File photo of a drone. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Following the United Nations resolution against US drone strikes in foreign territories, a fresh strike in Miramshah has prompted the government to take up the matter with the Human Rights Council, according to Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam.
Condemning the attack at a weekly briefing, Aslam said a resolution would be tabled at the forum in Geneva. “The government strongly condemns the US drone strike that took place near Miramshah in North Waziristan around midnight,” Aslam said, “These strikes are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. There is a consensus in Pakistan that these strikes must end.”
Thursday’s weekly briefing started, as was expected, with a statement entailing the government’s stance that drone strikes are counterproductive and now, following the UN resolution on December 18th, it is imperative for the US to comply with international law regarding the strikes.
“Such strikes also set dangerous precedents in inter-state relations,” Aslam said, adding, “These strikes have a negative impact on the government’s efforts to bring peace and stability in Pakistan and the region.”
When asked whether the FO was aware of any high-value target killed in Miramshah, the spokesperson said, “Using a method which is fundamentally flawed and illegal even for a positive purpose cannot be justified. Therefore, it is not our policy to show leniency in such instances, even if some high-value target is killed.” When asked if there was any discussion to provide alternatives to drone strikes, Aslam said “any technology is not worthy of use if it kills one innocent human being in the process of killing five militants.”
However, she said that Pakistan’s foreign policy is not restricted to drones or relations with just one country. “We have our national interests and we are working on many tracks with the international community to expand our relations and to promote economic development in Pakistan. We do not see foreign policy or what we seek to achieve from it through the narrow prism of any single issue,” Aslam said.
Afghanistan in 2014
The spokesperson said that Pakistan and the United States have a relationship which is not limited to the US presence in Afghanistan. “We have bilateral collaboration in economic, energy and other sectors,” she said, adding, “We don’t know yet what the shape of the US presence in Afghanistan will be or the extent of our collaboration with the US. This depends upon events in Afghanistan and the nature of US presence in the country after 2014.”
Pakistan-India friendship
The spokesperson said that Pakistan-China nuclear cooperation is exclusively for peaceful purposes and is fully covered under IAEA safeguards. She also welcomed the statement by Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid that talks with Pakistan are the only option to improve relations, saying “This has been our policy all along and it has been backed by practical steps by successive governments in Pakistan.”
On the issue of the Kishanganga dam, Aslam said that the question was not of claiming victory in the resolution of the issue.
“I would not say that it was victory for Pakistan or India. But we have to now implement the judgement in letter and spirit.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 27th, 2013.
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