ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Defence has sought details of the drone strikes carried so far by the US-led NATO forces inside Pakistan’s territory causing injury and deaths to innocent civilians.
It decided that a unanimous motion would be moved in the Senate to call upon the government to demand compensation from NATO on the losses inflicted by the drone strikes to innocent civilians. The committee was presided over by its Chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed at Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS) on Thursday.
The chairman observed that drone strikes were a violation of the international laws, and the committee would make all-out efforts to provide relief to the innocent civilians.
The committee thanked Senator Javed Abbasi for raising the issue of drones. It also adopted a unanimous resolution to express solidarity with people of India-occupied Kashmir (IoK) struggling for their right to self-determination and independence from the Indian occupied forces.
The resolution condemned the barbaric approach adopted by the Indian forces to suppress the indigenous movement for their rights. The resolution was moved by Senator Sehar Kamran, which was unanimously adopted by the committee.
Earlier, the committee was given a detailed briefing by Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retd) Zamir-ul-Hassan on the situation along Pakistan-Afghanistan and Pakistan-India borders. He said that Pakistan shares a 2611km-long border with Afghanistan, having 975 border posts on the Pakistani side. Afghanistan, secretary defence said, has constructed 218 posts, but these were not enough to check the cross-border infiltration into Pakistani territory.
He said that, so far, 307 attacks have been carried this year by the militants penetrating into Pakistan’s area. He said 76 rounds are unofficial while 16 rounds are notified crossings. While briefing the committee on the construction of security fence, he informed that out of 2057km fence-able area, 43km has been fenced, and a project of Rs56bn has been conceived, which would be completed in two years. He stated that nearly 45 per cent territory of Afghanistan is still an ungoverned space, and militants infiltrate into Pakistani side for targeting civilians and the armed forces.
Replying to a question, the defence secretary said that Afghan president, during a meeting with COAS in Kabul, has expressed the desire that Pakistan should assist Afghanistan in the reconciliation process.
Regarding Pakistan-Indian borders, the defence secretary said that India is involved in targeting civilian population close to the LoC and Working Boundary, and even targeted the UN military observer team. He said that India is involved in the violation of human rights and international laws by using brutal force against the innocent civilians in IoK.
The recent drone strikes, he said, were not inside Pakistan’s territory.
He denied any confirmation of the death of Khalid Khurasani, leader of the banned outfit, in the strike; however, he added that Khalid Naray has been killed in the strike.
The committee was also given a detailed briefing on the compliance status of the decisions and directors of the committee.
The meeting was attended by Senators Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, Hidayatullah, Atta-ur-Rehman, Mir Kabir Ahmed Muhammad Shahi, Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum, Muhammad Javed Abbasi, Sehar Kamran, Brig (retd) John Kenneth Williams, and Saleem Mandviwala besides the defence secretary and other departments.
What compensation ??? Shoot down these drones !
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