US drone strike: Pakistan shocked over hostage killings

FO spokesperson says findings demonstrate unintended consequences of the drone technology

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday expressed shock and sorrow over the White House revelation of ‘accidental’ killing of two Western hostages in a US drone strike in January, adding that the incident highlighted the risk and unintended consequences of the use of drone technology.

“The news of the accidental killing of hostages Warren Weinstein and Giovanni Lo Porto in a US drone strike conducted in January this year has been received in Pakistan with shock and sorrow,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said in a statement. She said the people and government of Pakistan convey their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.

“Having lost thousands of innocent civilians in the war against terrorism, Pakistan can fully understand this tragic loss and stands with the families of Weinstein and Lo Porto in this difficult time,” she added.



Tasnim pointed out that the non-combatant casualties in a drone strike demonstrates the risk and unintended consequences of the use of this technology which Pakistan has been highlighting for a long time.

American national Warren Weinstein and Italian Giovanni Lo Porto, who had been held hostage by al Qaeda in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, were killed in a US counter-terrorism operation in January, the White House said on Thursday.

US President Barack Obama said he took ‘full responsibility’ of the tragedy, and gave details of the covert operation, which officials suggested was a drone strike that took place against an al Qaeda compound inside Pakistan.

“As president and as commander-in-chief, I take full responsibility for all our counter-terrorism operations, including the one that inadvertently took the lives of Warren and Giovanni,” he said.

Human rights groups allege many civilians have reportedly been killed in Pakistan’s tribal areas since the US began its controversial drone program in 2004.

The US has always denied the killings of civilians and claims the CIA-led drone program only targets hardcore terrorists.

But the latest controversy has once again raised questions about the effectiveness of Obama’s counterterrorism operations, which – while killing Osama bin Laden – have relied heavily on secret drone strikes.

“This is not the question of accuracy of drone strikes, but a case of faulty intelligence,” commented defence analyst Lt Gen (retd) Talat Masood.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2015.