Nawaz Sharif on Drones

[Awesome]

I think Nawaz is playing both sides again. He is pro-Drones and anti-drones, depending upon what suits him. Let's document his movement against drones

New Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif calls on US to halt drone strikes - World News

By Fakhar ur Rehman, Waj S. Khan and John Newland, NBC News

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's newly elected prime minister on Wednesday called on the United States to stop carrying out drone strikes on his country's soil.

"We respect the sovereignty of others, but others don't respect our sovereignty. These daily drone attacks must stop," Nawaz Sharif said in his maiden address to the 342-member National Assembly.
Sharif was sworn in Wednesday by President Asif Ali Zardari after his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party won a majority of seats in the assembly and its parliamentarians voted him into power as their leader.

"Building good relations with the U.S. based on mutual respect and interest" will be a top priority for Sharif, one of his senior aides said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not yet authorized to publicly address policies.


When asked how Sharif would try to persuade the U.S. to stop launching drone strikes, the aide said, "We will try to convince the U.S. that drones are doing no good to promote dialogue."
Slideshow: Pakistan: A nation in turmoil


Whatever his ambitions, Sharif is likely to be forced to "take a cautious line" on drone strikes, said Raza Rumi, director at the Jinnah Institute, a progressive Islamabad-based think tank.
"He is appeasing the popular outrage against drones and also keeping the imperatives of Pakistan's vital engagement with the U.S., and its commitment," Rumi said. "But as PM it would be difficult for Sharif to balance the two conflicting realities, and it would test his diplomatic and political skills."
Obama recently outlined changes to the drone program that would limit the cases in which strikes could be used.

But Sharif faces other daunting tasks. In addition to appeasing his countrymen without alienating a superpower, the new prime minister's "major challenge is the peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan," the senior aide said.

Additionally, he must manage relations with Pakistan's nuclear-armed neighbor and historical foe, India.

At home he faces a growing wave of militancy and extremism, an energy crisis and a perilous economy, as well as the need to maintain control of the nation's powerful military, with which he has a contentious history.

Sharif, embarking on an unprecedented third term as prime minister, was first elected in 1990 but was forced to resign in 1993 by the chief of the army over differences with the president. He was elected again in 1997, but his government was overthrown by Gen. Pervez Musharraf in October 1999.

Even if he manages those tasks, he will face powerful opposition within the General Assembly, though one fierce opponent said his party would be more inclined to back Sharif if he makes headway in stopping U.S. drone strikes.

"We will not be a friendly opposition," said Javed Hashmi of Imran Khan's Movement for Justice (PTI) party. "We will criticize and check this government if it works against the interests of Pakistan. But, one area where Mr. Nawaz Sharif can expect our support is in stopping the drone menace. If he makes a serious plan to restore our sovereignty and stop the drone attacks, then he will have our support."

 

[Cherokee]

This is good Opportunity for Nawaz . If he stands up against Drone attacks whole nation will stand behind him . Lets see how he plays and also the Military .

 

[Awesome]

US embassy cables: Nawaz Sharif reinforces 'pro-American' position | World news | guardian.co.uk

8. (C) The best thing America has done recently, said Nawaz, was arrange to have General Kayani named as Chief of Army Staff. This appointment is helping Army morale and raising the level of public respect for the Army. Noting that Musharraf met the UK equivalent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Khan said the U.S. and the UK need to stop treating Musharraf as if he still ran the military. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Fallon would have met with Musharaf if the President had not been travelling, asserted Khan. Ambassador replied that we had excellent relations with the Pakistani military and meet them all the time at various levels.

We are Pro-American

-------------------

9. (C) Nawaz and Khan both repeatedly said that the PML-N was pro-American. Nawaz recounted his decision to override his Chief of Army Staff and deploy Pakistani troops to Saudi Arabia in support of the U.S. coalition in the first Gulf War

10. (C) Comment: The fact that a former Prime Minister believes the U.S. could control the appointment of Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff speaks volumes about the myth of American influence here

Remember Nawaz pleaded about his pro-US stance to the American Ambassador?

