Condemnations of the November 21 strike have poured in from all quarters. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
The drone which targeted a seminary in a village in Hangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) killed six people, five of whom were identified as top commanders. The men had gathered for a condolence meeting for Dr Nasiruddin Haqqani, the son of the founder of the Haqqani Network, Jalaluddin Haqqani. Drone strikes like these come after repeated US demands to Pakistan to go after the Haqqani network, and it appears that it has now decided to take on the task itself.
Condemnations of the November 21 strike have poured in from all quarters, and for the people who have witnessed a spate of endless suicide bombings and targeted attacks, this is a new dilemma. As the narratives become murkier, the question now asked is — will the drones follow the militants from the Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata) to the more urbanised localities of mainstream Pakistan?
While the government grapples for answer, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), along with its coalition partners in K-P and aided by other religious parties and groups, are all set to block the routes for Nato supply as a protest against drone strikes, which is expected to attract a large number of people. But does blocking the supply mean an end to drone strikes?
The K-P Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on November 4, after the death of TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud, giving the federal government a 15-day deadline to end drone strikes or the province would decide its own course of action. Ironically, this time the target was in the jurisdiction of the same assembly.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2013.
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COMMENTS (16)
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@polpot: Why apologize for stating the facts?Denial is the usual coping mechanism for majority in Pakistan. Nothing wrong with it in the short run,but likely to prove fatal in the end.There are a few in Pakistan that confront the reality as is. Hope it catches on to the masses.Truth is one thing that is not harmful in its infectiousness.
ETBLOGS1987
ET mods - this gentleman has referred to my motivations. Please allow me to respond.
@Tariq: Thank you for giving me benefit of doubt. I would like to point out that I will not downplay when things go wrong in my country. Please read my comments about the recent sexual assault case. http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/19698/tehelka-controversy-can-powerful-editors-get-away-with-sexual-harassment/
I think as a patriotic Ondian, it is important to object to wrong doings in one own countries as much as speaking confidently about the many good things that simultaneously occur.if people only exercise their opinion once in 5 years at time of voting, one cannot have true democracy. I and thousands of Indians did come out in tens of thousands in peaceful protest (I was part of a protest in Dallas) during Anna Hazare's march against corruption. The focus is to ensure that there are institutional changes to address issues. Thus after the gruesome December 16 rape last year, tens of thousands of people marched peacefully and forced the overnment's to review and update outdated laws. Likewise hundreds of thousands braved August heat a couple of years back to support Anna Hazare's demand for LokPal. That fight is work in process but people will not rest until we have a strong Lok Pal on the statute.
Of course if lies are written about India, surely we will provide factual rebuttals - but in my opinion that does not amount to downp laying the bad in one's own country.
@Rex Minor I think gp65 and polpot hit a raw nerve at a different location. In general the difference between Indian and Pakistani trolls has been : An Indian troll will extol specific achievements of his country while downplaying the bad things. A Pakistani troll blames all ills on India period. The lack of positives to talk about and the degree of truth in polpots statement hurt more than the casualness of it.
Law and Order in Pakistan +++++++++++++++++++++++ The Pakistani Minister for Ports and Shipping was introduced to his Afghan counterpart. Being sharp He asked how can Afghanistan have a minister for ports and shipping when its a landlocked country. The Afghan replied , just as Pakistan has a Minister for Law and Order.......
@x: Sir My apologies for having hurt you. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ While I do not agree entirely with what you state and I do not withdraw my earlier post, I do sincerely apologise for the hurt that I have caused. I will keep in mind your advice re manners. Khuda Hafiz.
@Gp65: I trust that ET will allow this response from a foreigner who is not affected by the events in India or Pakistan and is surprised at the garbage you put out repeatedly which is not subject related but simply shows the mindset of the one who has been brought up with hate. Mr X has with sincerety and politeness put out the comments about the Indian trolls who are pettyfogging on every topic regardless which strictly affects the lives of Pakistani citizens..and you come up with your damne Pundits.relatavising the crimes which the Indian army has been commiting against Kashmiris in the occupied part
The Pashtuns by nature do not hate and are usualy friendly, independent minded and hard working industrious people who neither understand nor tolerate any non sense. Try and read the scholarly stuff about them and the country of Pakistan as a whole instead of the cheap news paper stuff from your home where women are raped on high streets and in village housed every 20 minutes according to official statistics. Neither you nor any of the Indian troll mob will ever be in a position to appreciate the decency and the resilience of the Pashtun people..
Rex Minor
The only way to bring Peace to Pakistan is to arrest all terrorists and hand them over to India, Afghanistan, USA or wherever they have committed crimes, since Pakistan does not have the appetite to try them. Bringing peace is very easy, not so when a will is lacking.
Osama-bin-Laden made his palace in Pakistan Military Academy (PMA). Mullah Omar shuttles between Quetta and Karachi.
