Calls for Pakistan to seek justice for the victims; 926 civilians thought to be killed in drone strikes over 10 years
ISLAMABAD: Amnesty International called on the US to investigate reports of civilians killed and wounded by CIA drone strikes in Pakistan in a report released on Tuesday.
Amnesty said it was concerned that the attacks outlined in the report and others may have resulted in unlawful killings that constitute extrajudicial executions or war crimes, even though the US insists the strikes are legal.
It provided details of the alleged victims of the attacks, including a 68-year-old grandmother hit while farming with her grandchildren.
Mamana Bibi’s grandchildren told the London-based rights group that she was killed by missile fire on October 24, 2012, as she was collecting vegetables in a family field in the North Waziristan tribal area, a major militant sanctuary near the Afghan border. Three of Bibi’s grandchildren were wounded in the strike, as were several others who were nearby, the victims said.
The US considers its drone programme to be a key weapon against terrorist groups that it says stages cross-border forays into neighboring Afghanistan. An even deadlier incident noted by the report titled “Will I be next? US drone strikes in Pakistan” occurred in North Waziristan on July 6, 2012. Witnesses said a volley of missiles hit a tent where a group of men had gathered for an evening meal after work, and then a second struck those who came to help the wounded, the rights group said.
Witnesses and relatives said that total of 18 male labourerswith no links to militant groups died, according to Amnesty. Pakistani intelligence officials at the time identified the dead as suspected militants.
The US did not respond to request for comment on the strike. President Barack Obama said during a speech in May that the US does not conduct a drone strike unless there is “near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured.” But Amnesty said the US is so secretive about the programme that there is no way to tell what steps it takes to prevent civilian casualties. They say it has “failed to commit to conduct investigations” into alleged deaths that have already occurred.
Several different organisations have tried to track the number of civilian casualties from nearly ten years of drone strikes in Pakistan, including the Long War Journal website, the New America Foundation think tank and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. These groups indicated that the attacks have killed between 2,065 and 3,613 people, the report said. Local media say up to 926 civilians were thought to be killed in these strikes.
“We cannot find any justification for these killings. There are genuine threats to the USA and its allies in the region, and drone strikes may be lawful in some circumstances,” said Mustafa Qadri, Amnesty International’s Pakistan researcher. “But it is hard to believe that a group of laborers, or an elderly woman surrounded by her grandchildren, were endangering anyone at all, let alone posing an imminent threat to the United States.”
Many jihadi fighters have been eliminated, but neither the Pakistani government nor the United States releases details about those killed. The Pakistani Taliban effectively control North Waziristan, and offer safe havens to al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban who are fighting Nato troops across the border.
Residents told Amnesty that Afghan Taliban fighters often passed through the area and that some locals were supportive. Most of the time, the dead are militants although their rank is often unclear, residents, militants and Pakistani security sources have told Reuters. Government officials frequently say militant groups have killed 40,000 Pakistanis since 2001. Amnesty called on the US to comply with its obligations under international law by investigating the killings documented in the report and providing victims with “full reparation”.
The US carried out its first drone strike in Pakistan in 2004 and has carried out nearly 350 more since then, the majority of which have been in North Waziristan. President Barack Obama significantly ramped up attacks when he took office in 2009, and the number peaked the following year with over 100 strikes. The frequency has steadily dropped since then, partly because of growing tension between Pakistan and the US. There have only been around two dozen strikes so far this year.
“Amnesty International is also extremely concerned about the failure of the Pakistani authorities to protect and enforce the rights of victims of drone strikes,” said the report. “Pakistan has a duty to independently and impartially investigate all drone strikes in the country and ensure access to justice and reparation for victims of violations.”
Amnesty said victims they interviewed with no apparent connection to militant groups have either received no compensation or inadequate assistance from the Pakistani government.
The top political official in North Waziristan gave Bibi’s family around $100 to cover medical expenses for the children injured in the strike, even though the total cost to the family, including loss of livestock and repairs to their home, was around $9,500, the rights group said. None of the victims in the attack on the labourers received compensation, Amnesty said.
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry praised the report’s criticism of the drone program, telling Geo TV that “our point of view is being acknowledged internationally.” He didn’t comment on Amnesty’s criticism of the Pakistani government.
The US drone policy sets a dangerous precedent “that other states may seek to exploit to avoid responsibility for their own unlawful killings,” said Amnesty.“The USA and Pakistan both have obligations under international law to investigate these and any other cases where unlawful killings might have occurred, and deliver justice,” said the report. “But the USA persistent’s refusal to acknowledge these strikes, coupled with Pakistan’s ambiguous attitude towards the drone program and limited governance in the tribal areas, make it almost impossible for victims to secure the redress they need.”
Human Rights Watch (HRW) also published a separate report on drones on the eve of White House talks between US President Barack Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
According to HRW, the US has carried out 80 targeted operations in Yemen since 2009, including strikes from drones, warplanes and cruise missiles – killing at least 473 people.Its report examined six US attacks on suspected members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which Washington regards as the global jihadist network’s most dangerous affiliate.