In a bid to force the US government to halt drone attacks in North Waziristan and provide compensation to the drone attack victims, two identical constitutional writ petitions were filed before the Peshawar High Court on Wednesday.
Islamabad-based attorney and Foundation for Fundamental Rights Director Barrister Shahzad Akbar filed the writ petition on behalf of the drone-attack victims, against the Pakistani government and the Foreign Affairs and Defence ministries. The petitioner cited the US drone attack on March 17, 2011 which resulted in the loss of 50 lives.
Noor Khan was the petitioner cited for the second petition. He is the surviving son of Malik Daud Khan, a tribal elder from North Waziristan who was killed during the drone attack.
The petition states that over 3,000 people have been killed by CIA operated US drone strikes in over 320 strikes in FATA, most of them occurring in the North Waziristan Agency (NWA). The petition is challenging both the complicity and the inaction of the Pakistani government and stated that the government has failed in its duty to protect its citizens.
Petition challenges govt’s complicity and inaction over drone attacks
