Karzai seeks UK explanation over drone strikes, prisoners
Iran Press TV
Fri Jun 14, 2013 1:13PM GMT
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has sought explanation from Britain's foreign secretary about killer drone strikes in the war-ravaged country, Press TV reports.
In a meeting with Britain's Secretary of State for Defense Philip Anthony Hammond in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Karzai demanded that London provide Kabul with explanation regarding its drone program, Karzai’s office said on Friday.
Karzai added that the two countries have no agreement on drone strikes.
The United States and Britain use their killer drones in Afghanistan, claiming the targets of the attacks are militants, but local officials and witnesses say civilians have been the main victims.
According to data released by the Pentagon in February, Afghanistan is becoming a “drone war” with a 72-percent increase in the number of drone strikes from 2011 to 2012. The United States carried out over 500 drone attacks in Afghanistan last year, the Pentagon said.
In the meeting, Karzai also demanded the handover of Afghan prisoners held by UK at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan’s troubled south.
The UK forces were recently revealed to be holding over 90 Afghan nationals without trial in Afghanistan.
The Afghan government says no foreign country has the right to run detention centers inside Afghanistan and that the detention of Afghan citizens by foreign troops violates the country’s sovereignty.
The British have been keeping the Afghans at Camp Bastion jail in the southern province of Helmand for a long time without trial.
British forces in Afghanistan are normally allowed to detain suspects for four days.
The detainees’ lawyers said they had been held in custody without charge for up to 14 months, which amounts to unlawful detention and internment. Lawyers say the case is against international law and the British constitution.
Last week, General Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, also criticized the detentions as “illegal” and “inhuman.”
“The prisoners must be handed over to the Afghan authorities,” he said, adding, “After their handover to us, they will be dealt with according to our judicial laws, and the agreements reached with the international community.”
British forces have been based in Helmand province since the US-led war in Afghanistan began in 2001. Some 9,000 UK troops are currently stationed in the war-ravaged country.
The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of the so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity remains high in the country.
AZA/JR/KA/SS
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