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Awesome Saeenjee any comments on this story please?
Experts say Pakistan can now ask US to stop drone attacks - thenews.com.pk
Experts say Pakistan can now ask US to stop drone attacks
Akhtar Amin
Monday, June 03, 2013
PESHAWAR:
Legal experts say Pakistan is now in a better position to ask the US government to halt the drone attacks in its tribal areas in the wake of the verdict given by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) declaring the drone strikes as blatant violation of the country’s sovereignty and human rights.
They believe the recent drone attack that killed Waliur Rehman, deputy leader of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has diminished the chances of talks between the incoming government and the Taliban.
On May 9, the PHC division bench of
Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Musarrat Hilali declared the US drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas as a war crime and directed the federal government and the security forces to ensure halt to these attacks in addition to raising the issue at the UN Security Council and the General Assembly.
Senior lawyer Qazi Muhammad Anwar told The News that US drone strikes were not only against the international laws and the UN charter, but were also violation of the country’s sovereignty. “It is high time the military and civilian leadership sit together and convey a clear message to the US to stop the drone attacks and find an amicable solution to this issue,” argued Qazi Anwar, who is former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
About the PHC verdict on drone attacks, he said though it was a good decision the US could veto any resolution at the UN seeking an end to the drone strikes so it would be better if the country’s civilian and military leadership could find some solution to this issue and put pressure on the US to stop the drone attacks.
Fata Lawyers Forum (FLF) President Muhammad Ijaz Mohmand also hailed the PHC decision declaring the drone strikes against the international law and sovereignty of Pakistan. “We have been opposing the drone attacks since day one,” he said, adding the Taliban leadership could have reached peace agreement with the next government, but the killing of Waliur Rehman dashed all hopes as the TTP withdrew its talks offer.
In compliance with the PHC decision, he said the government should first ask the US authorities to stop the strikes and if they don’t do that then Pakistan should shoot down the drones.
Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Iqbal Mohmand, a representative of the federal government, had told the bench that there was no agreement between Islamabad and Washington to allow the US to carry out drone strikes in the tribal areas. He had said the drone attacks were a violation of the international law.
The bench ruled that in view of the established facts and figures with regard to civilian casualties and damage caused to the properties and livestock, the US government was bound to compensate all the victims at the assessed rate of compensation in dollars. The bench also ruled that in case the US authorities didn’t comply with the UN resolution, whether passed by the Security Council or by the UN General Assembly, Pakistan should sever all ties with the US.