 

[Cherokee]

Pro US and Pro Drones are Two different things

 

[Awesome]

US drone strikes in N Waziristan welcome Nawaz Sharif to office | Business Standard

A U.S. drone strike killed seven people and wounded three in northwest Pakistan late on Friday, security officials said, in the first such attack since the swearing-in of Nawaz Sharif as prime minister this week.

In his inaugural address to parliament, Sharif called for an immediate end to U.S. drone strikes on militants, which many view as a breach of Pakistan's sovereignty.

The bombing comes 10 days after a similar U.S. drone attack killed the Pakistani Taliban's second-in-command, Wali-ur-Rehman, and six others in a major blow to the militant group.

President Barack Obama said last month the United States would scale back drone strikes, only using them when a threat was "continuing and imminent".

Friday's attack was on a compound near the Afghan border in North Waziristan region, 45 km (25 miles) west of the regional capital Miranshah. At least two missiles were fired from the unmanned aircraft and the death toll could rise, the sources said.

Drone casualties are difficult to verify. Foreign journalists must have permission from the military to visit the Pashtun tribal areas along the Afghan border. Taliban fighters often seal off the sites of drone strikes immediately.

US showing Nawaz Sharif his place. Zyada baatein na kar, ghulam!

Pro US and Pro Drones are Two different things

Obviously they are two different things, but neither equates to Pro-Pakistan.

 

[Ayush]

drones are gonna continue

 

[Awesome]

New Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif launches term on vow to stop U.S. drone strikes - CBS News

Newly-elected Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called Wednesday for an end to U.S. drone strikes in the country's embattled tribal areas, along the Afghan border, choosing to open his term on an issue which unites most Pakistanis, but remains a thorn in relations with Washington, a vital ally.

Speaking in parliament just minutes after winning a vote of confidence to take the role of prime minister, Sharif said the "daily routine of drone attacks, this chapter shall now be closed."

"We do respect others' sovereignty. It is mandatory for others that they respect our sovereignty," he told the assembly. His remarks were met with applause from many other newly-elected members of parliament.

Complete coverage: Drones Take Over

The U.S. drone strikes remain a difficult issue for Pakistan and the U.S. in spite of ongoing security cooperation in a number of areas. The two nations' militaries and intelligence services have worked together to battle the Islamic militant groups based in Pakistan, and the partnership is crucial as Washington seeks to wind-down its war in neighboring Afghanistan.

Sharif -- along with other Pakistani mainstream politicians -- made denouncing the hugely unpopular U.S. strikes a cornerstone of his election campaign.

While the U.S. government never officially confirms the drone strikes, the CIA is widely believed to be behind them, including the most recent attack on May 29, which killed Waliur Rehman, the deputy leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban.

The successful strike served to reinforce the two-fold stance often used by U.S. officials to justify the attacks; the slain Rehman was a notorious militant known to have overseen the killings of a number of his opponents, including Pakistani military officers and soldiers. Secondly, Rehman's killing on Pakistani territory highlighted the fact that large swathes of the country simply remain out of the reach of the government's own security forces.

A senior Western defense official in Islamabad, who spoke to CBS News on the condition of anonymity after Sharif's speech, called drone strikes "a remarkably complex matter" for Washington and Islamabad.

"It is not that easily resolved," he said. "Unless Pakistan successfully takes charge of its own territory and makes certain that there are no militants actively operating there, outside powers, including the U.S., will feel obliged to target them."

Pakistan has deployed almost 150,000 troops to the region along the Afghan border -- roughly one-third of its army -- to try and reign in groups like the TTP. However, in spite of carrying out the battle for more than a decade, the terror organization and its ilk continue to operate with relative impunity.

