Peshawar High Court terms US drone strikes against UN charter

The Peshawar High Court on Thursday described the American drone strikes in the country’s restive tribal regions as illegal and inhuman and instructed the Foreign Ministry to move a resolution in the United Nations against the attacks.

The court issued the landmark verdict against the American strikes on four writ petitions, who had stated that these attacks kill civilians and also cause collateral damage.

American officials claim that the CIA-run drone mission target al-Qaeda remnants and Taliban militants in Pakistan tribal regions, who are blamed for cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.

Pakistan insists that the US spy aircraft kill innocent people, cause damage to civilian property and are counter-productive in the so-called war on terror. The US has rejected Pakistan’s calls for halt in the strikes.

Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, Dost Muhammad Khan, ruled that the drone strikes are illegal, inhuman and violation of the UN charter on human rights.

“The Government of Pakistan must ensure that no drone strike takes place in the future,” the court verdict said.

The court asked the Foreign Ministry to table a resolution in the UN against the American attacks.

“If the U.S. vetoes the resolution , then the country should think breaking diplomatic ties with the United States,” the judgment said.

The court also observed that the American strikes must be declared as war crime as it kill innocent people.

The two-member bench had earlier reserved the verdict after the completion of arguments by lawyers for the federal government, and petitioners, including Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC), an amalgamation of religious groups, tribal elders and rights groups.

The petitioners has prayed the court to order the government to make public Pakistan-US secret deal on drone strikes, if any, stop drone strikes by force, take the issue to the UN Security Council, and pay compensation to the families of the people killed in drone attacks.

During previous hearing, the chief justice observed that if the US considered itself a champion of human rights and democracy, then why it had not been paying compensation to the innocent people killed in drone strikes.

Government lawyers had earlier informed the court that Pakistani government had no agreement with the US on drone strikes, which were carried out against its consent.

Lawyers had told the court that according to different researches, only two per cent of militants had been killed in drone attacks since 2004 and the rest of the dead people were innocent civilians.

They had also referred to the 55/2 United Nations Millennium Declaration, 2000, saying the said resolution of the UN General Assembly clearly safeguards territorial sovereignty of a country.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=40178

Posted by Tahir Khan on May 9 2013. 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.