Operation in Waziristan?: Govt must take nation into confidence, says Imran
Says women and children are the worst affected by drone strikes and military action.
Says women and children are the worst affected by drone strikes and military action. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday demanded that the government must inform the nation if it intended to start a military operation in North Waziristan Agency (NWA).
“If the military has intended to respond with an attack, it should at least have cleared the area of women and children before bombing Mir Ali through helicopter gunships and artillery,” said the PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
In an official statement on Saturday, Imran repeated his condemnation of the attack against the military personnel in NWA which led to the martyrdom of five soldiers.
He said civilians – especially women and children – were already the victims of drone attacks and now a military action was causing more suffering to those, who were not responsible for this war.
“We cannot regard our women and children of the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) with the callousness and unconcern that is presently being displayed towards them by the state of which they are citizens,” Imran said.
The PTI chief reminded that FATA was directly under the president and it was unfathomable why he was silent over the plight of the people in the wake of curfews and military attacks. Imran said the president must act to alleviate the suffering of the women and children especially by providing immediate food supplies and medical assistance as well as protection against military action.
He also pointed out that an incremental increase in military action would lead to a large scale military operation with revenge attacks and ensuing increase in chaos, militancy and terrorism.
Imran said the local people as well as parliamentarians from the area were already claiming that those killed in the military operations were primarily civilians. “In addition, hundreds of people are being displaced as well as suffering food shortages because of the imposed curfew.”
He said the government must not only take control and bear responsibility for any planned military operation in the NWA, but also inform all the political parties that it had abandoned the APC mandate for dialogue and an end to drones strikes.
“Military operations in one’s own country do not resolve problems; instead they exacerbate them and the same will happen if a military operation is launched in the NWA. Already there are reports of people fleeing the area and civilians being killed,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2013.
____________________________________________________________
[poll id="1277"]
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday demanded that the government must inform the nation if it intended to start a military operation in North Waziristan Agency (NWA).
“If the military has intended to respond with an attack, it should at least have cleared the area of women and children before bombing Mir Ali through helicopter gunships and artillery,” said the PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
In an official statement on Saturday, Imran repeated his condemnation of the attack against the military personnel in NWA which led to the martyrdom of five soldiers.
He said civilians – especially women and children – were already the victims of drone attacks and now a military action was causing more suffering to those, who were not responsible for this war.
“We cannot regard our women and children of the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) with the callousness and unconcern that is presently being displayed towards them by the state of which they are citizens,” Imran said.
The PTI chief reminded that FATA was directly under the president and it was unfathomable why he was silent over the plight of the people in the wake of curfews and military attacks. Imran said the president must act to alleviate the suffering of the women and children especially by providing immediate food supplies and medical assistance as well as protection against military action.
He also pointed out that an incremental increase in military action would lead to a large scale military operation with revenge attacks and ensuing increase in chaos, militancy and terrorism.
Imran said the local people as well as parliamentarians from the area were already claiming that those killed in the military operations were primarily civilians. “In addition, hundreds of people are being displaced as well as suffering food shortages because of the imposed curfew.”
He said the government must not only take control and bear responsibility for any planned military operation in the NWA, but also inform all the political parties that it had abandoned the APC mandate for dialogue and an end to drones strikes.
“Military operations in one’s own country do not resolve problems; instead they exacerbate them and the same will happen if a military operation is launched in the NWA. Already there are reports of people fleeing the area and civilians being killed,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2013.
____________________________________________________________
[poll id="1277"]