A second Western official -- a senior diplomat who is also based in Islamabad -- told CBS News on Wednesday that Sharif's ability to take charge of defense policy remains in question. Pakistan has been ruled by its army for almost half of its existence as an independent state.

Sharif has become the country's prime minister now for the third time. His last tenure was cut short in 1999, when he was removed in a military coup led by General Pervez Musharraf.

"Pakistan's armed forces in the past have been a force of their own. They have not taken the cue from civilian politicians," said the diplomat, who also asked not to be identified. "We simply don't know if the new prime minister will be able to take charge and order the armed forces, for instance, to shoot down a U.S. drone."

© 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

First U.S. drone strike under new Pakistan prime minister kills seven | Reuters

(Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike killed seven people and wounded three in northwest Pakistan late on Friday, security officials said, in the first such attack since the swearing-in of Nawaz Sharif as prime minister this week.

In his inaugural address to parliament, Sharif called for an immediate end to U.S. drone strikes on militants, which many view as a breach of Pakistan's sovereignty.

The bombing comes 10 days after a similar U.S. drone attack killed the Pakistani Taliban's second-in-command, Wali-ur-Rehman, and six others in a major blow to the militant group.

President Barack Obama said last month the United States would scale back drone strikes, only using them when a threat was "continuing and imminent".

Friday's attack was on a compound near the Afghan border in North Waziristan region, 45 km (25 miles) west of the regional capital Miranshah. At least two missiles were fired from the unmanned aircraft and the death toll could rise, the sources said.

Drone casualties are difficult to verify. Foreign journalists must have permission from the military to visit the Pashtun tribal areas along the Afghan border. Taliban fighters often seal off the sites of drone strikes immediately.

(Reporting by Saud Mehsud in Dera Ismail Khan and Jibran Ahmed in Peshawar; Writing by Syed Raza Hassan; Editing by Randy Fabi and Andrew Roche)

WORLD

 

[livingdead]

NS has the capability to stop drones. He just need to take a stand.

 

[Cheetah786]

 

[muse]

"Unless Pakistan successfully takes charge of its own territory and makes certain that there are no militants actively operating there, outside powers, including the U.S., will feel obliged to target them."

Why is this statement unreasonable?

 

[xyxmt]

US embassy cables: Nawaz Sharif reinforces 'pro-American' position | World news | guardian.co.uk







Remember Nawaz pleaded about his pro-US stance to the American Ambassador?

why does any leader have to be Anti-US??
is there a shame in being pro American, do you have the back bone to stand against US?
how did Nawaz pleaded his pro-US stance to Americans?

 

[Awesome]

Why is this statement unreasonable?

I personally think, less violence is needed. Taking control of that region entails killing people of that region some more, i.e. joining Americans in killing people of FATA till they scare down and give you control.

On paper this looks nice, until you read into the psychology of those people who are fundamentally revenge driven.

So if you look at it that way it definitely is unreasonable, since my option to get control of FATA - mass genocide in FATA - is quite unreasonable to me.

 

[muse]

I personally think, less violence is needed. Taking control of that region entails killing people of that region some more, i.e. joining Americans in killing people of FATA till they scare down and give you control.

On paper this looks nice, until you read into the psychology of those people who are fundamentally revenge driven.

So if you look at it that way it definitely is unreasonable, since my option to get control of FATA - mass genocide in FATA - is quite unreasonable to me.

Objections:

1. You suggest that we propose genocide - we don't
2. You suggest that the area contested is one in which there is great Talib support -- If this were true, then the decision is whether you allow it to secede or not, that is to say allow the creation of the Emirate of Talibistan - However your suggestion is fundamentally incorrect, far from great support for the Talib, the contested area is starved for Pakistan govt attention and services, including it's full integration into the Pakistan economy.
3. The suggestion that we the Pakistan society and state are not "Revenge Driven" - After all, what then explains the hostility towards the Indian - we are no slouches in the revenge dept.
4. You imagine that we speak of the region as if our information were from books.

