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Syed Mohammad Abbas Jafri

16110177
AnamHaq
Writing and Communication (SS100) Section 5
15 December 2012
Drone attacks in Pakistan
Approximately 3000 people died in the horrendous attacks of 11 September 2001 in the
United States (US), when The Twin-Towers were tarnished down by aero-plane attacks. As a
consequence, the US government started the war on terror against the Islamic- jihadi groups such
as Al Qaeda, Taliban and the other groups affiliated with them to reduce further terrorist attacks.
To counter the threat, about 1180 billion dollars were spent on the war on terror until 2011, that
not just included the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan; but also included defense costs for many
other war-related operations and programs in other countries, such as Pakistan, the Philippines,
Yemen and Djibouti (Wheeler). In the war on terror the US was successful in bringing about an
end to the regime of Taliban in Afghanistan but could not control the Taliban who are still in
control of much of the country except the capital city of Kabul. Moreover, Taliban movement
became more popular in Pakistan as a result of the US attack. The US asserts that many jihadi
fighters routinely flee into the frontier region of Pakistan where they are provided a safe haven
by the local tribal communities (Shah). As a result, drone attacks are considered to be a weapon
to combat against extremism and terrorist activities in Pakistan.

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The first drone attack in Pakistan took place in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
of Pakistan, also known as FATA, in 2004 and so far the drone attacks have resulted in the deaths
of more than 2000 people in the country (Bergen and Tiedemann). Out of 404 drone attacks by
the US, 86% took place in FATA (Carbone). Most of the drone strikes took place in 2009 after
President Barack Obama became the president of the US and resulted in the death of more than
500 people (Bergen, and Tiedemann). As the drone attacks are not favored by the most of the
Pakistans citizens, therefore protests are carried out throughout the country, from Karachi to
Khyber, condemning these attacks that include different religious and political parties.
Previously, most of the protests against drone attacks were carried out by the religious groups,
but now, political parties have also started to show stake in the matter. Although, it is a common
belief in Pakistan that drone attacks are against the sovereignty of the country, these attacks have
killed more civilians than militants and they further lead to retaliation attacks carried out by the
terrorists in the country. However, drones can target the militants on the mountains of FATA
more effectively than the Pakistan Army and they prove beneficial by killing the terrorists
present in Pakistani territories while also helping the US to eliminate the threat to its citizens.
Firstly, people in Pakistan believe that drone attacks are against the sovereignty of the
country. It is argued that the US drone attacks pose a threat to the lives of people in Pakistan and
are a sign of disrespect for them. The involvement of the US in the Pakistani affairs is disliked by
many people in Pakistan and it is further argued that the Pakistani army is capable of performing
targeted operations against the militants in the North West of Pakistan so there arises no need for
the US drones to enter Pakistan. However, Pakistan's chief of army staff General Ashfaq Kayani
asked Admiral William Fallon, then commander of US central command, for increased
surveillance and round the clock drone coverage over North Waziristan, stronghold for Taliban

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militants (Allbritton). Also US had been using the Shamsi airfield located in Baluchistan
province to carry out the drone attacks in Pakistan since 2004 to 2011with the permission of the
Pakistani Army (Nawaz 80). The purpose of such an action was to weaken the Taliban and other
groups affiliated with them because Taliban have been a common enemy of both the countries.
Moreover in 2009, when the Pakistani army was conducting an operation in Waziristan, the
Pakistani military asked the US to slow down drone attacks (Kilcullen, and Exum). It shows that
the drone attacks are taking place with the cooperation of both the US and Pakistan and so there
does not exist a question of sovereignty because it is with the consent of the Pakistani leadership
that drone attacks are taking place in the country.
On a similar note, another common belief is that drone attacks kill more civilians than
militants. This is one of the most popular and important reason for opposing the drone attacks. In
the protests condemning the drone attacks different leaders have been emphasizing on the point
that civilian deaths outnumber the militants killings. However the people are presented incorrect
figures regarding the death of civilians and militants as a result of drone attacks. The security
threats in FATA makes the collection of credible data difficult .Whenever a drone attack takes
place the militants themselves collect the bodies, bury the dead and then issue the statement that
all of those killed were innocent civilians, this has been part of their propaganda campaign to
provide messages to pro-Taliban and al Qaeda media persons and political forces in Pakistan to
generate public sympathy for the terrorists (Taj 530). It is true that civilians also lost their lives in
these drone attacks but the number communicated is overstated. Once a drone attack on a funeral
procession killed a few civilians but still most of the people killed were militants (Taj 530). This
shows that except a very few civilians who are attacked unintentionally the militants outnumber
the civilians in the number of casualties in the conflict.

