Amnesty report on US drones civilian casualties endorses Pakistan stand: spokesman

Pakistan said on Tuesday that a latest Amnesty International's report that the United States has killed civilians in unlawful drone attacks in the country’s tribal regions has endorsed its stance about the negative consequences of the strikes.

Amnesty International report “Will I be next?” released on Tuesday said the Obama administration may be guilty of war crimes as many of those killed accounted for by the US military as terrorists were in fact civilians, including a 68-year-old grandmother and a 14-year-old boy.

Pakistan was quick to respond to the report’s findings and said a stand is emerging across the world that the results of the U.S. drone strikes are harmful for inter-state relations and the world peace.

“The Amnesty International report is timely and it endorses our policy about the U.S. drone strikes,” Foreign Ministry spokesman, Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, said.

The spokesman told Geo television Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will raise the drone issue during his current visit to the United States, adding Pakistani government and the leadership are raising the issue at every forum and bilaterally with the U.S.

Prime Minister Sharif, who is scheduled to meet President Barrack Obama at the White House on Wednesday, has also indicated to take up the matter with the U.S. President.

The Amnesty report said some of the attacks “could even amount to war crimes.” The US however says the number of deaths is much lower, but the exact figure is classified.

“Secrecy surrounding the drones program gives the US administration a licence to kill beyond the reach of the counter or basic standards of international law. It's time for the US to come clean about the drones program and hold those responsible for these violations to account,” Mustafa Qadri, Amnesty's Pakistan researcher said.

Pakistani spokesman said the country’s principled stand is that these attacks are not only against sovereignty but also the international laws and its benefits are less than its negative implications in the war on terror.

“This stance is now accepted across the world. The UN Secretary General and the world human rights groups endorse it,” he went on to say.

Asked if Pakistan plans to take the issue to the International Court of Justice as the report pointed out civilian casualties, the spokesman said Pakistan is raising the issue bilaterally, taking up it at the UN and a public opinion is emerging and its pressure will be effective and will prove durable.

To a question about civilian casualties figure, Chaudhry said civilian deaths are a matter of serious concerns for Pakistan as life of any human being is precious, adding Pakistan had shared the available figures with the UN special representative when he visited the country in March.

The United Nation's special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism Ben Emmerson has published his report and the report will come under discussion in the UN shortly, he said.

The Pakistani spokesman said implications of the U.S. drone strikes are far-reaching and the international community and Pakistan believe drone strikes should be stopped.