US Drone strikes in Pakistan are illegal under international law.

[roadrunner]

Post this stuff in the missile strikes thread please.

Not a helpful event.

 

[BaburCM]

By Hamid Mir

ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom and France have expressed serious reservations about the US drone attacks on the tribal areas and have assured Islamabad that they would ask Washington to stop these attacks as soon as possible.

These capitals maintain that such attacks have not produced any positive result. They also do not agree with some top US officials that Pakistan may collapse in the coming six months and that Islamabad will be taken over by the Taliban.

British special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Sir Sherard Cower-Coles and French special representative Pierre Lellouche met top Pakistani officials on Friday and Saturday in Islamabad and assured them of their full diplomatic and economic support. Thy met President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi apart from some important security officials.

The European diplomats discussed the security situation in Swat and the tribal areas with the Pakistani officials and made it clear that not a single European country was planning to shut down its embassy in Islamabad in the coming few months.

They also urged the Pakistani leadership to forge a united political front to deal with the growing threat of extremism.

Pakistani officials explained the reasons for making a truce with the Taliban in Swat through Maulana Sufi Muhammad. They said that the government had respected the public demand of enforcing the Shariah law in the Malakand Division and now it was the responsibility of Maulana Sufi Muhammad to bring peace to the area.

President Zardari told the European envoys that in the past, only two or three political parties had supported the military action against the Taliban but this time, in case the peace agreement did not work, all the parties would support such an action.

The foreign envoys agreed with the Pakistani leaders that there was no threat of a Taliban takeover of Islamabad and that some US officials were underestimating the capabilities of the Pakistani security forces.

Sir Sherard Coper-Coles assured the Pakistani leaders that he would try his level best to persuade the US to treat Pakistan with respect and dignity.

The British envoy also spent a few hours with the students of the Aitchison College in Lahore. He had to face some tough questions from the students, who criticised the US and British policies towards the Muslims.

Source: UK, France against drone attacks

 

[Metallic]

Suspected US missile strike kills six in Pakistan: officials
29 April 2009

PESHAWAR (AFP) - A missile strike by a suspected US drone on Wednesday killed at least six militants in northwest Pakistan's tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said.

The strike took place in Kanni Garam village of restive South Waziristan tribal district.

"Six people were killed after a missile fired from a spy plane hit a vehicle," a security official told AFP.

A local administration official and intelligence officials confirmed the missile strike.

"Those who had been killed in the strike are mostly Taliban militants," the security official said.

"A nearby house was also damaged in the missile strike," another security official said.

Earlier an official said that according to initial reports a house was hit in the missile strike.

Local resident Israr Jan said that he saw a missile hit a vehicle parked outside a house.

"We were standing at some distance and saw a vehicle being hit by a missile fired from a spy plane," Jan said.

Semi-autonomous South Waziristan is a stronghold of Pakistan's top Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud, who recently threatened to avenge missile strikes with attacks across the country and in the United States.

Earlier this month six suspected militants were killed in two similar strikes in the area.

The missile attacks follow US President Barack Obama's unveiling of a strategy to defeat extremists in South Asia that puts Pakistan at the heart of the fight against Al-Qaeda.

However, Pakistan's government is opposed to the attacks by unmanned aircraft, which it says violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among Pakistanis.

Around 370 people, including suspected militants, have died in around 39 such attacks since August 2008.

Pakistan has paid dearly for its alliance with the US in its "war on terror," with militant attacks killing more than 1,700 people since July 2007.

The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operating in neighbouring Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy drones in the region.


Source: AFP

 

[Solomon2]

Pakistan has paid dearly for its alliance with the US in its "war on terror," with militant attacks killing more than 1,700 people since July 2007.

Drivel. That's not how the cause-and-effect worked, and even if it was, that's opinion, not fact.

 

[Zob]

WANA: At least eight persons were killed and seven injured in U.S. drone missile attacks at Sararogha area in South Waziristan Agency (SWA).

Sources said that the U.S. drones fired four missiles on one house and madrassa at Sararogha area of South Waziristan, which left at least eight killed and seven wounded.

