Case against drones

Our response to the US drone attack that killed Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mansour has been similar to numerous other such attacks in the past. We condemned the obvious violation of our sovereignty but are powerless to do much else. Is it time to mount a sovereign challenge to the US drone programme in Pakistan? A case was filed against US authorities by the brother of the unlucky taxi driver who was killed alongside Mansour. Azam had been assigned by a taxi company to drive Mullah Mansour to his destination, and became another statistic in the collateral damage accumulated in the ongoing war. The US record on drones shows that public gatherings and even wedding functions have been attacked if a suspected terrorist is thought to be present there. While the US would point to its drone strike on Mullah Mansour as evidence for the precision of drones as a weapon of war, poor Azam is another reminder of the many unwilling victims of drone warfare. As much as we, and other countries like Yemen where the US has employed drones, rail against its illegality there are very few places where we can seek redress. Such cases are unlikely to yield any accountability, let alone become the base for a change in US war practices. This is not the first case in Pakistan against US authorities. Years ago a case against drone strikes was filed in the Islamabad High Court and never reached conclusion. This is also the country where a CIA operative could be let go after murdering two Pakistani citizens in broad daylight. The case by Azam’s brother is perhaps the weakest on paper. It does not name any US officials nor will a court be able to summon any evidence if it reaches that stage.

There is also the matter of possible state and government complicity in such incidents. The US has sometimes found a willing partner in Pakistan for its drone attacks. The diplomatic cables leaked by Chelsea Manning showed that the Musharraf regime and the PPP government were willing accomplices in the drone attacks and only wanted plausible deniability for domestic consumption. Properly-conducted lawsuits would have to explore such matters and the state is not likely to be forthcoming with information. American impunity for its controversial war practices remains total. What is happening in Pakistan is only a microcosm of the global injustices enacted by the US military apparatus. The global balance of forces can only be tilted if sovereign governments get together to challenge US war practices. Coming at a time when the US legislature is considering a law allowing private citizens to take sovereign governments to court over terrorism, a case against drone strikes from the Pakistani government would have been an apt response, but the ritual of crying over violated sovereignty and innocent deaths is all we are going to get.