The resumption of U.S. drone strikes inside Pakistan are counterproductive and violate Pakistani sovereignty, Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday.
“Pakistan has a clear position on drone attacks [which have] a disadvantage over tactical benefits,” said the foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit in his weekly briefing at the Foreign Office. The spokesperson also said these attacks occur without Pakistani permission, violate their sovereignty, and would not be condoned.
U.S. drone attacks resumed on Tuesday of this week after being suspended in November after an unprovoked U.S. attack on a Pakistani military outpost killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and led to heightened tensions between the two countries. On Tuesday, the U.S. launched a drone attack that killed four unidentified individuals and injured several more.
A second drone strike on Thursday hit two cars that were heading towards the border in North Waziristan, killing six unidentified individuals.
A study released this week revealed that 75 drone strikes were launched in 2011, killing 609 people. The vast majority of the victims were never identified publicly, and only three were ever confirmed to be al-Qaeda “commanders.” The Bureau of Investigative Journalism recently catalogued lengthy findings on civilian casualties in the drone war, counting hundreds of civilians by name who were killed in drone strikes, including at least 168 children. Journalist Noor Behram, who had been on the ground in Pakistan tallying the dead, has estimated that “for every 10 to 15 people killed, maybe they get one militant.”
The Washington Post recently reported that the drone war in Pakistan has resulted “in an estimated 1,350 to 2,250 deaths.” But the public doesn’t have an accurate idea of how many have been killed, because “the identities…remain classified, as does the existence of the drone program itself.”
"The resumption of U.S. drone strikes inside Pakistan are counterproductive and violate Pakistani sovereignty, Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday."
You are talking about a country that has declared that it has the Pinochet-like authority to make it's own citizens disappear; a country that has declared that it has the authority to send these disappeared citizens to foreign countries to be tortured; a country that has declared it has the authority to outright murder an American citizen, and is working towards having the authority to strip the citizenship of an American citizen they claim is an undesirable – all without due process.
You are talking about a country that used specious excuses to invade another country not once, but twice, causing the deaths of millions of women and children and blanketing the urban centers of that country with DU, ensuring that an untold number of people will die early and another untold number of children will be born with birth defects.
You are talking about a country in which presidential candidates are cheered when they call for the assassination of foreign scientists working on a completely legal (under the NPT) nuclear program, even though there is zero proof that they are working towards a nuclear weapon but plenty of proof that they are not.
Sooner or later it will become apparent to these bureaucratic imbeciles in Pakistan and the world over that the United States is a rouge nation that does not recognize the sovereignty of other countries and in fact believes they have the "God-given" right to control the world.
Until the world bands together to put a stop to the death cult that is the United States government under the control of the Republican and Democrat parties, the United States will continue to invade other countries and spit on their sovereignty. The United States is the Nazi Germany/USSR/PRC of the 21st century and it is just beginning its tyranny at home and abroad.
I would really love someone from antiwar.com to write to my e-mail address and explain to me why some of my comments are automatically posted and other times they have to be cleared by the staff before they are posted. More importantly though, I would love to understand why my comments are sometimes not allowed to appear. For instance, my comments on this article were not allowed even though they were not insulting, threatening or off topic.
I will be happy to follow the rules of this site in order for my comments to appear but I first have to know what those rules are.
Pakistan MUST do everything in its power to cut relations with the US, shoot down all drones in Pakistani territory, and align firmly with China period. The US terror machine must be shut down by those countries being abused by it.
When reading this type of article I am always drawn to these conclusions.I live in the UK where we have few instances of bombings.We were appalled at the London bombings of 7/7 in 2005 ,and rightly so. How would we react if this was happening on an almost daily basis ?. Other countries which we have illegally occupied through various guises are condemned if they attack our troops.We would attack foreign occupiers if they were in the UK/EU or US,especially if they were there on a pack of lies to steal our resources,or launch attacks on neighbouring countries. We seem to have double standards and no idea why other countries want us out.These drones are a desperate bid to launch attacks without losing troops so that the folks at home don`t see coffins coming off a plane.This could be avoided if we minded our own business.
What are these jerks taking about???
"Pakistan condemns drone attack as violation of sovereignty"
Things are happening with their okay!!
They obviously agree to the killings. I guess they just want the bribes are feeling
uncomfortably when it becomes public.
It is discusting and illegal I fully belive not even 10% of the proff for 9/11 and 7/7 would show it was inside jobs,to illegaly invade countrys.I belive from the proff I've seen both 9/11 and 7/7 if allowed to be investigated by real trust worthy citizens they would show how and to what extent the Military Industrial Complex is willing to go to make more trillions of illegal wars and muder even of there citizens.
The Pakistani government should shut-up already. The whole world knows they're just a bunch of corrupt, shameless political whores. If anything, the disingenuous rhetoric just makes them look even more pathetic, if that's possible.
That is a lie. Pakistan sold the drone attacks for money. Pakistan lies to his own people. The Pakistani govt, ISI and even the civilian govt allows the drone attacks. Pakistan is the worlds largest sponsor of terrorism, even more than Iran. Pakistan is not really our friend, Pakistan is really an enemy of the USA but also they as good Muslims are enemies of Comunist China. Pakistan is playing China the same way they play the Usa. On one hand they claim that they are our friend so they can get free or good deal on American weapons and $ 3 billion in financial aid. Pakistan is a failed state which never had a democratic country that have finished a single term. Pakistan can only function under a dictatorship because they have to many Muslims who are problematic. 80 pct of world problems and wars are created or started by Muslims people, govertments or terrorist. Something is wrong with the so call religion of peace.
How is Iran a sponsor of terrorism? So now Pakistan is the Big Bad Wolf and the innocent US is the Little Red Riding Hood. Are you serious? Taken to its logical conclusion, the US's invasions are not America's fault but that of its victims. Your statement that 80 percent of the problems are created… by Muslim people reflects the level of your understanding of world affairs.
That is a lie. Pakistan sold the drone attacks for money. Pakistan lies to his own people. The Pakistani govt, ISI and even the civilian govt allows the drone attacks. Pakistan is the worlds largest sponsor of terrorism, even more than Iran. Pakistan is not really our friend, Pakistan is really an enemy of the USA but also they as good Muslims are enemies of Comunist China. Pakistan is playing China the same way they play the Usa. On one hand they claim that they are our friend so they can get free or good deal on American weapons and $ 3 billion in financial aid. Pakistan is a failed state which never had a democratic country that have finished a single term. Pakistan can only function under a dictatorship because they have to many Muslims who are problematic. 80 pct of world problems and wars are created or started by Muslims people, govertments or terrorist. Something is wrong with the so call religion of peace