Pakistanis call for strike on US drones

With Washington perversely continuing to violate Pakistanâ„¢s sovereignty with its assassination drones, a chorus is growing in the Asian country for military action against the unmanned aerial vehicles, Press TV reports.

Many in Pakistan are demanding that the high courts order the government to shoot down the US assassination drones.

The newly elected members of Pakistan’s parliament have also shown resentment against the US for its violations.

Å“The Obama administration has to back off because they should decide whether Pakistan is a friend or if Pakistan is a foe. If Pakistan is a friend of the United States of America, then the drone strikes must end. It is incumbent on the newly elected government of Pakistan to take a clear, principled, strong position on this issue,” said Mushahid Hussain, a member of Pakistanâ„¢s parliament.

Opposition groups, including the countryâ„¢s leading opposition party – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), recently blamed the Pakistani military for providing intelligence reports to the CIA, calling on the newly formed government to reform its domestic policies in order to find a diplomatic solution to rampant US aggression.

Å“The entire nation, a national consensus has evolved around drone attacks, and people feel that they should be stopped forthwith. Tehreek-e-Insaaf has very clearly said that if the government takes a position on this, we will give them all the support that they require,” said Shah Mehmood Qureshi, vice chairman of the PTI.

This is while Pakistanâ„¢s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has criticized the assassination drone strikes, saying they violate the countryâ„¢s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and describing the CIA-operated strikes as a violation of international law and the UN charter.

Washington claims to target militants in the country but reports indicate that many of the drone strike victims are civilians.

Over the past several years, Washington has been launching drone attacks on Muslim countries, including Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. The strikes have also triggered massive protests in the Middle East.

GMA/HMV

This article originally appeared on: Press TV