17 Slain

At least 17 people were killed and several others injured in US drone strikes in South Waziristan Agency (SWA) on Sunday.
According to sources, four US drones fired 10 missiles at two compounds in different localities, including Bobar area of South Waziristan, home to militants of the Hakimullah Mehsud group of the Pakistani Taliban and the Haqqani network.
The compounds, which were completely destroyed, belonged to Qari Imran, a militant commander believed to be affiliated with the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group. He was said to be the target of the attacks.
As a result of the strikes, 17 people were killed while several others were left injured.
Foreign media agencies said the dead included Wali Muhammad, alias Toofan Mehsud, who was in charge of the Pakistani Taliban’s suiciders’ wing.
However, there was no official confirmation about the death of Wali Muhammad either from the government or from the Taliban.
The locals stayed away from rescue activities, as drones continued to fly over the agency for quite some time after the attacks, frightening the residents.
After a short period of calm, the US has restarted targeting militants through the unmanned planes and managed killing pro-government tribal leader Maulvi Nazeer in such an attack the other day. Drone attacks are deeply unpopular among the political leadership and the masses, who consider them a breach of the country’s sovereignty and stability of country. However, the Obama-led US administration believes the drone attacks are vital to cope with the menace of terrorism.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan strongly condemned the drone strikes in Waziristan on Sunday. In a statement, the PTI chief called upon the authorities to take the nation into confidence over the details and identify those killed in the strikes. Khan said drone attacks were a violation of international laws and also violated the country’s sovereignty. The PTI chief said the government had turned Pakistan into a banana republic and the US authorities were allowed to hit and kill any civilian at will inside the Pakistani territory. He expressed grief over the loss of lives and asked the authorities to identify those killed.