Musharraf_AFP_1_670
Former President of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf.—File Photo.

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has admitted for the first time that his government had made a secret deal with the United States for allowing drone strikes in Pakistan.

During an interview with CNN, the former president said that permission was given, "only on a few occasions, when a target was absolutely isolated and no chance of collateral damage."

This is the first time that any Pakistani official has publicaly admitted to giving permission for drone strikes, despite repeated denials.

In the interview Musharraf said Pakistani leaders would give permission for US drone strikes after discussions involving military and intelligence units and only if "there was no time for our own ... military to act."

Musharraf returned to Pakistan earlier this month to contest general elections, scheduled for May 11, after a self-imposed exile of almost five years.

The former military strongman is fighting a number of legal battles in court, including treason proceedings in the Supreme Court for imposing emergency in 2007. He is also implicated for the murder of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and the Lal Masjid case.

 Activists from the Jamia Hafsa seminary remove posters of former president Pervez Musharraf from poles in Islamabad. -Online Photo

Activists from the Jamia Hafsa seminary remove posters of former president Pervez Musharraf from poles in Islamabad. -Online Photo

Meanwhile in Islamabad, Panaflex posters and banners bearing the pictures of Pervez Musharraf were torn by female students of Jamia Hafsa on Friday evening, DawnNews reported.

Scores of females from the seminary ripped apart posters and banners and chanted slogans against Musharraf. They condemned Operation Silence launched by Musharraf during 2007.

Since his return to Pakistan, the former president has been facing scathing criticism from Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa.

Opinion

Editorial

Fragile peace
Updated 07 Jan, 2025

Fragile peace

WHILE a peace deal to end the violence in Kurram tribal district was signed on New Year’s Day between the warring...
Captive power cut
07 Jan, 2025

Captive power cut

THE IMF’s refusal to relax its demand for discontinuation of massively subsidised gas supplies to mostly...
National embarrassment
07 Jan, 2025

National embarrassment

PAKISTAN has utterly failed in protecting its children from polio, a preventable disease that has been eradicated...
Poll petitions’ delay
Updated 06 Jan, 2025

Poll petitions’ delay

THOUGH electoral transparency and justice are essential for the health of any democracy, the relevant quarters in...
Migration racket
06 Jan, 2025

Migration racket

A KEY part of dismantling human smuggling and illegal migration rackets in the country — along with busting the...
Power planning
06 Jan, 2025

Power planning

THE National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, the power sector regulator, has rightly blamed poor planning for...