Over the last week, drone strikes have increased considerably in the war-hit area of North Waziristan (NW). At least 23 suspected terrorists have been killed in the last four days. The escalation in strikes coupled with the military operation is being seen as a dual approach in tandem to root out the last remnants of the terrorists from the area. Drone strikes have been castigated as a breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty since their inception in 2004. Over the years, activists have launched aggressive campaigns against the unmanned aerial weapon platforms because of the collateral risk to non-combatant civilians, considered at risk along with the militants. The government has publicly disapproved of the drone programme while tacitly agreeing to it in private with the US. Pervez Musharraf admitted giving the US the go ahead for the programme. By now, official condemnation of the drone strikes has been reduced to little more than a formal ritual. The fact is that without the cooperation of the Pakistani intelligence agencies, this task, needing direct human intervention to identify targets on the ground, is difficult to conduct.
Seventy percent of drone strikes so far carried out in Pakistan have been targeted at NW, home to local and international terrorists, especially al Qaeda. Most of the senior leadership of the Taliban has been killed in drone strikes. Drones were suspended for six months when Pakistan was holding talks with the Taliban. For analysts, this temporary suspension was another indication that drone strikes are carried out with the tacit approval of the Pakistan government. If Pakistan is an ally of the US in the war on terror, and if Pakistan considers itself the main target of the terrorist threat, getting the US’s assistance in combating the threat is logical. Though there are many ifs and buts about the military operation being carried out in NW, the US’s help in the war is not a bad idea if it helps us do away with terrorism. *