This is in response to Masood Khan’s letter (Arab News, June 9) in which he justifies drone attacks and refers to statistics that cite number of terrorists killed, as also the ratio of civilian casualties. The letter ignores the fact that these attacks:
1) Violate UN charter against attack on a sovereign country;
2) confront UN secretary general’s stand;
3) are at odds with charter of human rights;
4) clash with the resolutions passed by Pakistan Parliament;
5) are against the spirit of the directive issued by Pakistan’s new prime minister; and
6) are against the resolution passed by the provincial assembly of the affected region.
Let us look at the snowball effect of these drone attacks: They are counterproductive in combating terrorism and peaceful resolution of the problem.
The area and the community affected by the drone attacks become a breeding ground for terrorism as the people of these areas are always living in fear of drone attacks, which they consider as an act of state terrorism by the US government.
They have murdered thousands of civilians including women and children mainly in Muslim countries by declaring them as main threat to peace after the end of cold war. They try to make these drone attacks legitimate through the doctrine of preemptive strike.
If we want to end the menace of terrorism in the world, then peaceful negotiation is the only way and to resolve all disputes through the United Nations platform; and not by bullying but by listening to and understanding the weaker parties/nations’ legitimate claims for a just solution to a problem. — Tariq Salman Alvi, Riyadh
Drone attacks are counterproductive