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Furthermore, it is argued that the usage of drone attacks leads to the terrorists carrying
out retaliatory attacks inside Pakistan. It is believed that drone attacks kill Pakistani people and
the retaliation attacks further lead to the deaths of more Pakistanis, in both outcomes it is the
Pakistanis who are killed. Some Pakistani politicians, such as Imran Khan, a former cricketer
and founder of the political party Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, and some western counterinsurgency
analysts, such as David Kilcullen, a former Australian military officer argued that the drone
strikes are counterproductive because they stoke anger against the United States among the
Pakistani public (Bergen, and Tiedemann). When the drone attacks started the number of
retaliation attacks increased in 2004 and the number reached its peak from 150 to more than
1900 in 2009 (Bergen, and Tiedemann) and about 2900 civilians lost their lives in suicide
bombing and left more than 7000 wounded (Haq). In the same year the Pakistan Army also
started operations in North-West of Pakistan to reduce the growing power of the Tehrik e Taliban
Pakistan. In 2009 when the terrorists were targeted both by drone attacks and by the operation of
the local army they increased their attacks. It is evident that terrorist attacks will take place
whenever the terrorists will be attacked whether by air through drones or by ground in army
operations therefore the retaliatory attacks have to be seen in the broader picture of attacking
terrorists rather than focusing specifically on drones.
Despite what the Pakistani public thinks, the drone attacks with the purpose of
attacking terrorist wherever they are present have proved to be a better weapon against militants
in FATA than the ones that the Pakistani Army currently has. The drone attacks have been taking
place in FATA in areas such as Miransha, Bannu district, Orakzai Agency, Mir Ali, North
Waziristan and South Waziristan. As, FATA is a land of rugged mountains that provide terrorists
a safe hideout, that makes it difficult for the army to fight the terrorists. Drone aircrafts suit the

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conditions of FATA, the fast and high flying aircrafts give less time to the terrorists to counter
attack. Moreover, drone planes used by the US are small in size and computer programmed with
latest technology. These aircrafts are controlled by the computers or by a remote and are also
capable of attacking from a distance of 2 to 200 kilometer with a very high speed. The smaller
missiles fired by the drones and the drones' increasing ability to linger many hours over a target,
better allows the US pilots to distinguish militants from civilians (Bergen and Tiedemann). On
the contrary, alternate of drone attacks for Pakistan would be to use its Air Force and bombard
terrorist strongholds. However, this technology would likely result in more civilian deaths.
Drones are better able to distinguish between militants and civilians due to their built-in features
that the Pakistani air force lacks. At this stage Pakistan does not own any advance type of drone
aircraft like the one used by the US in Pakistan. Pakistan currently has three unmanned aircrafts
that are Satuma Jasoos 2, Selex Galileo and CH 4.All these aircrafts are not capable of flying as
high as the US drone aircrafts. Although, Pakistan is racing to develop its own armed drones but
is struggling in its initial tests with a lack of precision munitions and advanced targeting
technology ("Express Tribune"). At the same time Pakistan has also demanded the US to
handover the drone technology to Pakistan (Shaw). It will require Pakistan more time to develop
such technology that targets the militants directly and easily.
Apart from being more effective than the local army in FATA the drone attacks have also
benefited Pakistan in the war against terrorism. Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban
have been in close ties with each other .For example, the Jihadi movement gained a lot of
support in Pakistan when US attacked Afghanistan after the incident of 11 September in 2001. As
a result mujahedeen from Pakistan went to support Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and also
Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan became more powerful in Pakistan in the later years. Furthermore

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Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan claimed the responsibilities of many attacks on the government
officials, and minority groups and was an increasing threat for the civilians in Pakistan. By 2009
the growing influence of Taliban in both FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa greatly troubled the
Pakistani leadership and thus operations Rah e Raast and operation Rah-e-Nijaat were launched
to counter this trend. Operation Rah e Raast was launched by the Pakistan army on 26 April 2009
that killed about 1600 terrorists of Tehrik e Taliban and about 150 soldiers of the Pakistan Army
lost their lives and more than 400 soldiers were wounded (Haq). This operation was more
successful than operation Rah e Nijat which took place after six months of operation Rah e Raast
and in the operation 600 terrorists were killed while 70 soldiers lost their lives and about 175
were wounded (Haq). The fact that has to be considered is that the two operations did not take
place in the strongholds of Taliban in North Waziristan and the operations just pushed Taliban
back to their strongholds that had grown influence in the areas nearby. On the other hand the
drone attacks have killed thousands of terrorists and are taking place in the areas where even the
Pakistani army could not reach in the two operations that they carried out, that is, North
Waziristan. Also the Pakistani Army was unable to kill any of the most influential leaders of
Taliban in the operations. The two operations that continued for more than a year cost much
money. According to the Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar in 2010
Pakistan lost about 35 billion dollars in the war on terror (Haq). This cost mainly comprises of
the operations launched by the army in 2009-10.Those operations cost Pakistan both money and
lives but the local army was unable to defeat or to achieve any remarkable achievement except
just reducing the growing influence of Taliban.
In contrast to the Pakistan Armys approach the drone attacks have killed most wanted
criminals such as Beitullah Mehsud who was the founder of Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan and