 

[Awesome]

Objections:

1. You suggest that we propose genocide - we don't

I know you don't propose it, but you do propose killing a few of the bad ones.

Since no one is capable of just killing the bad ones, ultimately you'll kill enough of the good ones as well each time to turn their surviving family into the bad ones and the cycle will continue. So if you ARE going to kill the good ones, then just leave no survivor and your issues are resolved.

Or think of something other than killing to solve your problem to begin with.

2. You suggest that the area contested is one in which there is great Talib support -- If this were true, then the decision is whether you allow it to secede or not, that is to say allow the creation of the Emirate of Talibistan - However your suggestion is fundamentally incorrect, far from great support for the Talib, the contested area is starved for Pakistan govt attention and services, including it's full integration into the Pakistan economy.

There may be more than average Taliban support, I don't know. But I think there is overwhelming support to concepts such as revenge. The reason they will come after you primarily is not Islam, but their own philosophy of an eye for an eye.

Conceding is also something I don't agree with. I don't really have a solution other than let's try to find a solution.

3. The suggestion that we the Pakistan society and state are not "Revenge Driven" - After all, what then explains the hostility towards the Indian - we are no slouches in the revenge dept.

Yeah, but we are smarter than them tribal folk as well aren't we? If we care about revenge and we care about ending the violence. Kill them all and be done with it.

But if we can't justify that, then there's no point in killing them a little.

4. You imagine that we speak of the region as if our information were from books.

The problem is that we know that region first hand so we can't justify killing with no end as the Americans do with the drones. We have seen tribal folk lose their entire families to Drone attacks. We KNOW how many of the good folk get killed in the drone strikes. The US may have an official policy of not recording how many people are being killed in drone strikes, but we know the number is well into the thousands and the number of children is well into the hundreds.

Drone attacks simply unacceptable: Nawaz - DAWN.COM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Saturday categorically said that the drone attacks must stop as they were violating the country's sovereignty and international laws.

“Drone attacks must stop. We have protested many a time. This is simply unacceptable,” he commented in a meeting with German Foreign Minister Dr Guldo Westerwelle who called on the prime minister along with a six-member delegation at the Prime Minister's House.

During the meeting, the German Foreign Minister discussed with Sharif bilateral relations as well as the prevailing regional situation.

He conveyed his best wishes and on behalf of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the prime minister.

Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan regarded Germany as a close friend and as the prime minister it would be his endeavor to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

He hoped that Pakistan would benefit from the technological advancement and economic development of Germany.

Power shortages and business investment

Dilating on the acute power shortage in the country, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said his government was working on a plan to overcome load shedding.

He invited the German investors to exploit this opportunity by investing in Pakistan's power sector.

He said Pakistan welcomed that German investors set up thermal power plants which could be run on coal and gas and offered to facilitate the setting up of their plants near coal mines in Pakistan.

The prime minister expressed hope that German investors should visit Pakistan to see the business climate and opportunities that Pakistan had to offer.

The German foreign minister informed the prime minister that his country's government was keen to send a business delegation to Pakistan and the German Ambassador in Pakistan would be facilitating the visit of this delegation comprising 60 German businessmen, which would be visiting Pakistan shortly.

Dr Westerwelle proposed that joint investment conference be held in Pakistan in which German and Pakistani investors should participate and share their knowledge and explore the prospects of investment in Pakistan.

He said Germany considered Pakistan as a country with great economic potential and proposed that the bilateral Chamber of Commerce presently functioning in Karachi be reactivated and upgraded to give further impetus to economic ties between the two countries.

The German foreign minister also assured Germany's continued support for Pakistan's efforts to get GSP Plus status in the European Union.

The prime minister thanked Westerwelle for the initiatives taken by Germany for deepening of Pak-German relations.

