Many of the ariel bombings are actually carried out by PAF, but are claimed as US drone attacks to deflect any accusation and responsibility.
Over 10,600 bombs dropped over FATA in 3 years.
PAF conducted 5,500 bombing runs in FATA since 2008.
That's is like over 10 bombing and 5 sorties average per day in last 3 years alone, which is many times more than the drone strikes.
thanks for your post
that’s what I appreciate about my fellow Indian members, when they contribute differently by not being smug, insulting and outright offensive..
Yes indeed there have been causalities from PAF bombings too, in one such case there were hundred dead but that was a mistake (although it doesn’t matter to the dead and grieved). And both PAF and PA apologized to the tribal people
PAF is only targeting the hotspots where the ground troops call in air and artillery support when they have pitched battles or when they discover enemy hideouts and camps. If you recall the video footages of such PAF sorties you will notice secondary explosions from the arms and ammunition dumps. but still the figures you quoted merit futher investigation but they are not a free pass for the argument of drone strikes.
The drone strikes are different in a sense that they are actually targeted regardless of the presence of civilians around. Sometimes it appears that they are being directed by some sadist and a maniac who repeatedly targets public gathering , funerals and weddings. One can only attribute them as a part of a psywarfare to cause misery and helplessness among the victims because its hardly WoT and winning hearts and minds. PA and Pak government spends time and effort to separate the tribal people from the Taliban and next day a drone strike kills the people who have actually vowed to fight the Taliban. after RD affair CIA on purpose targeted one such gathering that was being protected by tribal volunteers and paramilitary forces from a possible attack from Taliban but sadly it was the USA that did it whose president few days ago lied in the face of the world saying Raymond had diplomatic immunity whereas in fact he wasn’t even on legit passport and was part of CIA’s blackops.
You are bound to get more reaction when an outsider comes in and commits a crime, just because some country has law and order situation doesn’t mean that “allies” also join in the carnage. During the Mombai terror attacks the total death toll was nothing compared to the deaths resulting from the domestic crimes including robberies, gang wars etc but Indians were roused because terrorists allegedly from JuD / Pakistan had stuck.
Anyone with a shred of morality and value for life cant justify this on going atrocity. It not just Pakistani NGOs but neutral world sources saying that the death toll from drone strikes is 10 civilians for every alleged terrorist killed. This is not war this is not inevitable this is murder and a crime. For 3000 deaths on 911 USA brought war on this region and in tribal belt alone it has killed over 10000 people. In Afghanistan due to lack of media coverage we don’t even know what is the scale of the atrocities.
Once the “heroes” will return home only then it will dawn upon the Afghans what has been happening to them the name of WoT. You and I only know about the civilian deaths in Afghanistan that happen in say Khost , Kandahar and Kabul at the hands of the American strikes but imagine what is happening outside in remote areas where they shoot and destroy anything that moves.
---------- Post added at 08:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:24 PM ----------
Oh just give it a break, the area is evacuated of civilians beforehand, a safe zone is established, a cordon is set around the area, the displaced are set up in camps, and then the operation starts. Just some months back, I saw a advertisement on a major newspaper that people should evacuate a certain area, in one week, because operation is going to be started there.
People have one week, they go. Then the air strikes are carried out, called in by a Artillery observer, or the Army units that are advancing.
Get a reality check.
thats what we did while clearing Swat, otherwise the collateral damage would have been huge.
