PHC summons Musharraf for ‘allowing drone attacks’

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday issued a notice to former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf for allowing drone attacks in the tribal areas.
According to media reports, a two-member bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Maftahuddin Khan and Justice Seth Waqar was hearing a petition filed by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) and the Foundation for Fundamental Rights (FFR). The court also served a notice on Musharraf to appear in the next hearing and explain his position.
During the last hearing of the petition on September 21, the PHC had directed the federal government and the political agents of North and South Waziristan agencies to provide details of the US drone strikes in their respective areas, including the number of such attacks, names and number of people killed by them and other collateral damage.
The court had also ordered the federal government to provide attested copies of the resolution passed by the parliament and the minutes of the cabinet’s Defence Committee on drone attacks. It had also directed Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Mohammad Iqbal Mohmand to provide details of the protests lodged by the Foreign Office to the US government against these strikes and the follow-up to them.
The government had apprised the PHC earlier that there was no verbal or written agreement between Pakistan and the US on allowing drone attacks.
During Wednesday’s hearing, North Waziristan Agency Additional Political Agent Zahidurdin Babar submitted the details of casualties caused by drone strikes from 2008 to 2012 in a sealed envelop. In the last hearing, Babar had pleaded before the court that the political authorities could not move freely across the tribal belt due to sensitive law and order situation, and thus were unable to compile complete details of deaths caused by drones.
The petitioner pleaded that Musharraf was not appearing in the case so his arrest warrants must be issued, upon which the court issued notice on the former president.