PTI Press Release PTI Chairman Imran Khan today stated he and the Party felt vindicated again with the publication of the Amnesty International Report on drones, entitled: Will I be Next: US Drone Strikes in Pakistan”. The Report points out that the US must be held accountable for drone killings in Pakistan, and as Khan pointed out, it also suggests that these unlawful killings could amount to war crimes. Khan reminded that PTI has consistently held that drones were a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and were a violation of international law including Human Rights laws. Khan demanded the judgement of the Peshawar High Court on drones earlier this year, should also be implemented immediately. “The government has been mandated by all the political parties to stop drones over FATA and the PMLN itself committed to doing the same if elected to power. Now the time has come to implement the APC mandate and its own electoral commitment to the people of Pakistan”, Khan added. Chairman Khan also pointed out that last week the BBC referred to a UN investigation which had found that US drone strikes had killed at least 400 civilians in Pakistan, far more than the US has ever acknowledged. Khan condemned the conspiracy of deliberate confusion and duplicity on drone attacks against Pakistan’s FATA region which was now being exposed internationally and he said, “it is sad to learn of our own leaders and other elements being part of this conspiracy - a point that is highlighted in the Amnesty International Report as well, and a point which the PTI had been raising since drone attacks began.” The illegal and unilateralist US policy of using drones to kill people in Pakistan is absolutely unacceptable and the federal government should ensure that this unlawful US action is stopped immediately. Khan pointed out that today drones threaten the APC-mandated dialogue process to give peace a chance. This cannot be allowed to happen. There must be zero tolerance for such actions against Pakistan and its people, Khan asserted, as these fuel militancy and aggravate the problem of terrorism, especially in the frontline province of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa which is surrounded on three sides by FATA and has had to bear the brunt of the drone fallout in terms of IDPs as well as civilian and LEA personnel martyred to terrorist acts...
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 14:15:38 +0000
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