The local people helping themselves recovered eight bodies from under the debris, while seven persons were wounded, sources said.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=77172

 

[Zob]

great going US piss of the locals and the dwindling support for TTP will be rejuvenated

 

[Bill Longley]

at last Baitullah's area was hit

I hope some missile strike this sob's place

 

[Bill Longley]

امریکی حکومت کا موقف ہے کہ پاکستان اور امریکہ کے درمیان ان حملون پر انڈرسٹینڈنگ موجود ہے۔۔۔ جبکہ پاکستانی حکومت اس کا انکار کرتی آئی ہے۔۔۔امریکی حکام کا کہنا ہے کہ مشرف دور سے امریکہ اور حکومت کے درمیان مشتبہ القاعدا ٹھکانون پر حملون کی انڈ ر سٹینڈنگ موجود ہے۔۔۔ دلیل میں وہ ڈماڈولہ پر حملہ جسے خود پاک فوج نے اپنے سر لیا تھا۔۔۔کی مثال دیتے ہیں۔۔۔جبکہ صا بق صدر مشرف کا کہنا ہے کہ امریکی ڈرون حملون کی کوئی اجازت۔۔۔ انھون نےاپنے دور حکومت میں نہیں دی تھی۔۔۔ دوسری طرف ر اوبامہ انتظامیہ ان حملون کو جاری رکھنے اور اطلاعات پر ان حملوں میں شد ت لانے کا بار بار عندیہ دے رہی ہے۔۔۔ پاکستان کے وزیر اعظم یوسف رضا گیلانی عالمی فورمز پر بار بار یہ کہہ چکے ہیں کہ ان حملون سے دہشتگردی کی جنگ میں فائیدے کی جگہ صرف نقصان ہو رہا ہے۔۔۔ اور طالبان سے ہمدردی میں اضافہ ہو رہا ہے۔۔۔۔

LOST IDENTITY: DRONE ATTACKS...???? ???? ??? ???????۔۔۔

 

[Metallic]

U.S. drone attack kills at least five militants in Pakistan
9 May 2009

ISLAMABAD - Missiles fired by suspected pilotless U.S. drone aircraft struck a compound in a Pakistani region on the Afghan border on Saturday, killing at least five militants, intelligence and Taliban officials said.

Four missiles fired by two drones hit a compound in Sarorogha village in the South Waziristan tribal region, a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and a known al Qaeda and Taliban hotbed, one of the intelligence officials said.

"We have reports of at least five militants killed in the missile attack," said the official. The same figure was given by a Taliban official in the region.

Another intelligence official put the death toll at as high as 20, and said one of the missiles also hit a vehicle carrying militants.

The United States began increasing the frequency of drone attacks in Pakistan a year ago. There has been no let-up since President Barack Obama's administration took office in January, despite complaints from the Pakistani government.

The United States carried out about 40 drone air strikes since the beginning of last year, most since September, killing more than 300 people, according to a tally of reports from Pakistani intelligence agents, district government officials and residents.

Including Saturday's strike, there have been 15 attacks this year, with five in April.

Source: Reuters

 

[Metallic]

Suspected U.S. drone strike kills 8 in Pakistan
12 May 2009

Eight people were killed in northwest Pakistan after a suspected U.S. drone launched a missile strike on Tuesday, say Pakistani security officials.

The attack destroyed a house in the village of Sara Khora in the South Waziristan tribal region, they said.

The identities of those killed were not immediately known.

The mountainous South Waziristan is a Taliban hotbed and thought to be home to the leader of the militant group's Pakistan wing.

Two security officials, citing initial intelligence reports, said eight people died. They declined to be identified.

Yar Mohammad, a resident of the area, told The Associated Press by telephone that he had seen Taliban militants removing nine bodies from the building and taking them away in vehicles. The discrepancy over the number of deaths could not be reconciled immediately, but was not unusual in the aftermath of such attacks.

The U.S. military does not usually confirm whether such attacks have taken place.