“There is a positive sentiment in the Pakistani business community which looks towards my government for good economic policies and encouraging the business sector,” the Prime Minister observed.

Recalling his previous tenures as the prime minister, he listed privatisation of banks and major industries in the public sector as factors which restored confidence of the business community.

As a result of economic reforms carried out by his government in the 1990s, the growth rate of Pakistan had reached seven per cent, he recalled.

Nawaz Sharif said, “We have a tough situation at hand but we have the team and the determination to turn around the economy”.

Afghanistan

The German foreign minister apprised the prime minister that he was coming from Kabul where he had meetings with President Karzai.

He conveyed the good wishes of Karzai and sought assessment of the regional situation.

The prime minister said President Karzai had phoned to congratulate him on his assumption of the office of the prime minister and also extended an invitation to visit Afghanistan.

Nawaz Sharif said that he had the opportunity of meeting President Karzai as leader of the opposition during the last few years.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan wanted to expand cooperation with Afghanistan and support the Afghan nation.

He said that there had to be a multi-pronged policy to tackle the situation in Afghanistan.

Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan was ready to facilitate the withdrawal of coalition troops from Afghanistan and hoped that the Afghan army and security forces would be able to manage the situation after the withdrawal of coalition troops from the country.

 

[muse]

Drone attacks simply unacceptable: Nawaz - DAWN.COM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Saturday categorically said that the drone attacks must stop as they were violating the country's sovereignty and international laws.

“Drone attacks must stop. We have protested many a time. This is simply unacceptable,”

Drones and deception


S Iftikhar Murshed
Sunday, June 09, 2013

The tragedy of Pakistan is that in this age of realism, its leaders are never realistic. They are creatures of absurd emotions, the consequences of which can be catastrophic. The chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, for instance, swears that were he prime minister, US drones would be shot down. A political commentator, who is also an incurable cynic, could not resist the temptation of citing an ancient proverb which says, “The real fool, such as the gods mock or mar, is he who does not know himself.”

But Imran Khan alone cannot be faulted for such inane pronouncements. Like a creeping cancer, the drone issue has eroded the ability of the country’s leadership to think rationally. As a consequence they reject outright the probability that the attacks have occurred with the consent of the previous governments. In his maiden speech at the National Assembly on Wednesday, marking the commencement of his third prime ministerial term, Mian Nawaz Sharif harped on the usual theme of national sovereignty and demanded that “the drone campaign should come to an end.”

The past needs to be revisited and incontrovertible facts have to be dispassionately examined if the new government is at all serious about formulating a cogent and credible policy on this issue. The first known drone strike in the country was on June 18, 2004, in Wana, South Waziristan which resulted in the killing of Nek Muhammad along with seven of his fighters. The storyline advanced by the Musharraf regime was that the militant leader had been killed in an army operation. This was the earliest indication – which went unnoticed – that a secret understanding had been reached with the Americans on drone operations.

In the initial phase from 2004 to 2007, there were only ten drone strikes and it was fairly easy to brush these under the rug, even though one of them had hit a seminary in Chenagai, Bajaur, on October 30, 2006, killing 70-80 people. But in 2008, the number of attacks suddenly soared to 33; they rose to 48 in 2009 and more than doubled to 97 the following year. Popular resentment was roused and condemnation of the strikes became progressively strident.

It was no longer possible for the government to remain silent in the face of the public outcry but its pronouncements were unconvincing and saturated with duplicitous phrases of resolve about safeguarding the country’s territorial integrity. In his second address to the joint session of the National Assembly and the Senate on March 28, 2009, President Asif Ali Zardari vaguely alluded to the drone operations when he reiterated the hackneyed slogan that Pakistan would never countenance the violation of its sovereignty.

But this ridiculous posturing served no purpose other than to undermine the government’s own credibility. Zardari’s speechwriter should have known that the cat was out of the bag because two or three days earlier, the chairperson of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Dianne Feinstein, stated publicly that drones had been taking off from airbases in Pakistan with the consent and approval of the authorities in Islamabad.

