US drone attacks continue in Pakistan despite concerns
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Islamabad, May 21, IRNA -- United States is continuing with policy of drone attacks on Pakistani soil despite strong reaction shown by Pakistani Parliament against the moves.
US drone strikes on Friday targeted a suspected insurgent compound and a vehicle in North Waziristan.
Both attacks took place in Mir-Ali town, some 40 kilometers east of Miranshah in North Waziristan along the Afghan border.
Friday's attacks were the Seventh to be reported in Pakistan's tribal areas near the Afghan border since US unilateral raid on a compound to kill Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on May 2.
The attack coincided with a visit by US Senator John Kerry to Islamabad, the first visit by a senior US figure since the Abbottabad operation, in a bid to smooth relations.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is presently utilizing lethal drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan, claiming that they are used to attack Taliban militants. However, many civilians have been killed in the US-led strikes so far.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari had clarified to the Obama Administration that the US will have to end drone strikes in tribal regions.
The drone attacks on Pakistan are increasing with rise of every new day. Many recent polls in Pakistan show strong opposition among Pakistani citizens to the drone strikes.
Majority in Pakistan describes these drone strikes as a sheer violation of country’s sovereignty.
The Pakistani parliament has passed a unanimous resolution after a long debate and briefings by the head of the intelligence agencies and air chief against the U.S. unilateral raid on a compound to kill Osama bin Laden terming the action against the country’s sovereignty.
The resolution also condemned US drone strikes in the country’s tribal regions and warned that Pakistan could stop supplies for the US-led forces in Afghanistan if strikes from the US spy planes were not stopped.
“The parliament strongly asserted that unilateral actions, such as those conducted by the US forces in Abbottabad, as well as the continued drone attacks on the territory of Pakistan, are not only unacceptable but also constitute violation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, international law and humanitarian norms. Such drone attacks must be stopped forthwith, failing which the Government will be constrained to consider taking necessary steps including withdrawal of transit facility allowed to NATO/ISAF forces,” the resolution said.
The resolution determined that unilateral actions cannot advance the global cause of elimination of terrorism, and the people of Pakistan will no longer tolerate such actions and repeat of unilateral measures could have dire consequences for peace and security in the region and the world.
It also Called upon the Government to re-visit and review its terms of engagement with the United States, with a view to ensuring that Pakistan’s national interests are fully respected and accommodated in pursuit of policies for countering terrorism and achieving reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari, have agreed to send a copy of parliament’s joint resolution on the Abbottabad operation to the US and the UN.
The Democracy Assessment Group of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) earlier had demanded a comprehensive explanation from the government on Osama bin Laden's killing and urged parliament to constitute a joint commission to investigate lapses in the matter.
Analysts say that it is inconceivable to believe that the US can achieve all that without Islamabad’s active help and cooperation.
Majority of Pakistanis believe that war on terror has practically been an American war in which the Pakistani government went beyond limits of subservience to the US.
Pakistan says there has been a breakdown in trust with the United States and the chairman of Pakistan's joint chiefs of staff committee, General Khalid Shameem Wynne, cancelled a five-day visit to the United States that had been set to begin on May 22.
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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30394747
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