For over a decade the people of North Waziristan have faced serious threats to life and livelihoods due to the activities and presence of the Taliban, al-Qa’ida and other armed groups, the Pakistan armed forces, and US drone strikes. While the frequency of drone attacks has reduced over the last two years, the aircraft remain ever present in North Waziristan skies. “Local tribal people generally live in fear and stress and feel psychological pressure. They think they could be the target of a drone attack because wrong information might be given to drone operators,” a resident of Tappi village, the population center next to the village of Ghundi Kala where Mamana Bibi was killed, told Amnesty International. “Everyone is scared and they can’t get out of their house without any tension and from the fear of drone attacks. People are mentally disturbed as a result of the drone flights,” said a resident of Esso Khel, one of the most frequent sites of drone attacks. “We can’t sleep because of the planes’ loud sound. Even if they don’t attack we still have the fear of attack in our mind.”58 A number of people, including local doctors and medical dispensary operators, said some residents of drone-affected parts of North Waziristan had started taking sleeping pills in the evening as the constant whine of drones overhead and fear of being killed made it impossible to fall asleep naturally. “I have mental tension and anxiety during the night time because of the drone attack. I keep tablets under my bed in order to get sleep at night,” said Atif, a resident of Darai Nisthar who witnessed the drone strike on 23 July 2012 that killed 11 people including so-called rescuers.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 22:37:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015