Pakistan restates demand to end US drone strikes

Dawn.com Published July 29, 2013

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Foreign Office on Monday issued a statement condemning the US drone strike conducted in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region a day earlier.

The statement issued by the Pakistani government condemned the US drone strike that took place in Shawal area in North Waziristan on the night of 28 July 2013, killing at least seven persons.

Pakistan has repeatedly emphasised the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes and declared the unilateral strikes as a violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the statement added.

The Foreign Office statement further said that the government consistently maintained that drone strikes were counter-productive, entailed loss of innocent civilian lives and had human rights and humanitarian implications.

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SKChadha

Jul 29, 2013 12:02pm

Very good .... cyclostyle the condemnation letter and press release keeping dates blank. Also emply some good orator and get the foreign office statment recorded for future replays.

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Mango Man

Jul 29, 2013 12:25pm

If somebody time and again enters my house, harasses my family and leaves, am I to just complain about it or actually do something? Pakistani government's cry to stop drone attacks - A Drama at its Best! All talk and no action! ...

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WAQAR HASSAN

Jul 29, 2013 12:26pm

In order to press the demand for ending the drone strikes Pakistan should make any future talks with USA officials including the secretary of state conditional unless the drone strikes are stopped

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Marri

Jul 29, 2013 12:32pm

In Pakistan, drone attacks have become common. They will attack you and you condemn them. Same old story. Instead of "requesting", Pakistan would have attacked these terrorists at the earliest. Atleast Pakistan would get some respect from the international community.

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Marek

Jul 29, 2013 12:46pm

Perhaps if Pakistani military and border guards were able and willing to stop the tribal people from crossing the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan to participate in the guerilla warfare there against the Afghani government (which is aided by NATO), there would be no drone activity spanning the border. It is only reasonable that the people using the drones are fighting the fight where the fighters are.

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Iqbalkhan

Jul 29, 2013 12:51pm

I want to thanks the US for eliminating those terrorists and request the CIA to continue these attacks since our govt has no desire to kill these criminals.

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harish kulkarni

Jul 29, 2013 01:17pm

Is this a real serious request or one of those front page stories?

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w.shaikh

Jul 29, 2013 02:19pm

@Iqbalkhan: I gnorance is hazardous to your health. Do you know what happened to Mir Qasim and Mir Jaffer?

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Zishi

Jul 29, 2013 02:20pm

We all know that drone strikes are happening with mutual understanding. Pakistan government and Army should stop being a hypocrite and accept this and stop condemning it to please our ears. I request them to stand up to this and restore our dignity and pride. Second option is to publicly accept that this is happening with mutual understanding. Accepting it will at least tell the world that this is happening with our consent because at the moment we are making a joke of ourselves as a nation.

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Mian

Jul 29, 2013 02:21pm

If Pakistan has not siged any agreement on drowns with USA then they should allow the media to visit the sight and highlight the vicitms and show the truth

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Khurram Jadoon

Jul 29, 2013 02:24pm

@Marek: What the forces on other side of the border are doing? Why they cannot stop border crossings? Does it mean that Pakistan can bomb across the borders too? A complete non-sense !

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Khurram Jadoon

Jul 29, 2013 02:27pm

@WAQAR HASSAN: Yes talk as well as bring some drones down first -

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shafiq khan

Jul 29, 2013 04:56pm

@Marek: A good idea, but why it becomes Pakistan's duty to do that why not ask that of NATO or the Afghan President? All governments in the world stop people entering their country without valid papers, why can not Afghanistan do that with the help of NATO? I am not against NATO or Afghanistan but honesty demands that you should ask this question of all concerned.

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Marek

Jul 30, 2013 04:14am

@shafiq khan: I don't know the answer to your question, but I will venture a guess, that the terrain makes it extremely difficult to do effective border sealing on the part of Afghani government. This is why Pakistanis have to reason with their population not to do what they apparently are doing. And I will remind you, that nations the world over reserve the right to military retribution in self-defense, and taking matters into their own hands, if neighboring nation's residents (never mind citizens) come across and make trouble, as in wage war and kill people.

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Marek

Jul 30, 2013 04:15am

@Khurram Jadoon: Pakistan already does that in the case of India, and I am certain that Pakistan would do likewise if, say, Iranians, started to come from Iran and wage war on Pakistani territory.

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