Senate panel told: Case submitted to UN

ALI HUSSAIN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has submitted its case to the United Nations about US drone attacks with the optimism that there will be a full-fledged debate on the matter soon,

Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani on Friday told a parliamentary panel.

Jilani, briefing the Senate's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by Senator Haji Mohammad Adeel, said that the government had been condemning drone attacks on Pakistani soil, saying these strikes were  unacceptable and counter-productive and violated Pakistan's sovereignty besides being against the UN Charter.

In response to a question by Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidery, the foreign secretary said that Pakistan was pursuing the best possible option in a bid to resolve the issue through dialogue. Terming other options risky, he said that the country could not afford "to shoot down US drones".

"We've repeatedly communicated to the US side at all levels that these attacks are not only counterproductive but also in flagrant disregard to Pakistan's sovereignty and international law," Jilani said, adding that such strikes constitute a matter of serious concern and give rise to issues regarding respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.

He said that Pakistan had been conveying to the US that the consequences of drone technology outweigh any tactical advantage in the battle to win the hearts and minds of the people, he said, adding that both Pakistan and the US had a shared objective to defeat al-Qaeda and terrorism that needed to be pursued based on mutual trust and partnership mode.

Jilani told the panel that Pakistan had fully sensitized the UN over drone strikes and expressed the hope that there will be a full-fledged debate of the UN on drone attacks in coming days to be sponsored by international organizations. He further said that the international community and human rights organisations had been endorsing Pakistan's stance on the drone attacks.     

Responding to quires on victims of drone attacks, the foreign secretary cited recent statistics compiled by the New America Foundation's, according to which there had been 44 drone strikes in Pakistan last year and seven attacks so far in 2013. He said that the statistics show that an estimated that between 1,953 and 3,279 people had been killed since 2011 in these strikes with 18 to 23 percent civilian casualties.

He said that over the past six months, there was a better coordination between Pakistan and the US after the establishment of a contact group of the two countries.

About release of Afghan Taliban, Jilani said that so far, 26 Taliban detainees had been freed on the request of the High Peace Council (HPC) and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, adding that this figure also included some high-profile leaders such as Mullah Turabi, the former Justice Minister. "We hope that HPC will be able to positively engage Taliban through the released individuals."

He rejected an impression of foreign pressure, saying that the release of Afghan Taliban members was a sovereign decision of the government.

To another question, he said that formal dialogue between US and Taliban had not yet been started and there were clear indications of opening Taliban office in Qatar, as concerns of the Afghan government in this regard had also been addressed up to great extent.

He also highlighted the role of Turkey and Saudi Arabia in the Afghan reconciliation process.

Some committee members, including the chairman, however, expressed concerns over the lack of reciprocity in this regard by the Afghan side. Upon which, the foreign secretary said that Pakistan had proposed a joint commission on prisoner release, which he hoped will be positively utilised to settle the issue of prisoners with Afghanistan.

Briefing the panel about the situation following skirmishes on the Line of Control (LoC), he said that the ceasefire agreement of 2003 had been maintained after violations across LoC, which he termed were most unfortunate.

He said that Pakistan played a matured role after the ceasefire violation across the LoC and the world also acknowledged and appreciated Pakistan role. He hoped that India will respect the ceasefire accord and such unfortunate incidents may not happen in the future.

Some members raised concerns over the move to grant most-favoured nation (MFN) status to India, as Senator Sughra Imam noted that the recent increase in trade between the two had mostly gone in favour of India. She said that India had benefited up to 85 percent while Pakistan only 15 percent in the trade between the two countries in the recent past.

Jilani earlier told the panel that trade between India and Pakistan had been increased to $3 billion in the recent past while it was only $300 million in 2003.

The committee also expressed resentment over the statement by an Indian minister Chidambaram claiming 106 kilometre border of India with Afghanistan. Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed raised the issue and urged foreign secretary to lodge protest with India over the unrealistic claims by its minister.