This was corroborated by the WikiLeaks disclosures which cited a cable sent in August 2008 by US ambassador Anne Patterson on her meeting with former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, in which the irrepressible interior minister, Rehman Malik, was also present. Patterson reported to her government that “Malik suggested we hold off alleged Predator attacks until after the Bajaur operation, (but) the PM brushed aside Rehman’s remarks and said: ‘I don’t care if they do it as long as they get the right people. We’ll protest in the National Assembly and then ignore it.’”

Neither Feinstein’s statement nor the contents of Patterson’s cable were ever denied or contradicted by the PPP-led coalition. These disclosures, however, compelled the government to concede that the drone attacks had been effective in targeting terrorist outfits. In time it also stopped dismissing perceptions of its support for the operations as the speculative ramblings of the mentally unemployed.

But it was not till the spring of 2011, that Pakistan gradually became more open about its actual stance. On March 8 of that year, Maj Gen Ghayur Mehmood, GOC of the 7th Infantry Division gave a rare briefing to reporters in Miranshah, North Waziristan in which he left no doubt that the overwhelming majority of those killed in the drone attacks were Al-Qaeda and TTP fighters. Subsequently a paper titled ‘Myths and Rumours about US Predator Strikes’ was distributed among the journalists.

Prime Minister Gilani was even more forthright. In the course of an interview to Time magazine in May 2011, he openly admitted that his government supported the drone operations. Four months later, on September 27, former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar addressed the Asia Society in Washington and affirmed that Pakistan was not against drone strikes but qualified this by adding “... we have to find ways that are lawful...”

Khar’s insistence on working out the modalities to legalise drone operations was sheer nonsense for two reasons. First, her own prime minister had publicly stated that Pakistan supported the strikes and second, reports sourced to American officials had surfaced earlier in the year that Washington and Islamabad had agreed on a mechanism for drone flights. Under this arrangement, the US would merely notify Pakistan through fax about intended strikes, and all that was required of the relevant authorities in Islamabad was to acknowledge receipt. This report, again, has never been denied and, therefore, must be presumed to be accurate.

In April this year former president and army chief, Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf, unabashedly told CNN that his government had on occasions – few and far-between – colluded with the US on drone strikes “but only if there was no time for our own military to act.” He even conceded for the first time that Nek Muhammad had actually been killed in a Predator attack in June 2004 and not by the Pakistan Army as had been claimed at the time.

These are the unvarnished facts that need to be thought through and mulled over by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Three elements in particular need to be addressed by the new government. First, there has to be clarity whether the drone operations constitute an infringement of the country’s territorial integrity or a violation of its sovereignty if they have been carried out with the permission of the Pakistan government.

Second, the PML-N leadership must come to terms with the reality that the drone operations will not be terminated though the number of strikes will be reduced after US troops withdraw from Afghanistan. This was made clear by President Obama in his address at the American National Defence University last month when he said “...the progress we’ve made against core Al-Qaeda will reduce the need for unmanned strikes.”

Third, the recent drone attack that resulted in the killing of the deputy leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Waliur Rehman, has demonstrated yet again that the banned outfit is irretrievably splintered. The US State Department disclosed that Rehman had been successfully targeted on a tip-off provided to American intelligence by the Hakimullah Mehsud faction of the TTP. Since then Fazal Farooq Haqqani, the TTP commander in the Kurram Agency, has also broken away from Mehsud and formed his own group.

These are the factors that need to be brainstormed within the ‘charmed circle’ of the PML-N’s policy formulation team. What emerges is that the initiation of negotiations with the TTP is a self-defeating proposition. Furthermore, instead of making futile statements on drone operations, the government should focus on reviving the crippled economy. This is the time for the new prime minister to recast the country’s foreign policy priorities. The emphasis has to be on economic diplomacy.