LAHORE, Feb 22: The Lahore High Court (LHC) chief justice on Friday directed the federal government to apprise the court of any agreement between Pakistan and the US on drone attacks being carried out by the latter.

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial issued the direction during the hearing of a petition filed by Jamatud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed against drone attacks inside Pakistan by the US.

“Is the collateral damage caused by US drone attacks not violation of basic human rights? What is the justification for a drone strike on a school or civilian population to target one wanted ‘terrorist’?” the judge asked.

Justice Bandial directed a deputy attorney general to seek instructions from the federal government and tell the court whether the US drone strikes were being carried out with the permission of Pakistan or not. He adjourned the hearing till March 7.

Saeed pleaded in his petition that the federal government did not implement a joint resolution passed by the parliament against the US drone attacks. He said the US government was saying that drone attacks could be carried out anywhere in Pakistan.

The petitioner sought court directions for the government to make public all secret deals with the US because every citizen had the right to have access to information. He asked the court to declare that pre-emptive strikes by foreign countries were not permitted by the international law.