The U.S. has increased its attacks in the past year, dispatching 40 such strikes since the start of 2008. There has been shifting from this strategy since Barack Obama was inaugurated as U.S. president in January —16 attacks have come this year, five of them in April.

The Pakistani government has decried attacks by unmanned U.S. drones, calling them an affront to sovereignty. Critics have said the missile strikes fuel anti-Western sentiment and boost support for militants.

U.S. officials say the strikes, apparently carried out by CIA drones, have killed a string of al-Qaeda operatives and minimized civilian casualties.


Source: CBC News

 

[ajpirzada]

lool.......... 'string of al qaeda ppl' and 100s of civillians.
gud going. thats y america will never win in afghanistan

 

[sohailbutt]

Keep on carrying on these missile strikes, the only thing that will happen is; America creates more hatred in the hearts and minds of Pakistani's, the leadership doesnot matter, because they are already sold out to US $$$.

I think Mr. Musharraf sold Pakistan soverneighty to US for $$$, simple, as bringing down the drones is not a difficult task, if PAf can bring down an Israeli drone operated by iaf in 2002 then why not US one's, but our government has turned a blind eye towards these strikes.

 

[Metallic]

Suspected US strike in Pakistan kills 10 militants
16 May 2009

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) — A suspected US missile strike killed 10 militants in a Pakistani tribal area near the Afghan border on Saturday, security officials said.

"It was a drone strike on a compound, where militants were staying," a security official said on condition of anonymity.

The compound was located in Khaisur village, 30 kilometres (18 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal region, known as a hub for Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants.

Confirming the strike and raising the death toll from four, another security official said, "Two missiles were fired from the drone, killing 10 militants."

He said there were two foreigners among the 10 killed while the rest were local militants.

It was not immediately clear whether any high value targets were killed.

The strike was the second suspected drone attack in the past four days. Eight militants were killed in an earlier strike on Tuesday in South Waziristan tribal region.

There have been more than 40 such strikes since August 2008, which have killed more than 380 people.

US President Barack Obama has adopted a new strategy to defeat Islamist extremists, putting Pakistan at the heart of the fight against Al-Qaeda.

Pakistan publicly opposes the attacks, saying they are counter-productive and violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace.

The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy drones in the region.

Pakistan has called for military equipment and drones in order to better attack the extremists itself, and thus save the government from the furious anti-US backlash that officials say weakens Islamabad's rule.

US officials said the United States was not ready to hand over Predators to the Pakistani government. Washington has, however, started sharing with Islamabad surveillance data collected by drones flying over Pakistan, top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen said Thursday.

Under heavy US pressure, Pakistan is pressing a ground and air assault against Taliban militants in three districts of North West Frontier Province, which unlike the tribal areas comes under direct government control.

More than 940 Taliban militants and 45 soldiers have been killed so far in the ongoing military operation launched in Lower Dir, Buner and Swat districts since April 26.

Pakistan rejects criticism that it does not do enough to counter Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants holed up on the Afghan border.

Pakistan's rugged tribal regions have been wracked by violence since becoming a stronghold for hundreds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels who fled across the border to escape the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.


Source: AFP

 

[Enigma SIG]

I think Mr. Musharraf sold Pakistan soverneighty to US for $$$, simple, as bringing down the drones is not a difficult task, if PAf can bring down an Israeli drone operated by iaf in 2002 then why not US one's, but our government has turned a blind eye towards these strikes.

why would pakistan shoot down drones that take off from pakistani airbases

on a serious note though; they should confirm the militant presence through ground intelligence by pakistan before striking a target. this way civilian losses would be curtailed and there wouldnt be huge editorials in newspapers on how the army is complicit with the US in killing its own people...

 

[ajpirzada]

fu**ing a$$holess.
25 killed. y shouldnt we kill 25 americans in return. my vain are gonna burst in a bit.
kill and call them militants. no one will question ur acts.

wats the gurantee that they were militants. their children will now be used for suicide bombings. who suffers in the end?? its pakistan.