An investigative journalist and academic in Islamabad says bilateral relations between the US and Pakistan depends on the future of the US drone campaign which has killed thousands of people in Pakistan and other countries.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday reiterated Islamabad’s demand for putting an end to US drone strikes inside his country’s territory, but the White House defended their use in counter-terror efforts.
Sharif said he wants to see US-Pakistan relations improve “but the issue of drones has become a major irritant in our bilateral relationship”.
The Pakistani people have suffered from drone strikes violations for so many years, Naveed Ahmad told Press TV on Wednesday.
“If Washington and White House try defend drone attacks in such a vehement way and Mr. Obama refuses to talk about the issue with Nawaz Sharif tonight (Wednesday), it means that there is serious irritants between Pakistan-US relations and Pakistan-US relations will not be on firm footing without Mr. Obama and White House clearly talking about the issue of drones,” Ahmad said.
A report by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch released on Tuesday said that US drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen may constitute human rights violations and “appear to be war crimes.”
However, The United States hit back the same day at the charges, arguing that criticism from rights groups does not reflect events on the ground.
According to top-secret CIA documents and Pakistani diplomatic memos obtained by The Washington Post, top officials in Pakistan’s government have for years secretly endorsed CIA’s drone campaign and routinely received classified briefings on strikes and casualty counts.
AHT
Source: Press TV