Pakistan Reiterates Demands for US to End Drone Strikes

Parliament Warns of NATO Supply Line Cuts if Attacks Continue

Fresh off another week of escalating US strikes, the Pakistani parliament has reiterated demands for the US to end the drone attacks against the tribal areas. The resolution also threatened to cut NATO’s supply line to Afghanistan if the attacks continue.

The drone strikes have become an issue of growing political value inside Pakistan, where unilateral US strikes have become a hot topic. The arrest of a CIA agent allegedly involved in the drone strikes for a double murder in Lahore, following by the unilateral US raid in Abbottabad, which killed Osama bin Laden, have added to the concerns.

The bin Laden killing itself was made a much bigger issue when the White House suggested that it set a precedent for similar raids into Pakistan. Multiple additional drone strikes since then have only added fuel to the fire.

The Pakistani parliament likely doesn’t have the authority to stop the NATO supply line on its own, but the resolution reflects a growing anti-US sentiment which has spread from the population into the elected officials. Pakistan’s military appears to be feeling the pressure as well, with the nation’s air force chief threatening to shoot down the drones in the future.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.