks inside the territorial borders of Pakistan," Khan said. SOURCE: THE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
"In Pakistan, all drone strikes are a chilling reminder that reprisal strikes by terrorists are around the corner," Pakistan's UN ambassador Masood Khan told a UN General Assembly rights committee debate.
Khan, following up a call made by Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to US President Barack Obama on Wednesday, said civilians had suffered "inhumane" deaths and the strikes had "radicalised" public opinion in Pakistan.
"We call for the immediate cessation of drone attacks inside the territorial borders of Pakistan," Khan said.
"We hope that the United States would respond to this urgent call from Pakistan anchored in international humanitarian law," he added.
Obama had refused to comment after his Washington meeting with Sharif on Wednesday on the US drone strikes.
A US diplomat at the UN meeting highlighted an Obama speech in May in which he said the drone attacks on al Qaeda and the Taliban were "necessary, legal and just."
The United States said the US government was giving "close attention" to a report by UN special rapporteur Ben Emmerson, a specialist on protecting rights in counter-terrorism.
At the UN meeting, Emmerson urged the United States and other countries using drones to release information on the justification for their use and "data on the level of civilian casualties inflicted through the use of drones."
Emmerson said in his written report that Pakistan had told him that 400 of the 2,200 victims of drone attacks over the past decade were civilians.
Christof Heyns, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial and arbitrary killings, said drones are not "inherently illegal weapons".
But he added that there had to be greater focus on drones because of the spread of their use.
"A world where multiple states use such weapons in secrecy is a less secure world," Heyns told the meeting.
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The US should agree to stop drone strikes only if the Pakistani govt agrees to take up an offensive stance against the TTP. Negotiations with the Taliban are useless if conducted from a position of weakness.
Doesn't all this show that US did not agree to Pakistan's request to stop drone attacks? Pakistan can certainly make noise in UN, however, nothing is going to change on ground. At best it I just for domestic consumption. How many countries are going to support Pakistan? May be South Korea and few others.
It is moot to ponder the consequences of shooting down the drones that enter Pakistan. The US is wrong, It is getting away with murder. Those responsible must be brought to book. Discussing whether the US is right or wrong is ludicrous.
WOW, so Pakistani UN ambassador Masood Khan says that "(Pakistani) civilians have suffered INHUMANE deaths (from Drone Strikes, measured in the hundreds)"! That is, compared to the TENS OF THOUSANDS PLUS of Pakistani civilians who have suffered very HUMANE Deaths at the hands of the TTP (AKA "our brothers"!) UN should demand that Pakistan release "data on the level of (Pakistani) civilian casualties inflicted by TTP (assets of the state???) Maybe the world would take Pakistan somewhat more seriously if it actually had SOVEREIGN CONTROL over its own territory!
USA should learn a lesson from this drone drama. Never trust Pakistan. Pakistan even used USA to strike terrorists that were working with ISI. Pakistan agreed to drone bombings. Pakistanis probably made million of dollars from drone bombings. Now USA is being made look like a bad guy.