Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an official statement that “strongly condemns” today’s drone strike that killed three Haqqani Network leaders, including a top commander who is said to be a senior financier and aide to operational leader Sirajuddin Haqqani. The full statement is reproduced below:
The Government of Pakistan strongly condemns the US drone strike that took place in Tal area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu district at 0445 hrs on 21 November 2013. These strikes are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. There is an across the board consensus in Pakistan that these drone strikes must end.
The Government of Pakistan has been raising its concern over the drone strikes with the U.S. Administration and at the United Nations. The Prime Minister during his recent visit to the US had raised the issue with President Obama and other senior US leaders.
It has been consistently maintained that drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications. Such strikes also set dangerous precedents in the inter-state relations.
These drone strikes have a negative impact on the Government’s efforts to bring peace and stability in Pakistan and the region.
Pakistan’s official denouncements of drone strikes are becoming routine. The government also publicly criticized the drone strike that killed Hakeemullah, who as the emir of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan was responsible for the killing of thousands of Pakistanis.
Other strikes officially condemned by Pakistan include:
- The strike on Sept. 30 that killed three “rebels” in Datta Khel, an area known to have hosted al Qaeda’s military command.
- The strike on Sept. 6 that killed Mullah Sangeen Zadran, a top Haqqani Network leader, as well as three al Qaeda military commanders.
- The strike on July 28 that killed Abu Rashid, Muhammed Ilyas Kuwaiti, and Muhammed Sajid Yamani, three al Qaeda military trainers.
- The June 7 strike that killed a key Pakistani Taliban commander who was known as Mutaqi and Bahadar Khan.
Given that the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, al Qaeda, and even the Haqqani Network are responsible for killing and maiming thousands of Pakistanis, you’d think the Pakistani government would be grateful for strikes that kill top leaders, or, at the least, would withhold public criticism. But you’d be wrong.
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8 Comments
Bill, I really love your op-ed pieces. You kinda remind me of Dave Barry, a columnist for the Miami Herald.
“Sent in by alert reader!,” or “I swear I am not making this up!,” he was very good at poking fun at self-righteous, hypocritical individuals, much like the whole of Pakistani politicos. But I digress…
The Nasiruddin Haqqani hit got me to wondering. I didn’t see any mention of that activity in your article, nor did I hear a peep from the Paks. Kind of reminds me of the Palestinians; if they didn’t much care about a certain person who got waxed by the Israelis, you didn’t hear much. If they really liked him, all hell would break loose.
Anyway, in the long run, it really doesn’t matter who takes out the ultra, just that it’s done. But I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, he had fell out with the ISI?
“These drone strikes have a negative impact on the Government’s efforts to bring peace and stability in Pakistan and the region.”
Now that’s a hoot!! Yet another Captain Louis Renault Award winner!
the Pakistan government should be very happy and thankful to the us government for eradicating of these pest they call Haqqani Network leaders
I would absolutely LOVE to know the story behind these stories of senior taliban/haqqani leaders getting killed. I have a feeling that if the true stories were known, the Pakistani government would have to eat their words of condemnation of the U.S. strikes.
The taliban have publicly blamed the Pakistani government for these deaths of their leaders, and I suspect that suspicion is not without foundation.
On the other hand, it is possible that the U.S. is finding these people using our own methods independent of the Pakistanis. But I suspect it’s not always just our methods alone.
Whatever the stories are, they would be fascinating to know.
Is anyone surprised that the Pakistani government condemned the drone strikes? Islamabad is within relatively close proximity to the operational areas of several terrorist groups.
From the above article- “Given that the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, al Qaeda, and even the Haqqani Network are responsible for killing and maiming thousands of Pakistanis, you’d think the Pakistani government would be grateful for strikes that kill top leaders, or, at the least, would withhold public criticism. But you’d be wrong.”
. If the Haqqani have become the ‘bad’ Taliban who is the ‘good’ Taliban these days from the point of view of Pakistan?
If Haqqani are the good Taliban still, then one can see why Pakistan would not condone drone attacks on Haqqani because of attacks done by the “bad” TTP. That would be conflating the good with the bad.
There was a time at least, where the Haqqani would do the bidding of Pakistan, such as the 2008 attack on India’s embassy in Kabul.
Has the situation changed, am I mistaken or is the situation such that its not so easy to simplify.?
Pakistan gov should thanks to US Actually
What is said in words is not always the same as what is said in deeds. If the Pakistani government is really upset, they close the borders and shut down our supply lines.