US Drone Strike Kills Five in North Waziristan as Lawsuit Looms

Family of Slain Civilian Files Suit Against Pakistan for Not Stopping the Attacks

Fresh off of a major anti-drone march across northern Pakistan, the US has struck again. This time the drones attacked a house in Mir Ali, North Waziristan Agency, killing five people. Officials say they have no indication of the identities of any of the victims.

The strike seems ill-timed, bringing yet more attention to the march, and also coming as a lawsuit is getting underway in Peshawar, where the family of one of the civilians killed in a 2011 US strike is suing.

The lawsuit, brought by the family of Daud Khan, one of scores of civilians killed in an attack on a tribal jirga on March 17, 2011, seeks redress from the Pakistani government for failing to pursue any sort of action against those who killed him, as well as to press Pakistan to stop such attacks in the future.

The lawsuit focuses on Pakistan’s Constitution, which obliges the government to protect the life and liberty of its citizens. It is the first major legal challenge to the attacks launched in Pakistan, while lawsuits seeking more details about the attacks have stalled in the US on claims of national secrecy.

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.