Drone strikes: Pressure piling on the PM to find solutions

With the contempt of court petition against the govt filed, the clock is ticking for Nawaz.

PESHAWAR:

The federal government and Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif have become the focus of increasing public scrutiny amid immense pressure to work out a practical solution against US drone attacks in the country.

Amid moves to nominate the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief and its station chief in Pakistan in the FIR against the drone strike in Hangu, along with the filing of a contempt of court petition against the PM and the federal government at the Peshawar High Court, the growth of an anti-drones sentiment amongst the public has become very apparent.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government has mobilised the Pukhtun population against the attacks, whereas the PHC petition is forcing the government into considering all legal scenarios by which it can bring an end to the controversial US programme against alleged militants.

The provincial government of K-P has also submitted a memorandum at the US Consulate in Peshawar to bring to Washington’s notice the loss of life and damage to property the unmanned aerial vehicles have caused in the country.



PTI Chairman Imran Khan, on November 23, held a protest rally against the Hangu strike which called for a blockade of all Nato supply routes across the province. Heeding to his call, workers from all coalition parties and students from private schools have joined hands in organising sit-ins across the province to prevent supplies from reaching international troops in Afghanistan. While the blockade is not an official directive of the provincial government, the K-P chief minister in a letter to the PM has also called for blocking Nato supply routes until a meeting can be convened to address the issue.

A day before the Hangu strike, Adviser to the PM Sartaj Aziz in a statement said the US had assured halting the strikes for the length of the talks between the federal government and the Taliban. However, despite renewed assurances, persistent strikes have led to the development of a trust deficit between Islamabad and Washington.

The PHC, in its order passed last May, had called on the federal government to take up what it termed as ‘war crimes’ with the UN Security Council (SC). At the time, the strikes were limited to the tribal belt, but with the latest attack carried out in a settled area, a dangerous precedent has been set. While the issue was taken up in the meeting between PM Nawaz and US President Barack Obama, the situation, however, persists.

The result of the consequent contempt petition filed by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Sami against the PM cannot be predicted, but the precedent of sacking the premier was set in the last government, when Yousuf Raza Gillani was tried on similar charges.

Senior lawyer Abdul Latif Afridi contends the current contempt petition should not be a serious concern because punishment for contempt of court has been rare in the country’s history.

“Punishment on such charges is awarded to culprits who are deliberately ignoring court orders. The government has already taken up the issue with the US authorities, and it might be due to some obligations that it has been unable to cease the attacks,” said Afridi.

Advocate Qazi Muhammad Anwer said raising the issue in the UN SC requires for Pakistan to be a permanent member of the council, which it is not. He said the court’s orders directed the government to bring about a diplomatic solution to the problem, and if that fails, logistic support to the US should be withdrawn. The lawyer suggested that while the government is pondering over blocking Nato supplies, it could also consider the option of ceasing to share intelligence reports with the CIA in protest.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2013.