US drone strikes illegal, govt should stop them – Pakistani court




A high court in Pakistan has ruled that US drone strikes in the country's tribal belt should be considered war crimes and directed the government to use force to "protect the right to life" of its citizens.

The Peshawar High Court has recommended the Pakistani government advance a resolution against the attacks in the United Nations. The court issued its verdict on the CIA-run air strikes in response to four petitions charging the attacks killed civilians and caused “collateral damage.”

Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan heard the petitions, and ruled that drone strikes on sovereign Pakistani territory were illegal, inhumane and a violation of the UN charter on human rights.

“The government of Pakistan must ensure that no drone strike takes place in the future,” the court said on Thursday, according to the Press Trust of India. Khan also asked Pakistan's foreign ministry to file a resolution against the attacks in the UN.

The court also recommended that if the US rejects these findings in the UN, Pakistan should break off relations with Washington: “If the US vetoes the resolution, then the country should think about breaking diplomatic ties with the US.”



The Pakistani case was filed last year by the Foundation for Fundamental Rights, a charity based in Islamabad, on behalf of the families of victims killed in a drone attack on a tribal jirga, including more than 50 tribal elders and a number of government officials.

According to a report submitted by political officials of North Waziristan Agency, 896 Pakistani residents of the region were killed in the last five years ending December 2012, and 209 were seriously injured. A report by the South Waziristan Agency showed that 70 drone strikes were carried out in the last five years ending June 2012, in which 553 people were killed and 126 injured.

"In view of the established facts, undeniable in nature, under the UN Charter and Conventions, the people of Pakistan have every right to ask the security forces either to prevent such strikes by force or to shoot down intruding drones," the court verdict said.

Shahzad Akbar, a lawyer for victims in the case, hailed this as a “landmark” judgment: “Drone victims in Waziristan will now get some justice after a long wait. This judgment will also prove to be a test for the new government: If drone strikes continue and the government fails to act, it will run the risk of contempt of court,” he said, according to the website of legal action charity Reprieve.
Killing terrorists, breeding enemies

The United States regularly targets Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan's mountainous tribal regions accused of carrying out cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. Washington claims the operations are done in cooperation with Pakistan's military.

Human rights groups, however, criticize the “collateral damage” of innocent civilian deaths caused by the attacks, and point to the shroud of secrecy surrounding drone use.

“Drone attacks on northwest Pakistan, which commenced under former US President George W. Bush in 2004, have increased sevenfold under Obama and has caused the deaths of thousands of suspected terrorists and at least hundreds of civilians in Pakistan and Yemen,” Bloomberg reported in April.

Even some of America’s leading commanders fear blowback over the indiscriminate use of this new military technology.

“The resentment created” by Washington’s newfound reliance on drone strikes “is much greater than the average American appreciates,” General Stanley McChrystal, the former top commander in Afghanistan, told Reuters in January. The use of drones adds to “the perception of American arrogance that says, ‘We can fly where we want, we can shoot where we want, because we can.”’

At the same time, America’s foreign critics seem to be gaining ground as Washington continues to pursue drone warfare.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) party is considered the favorite in this Saturday's election, recently vowed that he would not permit drone attacks on Pakistani soil.

“Drone attacks are against the national sovereignty and a challenge for the country's autonomy and independence,” he said.

Clive Stafford Smith of the London-based group Reprieve said the court’s ruling is a step toward greater transparency in Washington’s use of drone technology: “Today's momentous decision by the Peshawar High Court shines the first rays of accountability onto the CIA's secret drone war,” the Independent quoted him as saying.

The innocent people killed by American drone strikes are civilian victims of US war crimes, he added.

http://rt.com/news/pakistan-us-drone-illegal-093/

Barry should have to compensate the victims out of his own pocket or with his own life.

We, the people sure's hell didn't order innocent kids killed.

International Law is being broken on an unprecedented scale. The problem is, who is going to prosecute America. America are the UN as has been seen on numerous occasions in the case of Israel. America is in control. That of course allows America to be out of control. Too bad about innocent men ,women and children.

America isn't who should be prosecuted.

The owner of the order to commit the illegal act should be.

I'm all for wasting extremist Muslims and Muslims who follow Sharia. I just believe it should be done legally and leave the innocents and kids out of it.

Funny how you always bring Israel in the Game,as if they were flying Drones in Pakistan!

All persons connected to that order should be prosecuted, not just The President. It's thee American Government that is at fault and the people of America elected that Government, or so we are led to believe. Waste of time scapegoating The President. The so called American Allies should also end up in the dock. This is far bigger than the POTUS. AMERICA IS CENTRAL TO THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD .

That was in the context of International Law and Americas power of veto in the UN. Nothing funny about it at all.

barry is in the UN... has nothing to do with Israel, it's barry and the UN and a one world government... i don't think Israel wants that...

yep,it is funny,since Israel has Zilch to do with the Issue at hand!
Strange you are always bringing that up!
It's not even in Context!

I tend to look at the world as one interconnected entitiy. As far as drone strikes in Pakistan or Airstrikes in Syria Bombings in Boston , they are all connected. We are one global community now. The nation state is no more. That is what is happening before our eyes. We may be too late to stop it.

Burn your Passport then,you don't need it any more!

Eliminate the funding and profits and you eliminate the problem!

Take the profit out of war and we will soon have peace.

When the U.K. fought against Nazi Germany during WWII, was the U.K. fighting for profit?

No, America was the main beneficiary from that.

Are you serious?

The USA stayed out of WWII until Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese military. Japan declared war on the USA first.

BullMalarkyX1000

Yes I am serious. Explain to me how America was riding the crest of a wave at the end of WW11 and Britian was flat broke. The UK paid its last installment to the US for services rendered less than three years ago I believe.

Many People in US blame the President for everything and that is really Ridiculous.

There is a difference between something being an outcome of a war and something being the motivation for a war.

After WWI, members of the American general public were in no mood to be involved in any more wars. However, the USA was forced into war when the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor.

Now, if you are questioning the ability of the USA to experience an economic revival at the end WWII, then that is easy to explain.

First, the USA mainland wasn't subjected to the bombings that England was subjected to. So, the production abilities of U.S. industries were not harmed the same way that the production abilities of English industries were harmed.

Second, the USA had more manpower and natural resources than England, and so, it was only natural that industry in the USA was able to thrive more than English industry.

No, the USA didn't enter WWII for economic gain. The USA was still trying to come out of a depression when the attack on Pearl Harbor took place. That attack woke up the American spirit, which would not allow Japan to get away with such an attack without being punished.