Drone attacks on targets in the tribal areas in Pakistan, as a vital part of the Obama administrations strategy to dismantle militant hideouts and strongholds, have already been accelerated to an alarming degree in terms of frequency, and the latest request by Washington to extend its geographical scope to include the provincial capital reveals the extent to which the US can go in order to secure its interests in the region without attaching importance to those actually inhabiting the area.
Lets just begin with the initial rationale of conducting drone attacks upon Pakistani soil to save the US from being terrorized for which the sovereignty of other countries is backgrounded into oblivion. The latest request, however, should not come as a surprise as the tacit agreement by the Pakistan government to allow drone attacks upon its territory, at all, speaks of a weak resistance mechanism that begins with strong refusals and loud claims to gradually transforming into meek acceptance.
The outright rejection of such a blatantly hegemonic suggestion will work well at this particular point, but it can be accepted that a change of heart from Islamabad may lead to the legitimization of such an operation that may become inevitable for eradicating terrorism that has found no other means of being controlled. That the US can be very demanding is no secret considering the pressure Pakistan endures after its refusal to launch an operation in N Waziristan.
Apparently, every US strategy that aims to root out militancy in the area also involves extensive innocent killings of the Pakistani citizens and violation of all sorts of territorial and humanitarian laws that go unnoticed by the UN and other such humanitarian organizations. This dangerously gives an impression that it is actually Pakistan and not the Taliban that is under attack in this war. Would it be wrong then to assume that Americas war on terror is synonymous to Americas war on Pakistan? Will the government please wake up and do something about it?
LUBNA UMAR
Islamabad
