Pakistan calls for end to US deadly drone strikes

28 Sep MAM

Pakistan has called for an immediate end to Washington deadly drone strikes on the Pakistani soil.Sartaj Aziz, chief adviser to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on national security and foreign affairs, said in his speech at the United Nations Security Council in New York that the strikes violated international law including international humanitarian law.

He also described the strikes as counter-productive, saying attacks carried out by the CIA-operated drones have led to casualties of civilians, including women and children, in Pakistan tribal areas. The Islamabad government has repeatedly protested against US drone strikes, saying they violate Pakistan's sovereignty.

Pakistani prime minister recently blasted the aerial assaults in his country, describing them as a violation of the international law and the United Nations Charter. Washington claims its drone strikes target militants, although casualty figures show that Pakistani civilians are often the victims of the non-UN-sanctioned attacks. The United States often uses its assassination drones to hit targets in Pakistan and some other countries including Yemen and Afghanistan.In May, US President Barack Obama defended the use of the controversial drones as self-defense.

The airstrikes, initiated under former US President George W. Bush, have been escalated under the Obama administration. The United Nations says the US-operated drone strikes in Pakistan pose a growing challenge to the international rule of law.

Philip Alston, UN special envoy on extrajudicial killings, said in a report in late October 2010 that the attacks were undermining the rules designed to protect the right of life. Alston went on to say that he fears the drone killings by the US Central Intelligence Agency could develop a “Playstation” mentality.