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Sheikh Abu al Yazid who was one of founder members of Al Qaeda. The Pakistani government
had been holding Beitullah Mehsud responsible for the vast majority of terrorist attacks inside
the country such as the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, which killed more than 50
people. Mehsud was also thought to have helped his Afghan confederates attack American and
coalition troops across the border (Mayer). Moreover, military commanders and intelligence
officials point out that drone attacks have disrupted terrorist networks in Pakistan, killing key
leaders and hampering operations. Furthermore, drone attacks create a sense of insecurity among
militants and constrain their interactions with suspected informers (Kilcullen, and Exum) .The
drone attacks have proved to be a better weapon than the armys operation that could not
approach the terrorist leadership.
Also it can be argued that the drone attacks have helped the US to eliminate the threat to
its people by eliminating the terrorists present in Pakistan .Every country has the right to defend
itself when attacked. Under the UN Charter, without a decision of the Security Council to use
force under article 42, the United States can unilaterally conduct armed operations on Pakistani
soil, without the latters consent, is if it is acting in self-defense (Charter of the United Nations).
The drone attacks target the Al Qaeda and Taliban who find safe grounds in the mountains of
FATA and are also supported by the Pakistani Taliban. Al Qaeda has been conducting its Jihadi
movement against the US with the goal of reestablishing the regime of Taliban in Afghanistan as
it was before 2001. US troops have been operating in Afghanistan since 2001in collaboration
with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces. Jihadis view the US regime in
Afghanistan as illegal and as a result they have been targeting the US forces and civilians. For
instance, in an unsuccessful terrorist attack in Times Square in 2010 Faisal Shahzad the Pashtun
Pakistani American from FATA attempted to detonate a car bomb (Carbone).

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Another evidence of Pakistani soil being used as a stronghold of Taliban and Al Qaeda
was when Americans found Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. Osama Bin Laden was the founder of
Al Qaeda who claimed the responsibility of the incident of 11September 2001 in 2004 (CBC
News world). Bin Laden was in the list of FBIs most wanted criminals and there was a reward
of $25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Osama Bin
Laden (The FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation). Since 2001 the US was after Osama Bin
Laden until May 2011 when US launched a successful secret attack against him which resulted in
his death. Bin Laden was found in a three story mansion in Abbottabad located near the border of
FATA in Pakistan. Bin Laden was the self-proclaimed murderer of three thousand Americans.
The United States launched the war on terror in response to these attacks. The US have been
successful in capturing terrorists who are responsible for planning and/or carrying out terrorist
attacks on its home soil who whether directly or indirectly belong to Pakistan. Therefore, the US
is acting like any other country in the world would and the actions that it has taken against the
terrorist groups are normal and legitimate.
If Pakistan is to be serious about improving the social conditions of its people then it is
important to take a holistic view of the conflict and its effect on the population of FATA and the
rest of Pakistan. The Pros and Cons of all options must be weighed before taking any decision.
Currently Pakistan is a developing country and is Aid-dependent in order to prop up its economy.
It cannot afford to launch a full scale war against terrorists that can possibly go on indefinitely.
Doing so would come at a great cost to the economy. Already Pakistan has taken more than 8
billion dollars in aid from the US for fighting terrorism (Epstein, and Kronstadt). The drones are
cost saving as they avert a full blown war which would require the usage of ground troops and
ammunition that are less effective in the mountains of FATA. The only casualties of drone usage

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are a few negligible civilian deaths but if the potential costs and benefits of the alternatives are
weighed then drone usage is the least-cost option. Furthermore, the Pakistani State is facing
many problems with law and order in Baluchistan, Karachi and elsewhere which is already
putting a heavy burden on the national exchequer. Pakistan should not open another front for war
in FATA and be content with the current options. The superior US drone technology should be
used to reduce unnecessary losses. Pakistan must take a rational and logical approach to solving
militancy in its borders and see what its national interest is and take a decision accordingly.

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Work Cited
Ahmed, Naeem. "US Pakistan Relation After 9/11." US Policy Towards The Muslim World. 209.
Web. 11 Dec. 2012.
Allbritton, Chris. "Pakistan army chief sought more drone coverage in '08:." Reuters. Reuters, 20
2011.Web. 10 Dec 2012.
Bergen, Peter, and Katherine Tiedemann. "The Year of the Drone An Analysis of U.S. Drone
Strikes in Pakistan, 2004-2010 ."New America Foundation. (2010): n. page. Web. 10 Dec.
2012.
"Bin Laden claims responsibility for 9/11." CBC News world CBC News, 29 2004.Web. 10 Dec
2012. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2004/10/29/binladen_message041029.html>.
Carbone, Michael. "US Covert Targeted Killing Policy in Pakistan." (2010): n. page. Web.
Chapter I: Purposes And Principles." Charter of the United Nations.UnitedNations.Web. 10 Dec
2012. <http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter1.shtml>.
Epstein, Susan, and K. Alan Kronstadt. "Pakistan: U.S. Foreign Assistance." Congressional
Research Service. (2012): n. page. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.
"FBI Ten Most wanted Fugitive." The FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI Federal
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Haq, Noor. "Pakistan:A Victim of Terrorism." 3. (2011): n. page. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.

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