Sherry Rehman urges US to end drone attacks

Ahead of intelligence summit between Washington and Islamabad, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman has called for a halt to drone attacks in tribal belt.

Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, the Pakistani envoy said the drone strikes succeeded in damaging Al-Qaeda network but are also forming new terrorists in the region.

She noted, “I am not saying drones have not assisted in the war against terror, but they have diminishing rate of returns. We will seek an end to drone strikes and there will be no compromise on that”.

According to the media reports, DG Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) Lt. Gen. Zaheer ul Islam is expected to hold his first meeting with CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) Director David Petreaus and will reiterate the demand of an end to the drone campaign.

The Pakistani ambassador defended the apprehension of Dr Shakeel Afridi, who has been sentence to more than three decades in prison for aiding the CIA in tracking down Osama bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda chief.

He conducted a vaccine program in the garrison town of Abbottabad where Osama bin Laden turned out to be residing.

She observed, “He had no clue he was looking for Osama bin Laden. He was contracting with a foreign intelligence agency.”

In her view, thousands of children are at risk due to Afridi’s action. It is to be mentioned here that the Taliban has warned the aid workers to stop vaccine programs in North and South Waziristan.

Dismissing the outrageous claim of some US legislators that Islamabad was harboring Al-Qaeda or other terrorists who intend to attack the America, Sherry Rehman said Pakistani security forces working hard to combat the militants.

She also said that Pakistani military reported 52 times to NATO in recent months when terrorist were dotted crossing into Afghanistan after attacking the security forces. “Pakistan is maxed out on the international border with Afghanistan,” the Pakistani envoy added.

White House War Adviser Douglas Lute also spoke the forum, saying sovereignty had privileges but also comes with responsibilities. He called for Islamabad to enhance its efforts in the war on terror.

However, the two speakers agreed that Islamabad could help broker an eventual peace agreement with the Taliban in the war-torn Afghanistan.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=29798

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 28 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.