UN’s Special Rapporteur considers them so too
Drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas have caused huge losses, both of life and property. With the issue being as complex as it is, particularly due to differing point of views of the US and Pakistan, its legality as per the international law is not clear, or at least it wasn’t, before the UN’s Special Rapporteur Ben Emmerson weighed in on the issue with his opinion, declaring the strikes a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, a position Pakistan had officially taken all along since the strikes started.
Pakistan’s stance stands to reason, mainly because it is Pakistan that has to lose in either case: if it approves these strikes, which, as WikiLeaks puts, political and military leadership of the country does behind closed doors, or if it doesn’t and stands up to the US, which it is in no position to do so, it could invite the US’ and international community’s wrath. However, over the years, what Islamabad has done is to protest against these attacks openly, a stance that has now been given support by the UN itself. But the politics behind these strikes is not that simple.
The issue at the heart of the discord on drone strikes is not about their legality or the damage they cause, it is more about why they are needed in the first place. True they cause huge collateral damage and are counter-productive, it is the why, not the how, these strikes are deemed necessary. If the drones are a violation of sovereignty of the state, so are the terrorist cells that are using Pakistan’s tribal areas and other conflict zones, and in some cases even peaceful areas, as sanctuaries to conduct their heinous acts of terrorism against not only the local population but also against other countries. These terrorist cells pose a threat to other countries, and if Islamabad is unable to, or unwilling to, take action against them, those countries might not give an ear to our protests and could take action to defend themselves through various means, including drone strikes.
A recent report says that three British Muslims including a convert pleaded guilty in court on Friday to travelling to Pakistan for terror training. With Pakistan being associated with such news ever so often in the international media, our case against the drones would lose credibility. It is time that Pakistan took up courage and decided to launch an operation in N Waziristan to establish the writ of the state by eliminating terrorist camps and thus removed the variable from the equation that has so far been against its interests.