One aspect of drones attacks is that it deters the enemy but in reality, drones are fostering terrorism the world over
KARACHI: A recent Amnesty International report said that US drone attacks in Pakistan have killed at least 29 non-combatants since 2012 — deaths that could be categorised as war crimes. The timing of the report’s release puts, perhaps, the most sensitive issue in US-Pakistan relations in the spotlight as the two leaders of both states met in Washington.
Unfortunately, the tragedy is that drones deployed by the US over Pakistan now instil the same kind of fear in the people of the tribal areas that was once associated only with al Qaeda and the Taliban. American intelligence officials and their congressional overseers argue that in almost all cases, the strikes have hit legitimate targets. Sorting out the truth in individual cases is often impossible. It is high time the drones issue was settled. One aspect of drones attacks is that it deters the enemy but in reality, drones are fostering terrorism the world over.
M Osama Afnan Hanafi
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2013.
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