What is the difference between 'settled' and un-'settled'.areas?
ETBLOGS1987
ET mods - please allow response to a post that has deeply moved me.
@x: I was deeply moved by your post. If at times, I too have seemed to take a sharp tone when commenting on issues in Pakistan, I would like to say I sincerely regret any hurt it may have caused.
I hope you realize that many Indians feel the same degree of helplessness at their incompetent government who has failed to protect them from a foreign country which repeatedly kills them. Yes, it is not just 26/11. It is also the tens of thousands Kashmiri Pandits pushed out by jihadis that were manufactured in Pakistani madrassas with encouragement of your army, it is also the fact that Dawood Ibrahim lives a life of luxury in Clifton Karachi and is given protection by the government of Pakistan when he is responsible for killing hundreds of Indians. it is also the fact that for years ordinary Pakistanis have put money in the boxes outside their masjids for jihad against India - money that is used to kill innocent Indians or make them homeless. Sadly, our government cannot make either terrorists like Dawood and Masood Azhar or those who fund and support and protect them accountale but when we see that at least some other country is able to go after the terrorists and make them accountable, it provides a balm to our open wounds.
Also @Popot may have been sarcastic but was he wrong in what he said? Was it lawyers in FATA who sho showered rose petals on Qadri? In Islamabad the police refused to allow Ahmadis to worship on Eid- is Islamabad part of FATA? Polio workers have been killed in Karachi and Islamabad - are these places part of FATA? Shias are pulled from buses and shot dead after identification in GB Nad Balochistan - are those places in FATA? The polic knew ahead of time that Joseph Colony wold be attacked. Yet instead of preventing the attack, it asked the victims to be to run away. Was Joseph Colony in FATA? Was the Sri Lanka team attacked in FATA? Is Abbotabad where OBL was living a stone's throw away from military academy or Islamabad where designated terrorist Haqqani living peacefully part of FATA? Were Shahbaz Taseer and Yusuf Raza Gilani's son kidnapped in broad daylight in FATA? Was the Sri Lankan cricket team shot at in FATA? Is Lyari in FATA? Has anyone been prosecuted or been made accountable for all these crimes? Does this show writ of law? Why then always use the adjective 'lawless tribal region' when speaking of FATA as though rest of the country is model of law and order?
It is not as though criminals do not exist in other countries including India and USA but they are not openly supported by so many people in media and law enforcement agencies. Law does take its course. That is the difference.
Lastly I hope and pray that things improve in Pakistan also. It gives me no joy to see the plight of ordinary Pakistanis. Take care.
Basically drones follow terrorists. Therefore it is too premature to discuss whether drones will flow into settled areas of Pakistan. What needs to be discussed is whether terrorists, ala haqqani TTP or any other variety, have infiltrated into settled areas and if so how to get rid of them. (By the way, are the settled areas called "Settled areas" because the terrorists have been settled there by Pak)
@polpot: Try coming and living in Pakistan. Understanding the plight of the citizens who JUST want a better life and also want to follow their religion. Not the Taliban version but the religion which they believe in, which they preaches peace and justice and equality and human rights. see the daily struggle of the masses, the helplessness, the injustice, the lack of jobs and education, inflation and rising prices, the patriarchal set up, the sheer frustration which makes people lose their self respect. For them, mockery from trolling Indians such as yourself is highly uncivilized. Please learn some manners. For the record, we do not hate India. But we do object to trolls like you.
@Imran Ahsan Mirza: " This whole debate is rooted on the premise as if tribal areas were not within Pakistan, while KP is." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Clearly all of Pakistan is a lawless tribal area.
Pakistan people have to decide whether they are victim of terrorism or victim of drone attack (a tool used in the war on terrorism)? Both are mutually exclusive. Pick one or the other.
This whole debate is rooted on the premise as if tribal areas were not within Pakistan, while KP is. We are drawing false boundaries, which in our belief, must not be crossed by US. The US is crossing each one after the other, why? because we, as a country, are still danger to the world by harbouring terrorists and US will never tolerate it even if they have to spend another $1 trillion. Ironically these protected breed of tribal terrorists have killed nearly 35,000 fellow Pakistanis but we apparently don't care and consider them pious angles worthy to be declared martyrs. I don't see in next 10 years or even after that if Pakistan will be able to convince US to stop drone strikes. Taliban leadership has to endure this, they themselves started this fire. Pakistan's current leadership is short sighted and lacks the vision to establish peace and move forward and catch up with the rest of the world on technological and economical progress.
The killing of OBL has proved that these terrorists can run but they cannot hide. The civilized world would find them and eliminate them no matter where they are hiding. If they are hiding in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore or even a military base they are not safe from their ultimate fate. It is the duty of Pakistani citizens to inform the authorities of their presence if they don't want a direct strike in their neighborhoods.
There. I said it before in ET. Drones will one day hit Punjab. Pakistan cannot do anything about it.