Sir: The recent Amnesty International report says that the US drone attacks in Pakistan have killed at least 29 non-combatants since 2012, deaths that could be categorised as war crimes. The timing of the report’s release puts perhaps the most sensitive issue in US-Pakistan relations in the spotlight as the two leaders meet. Unfortunately, the tragedy is that the drone aircraft deployed by the US over Pakistan now instil the same kind of fear in the people of the tribal areas that was once associated only with al Qaeda and the Taliban. The US’s intelligence officials and their Congressional overseers argue that in almost all cases the strikes have hit legitimate targets. Sorting out the truth in individual cases is often impossible. It is high time that the drone issue is settled. Drone attacks are being carried out to create deterrence for the enemy but, in reality, this is nothing but a different face of terrorism.
M OSAMA AFNAN HANAFI
Karachi