Islamabad, April 15: Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission has raised concerns on extra-judicial killings, particularly the non-UN-sanctioned US drone attacks.
In its annual report for 2010, the commission said that the country witnessed an enormous increase in the number of kidnappings and murders, a Media correspondent in Pakistan reported.
Referring to a separate UN report, the commission noted that, “[the] US is [the] most prolific user of target killings through drone strikes, which is an ill-defined license to kill people without accountability” in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
“Religious extremism is enhanced, as a reaction to American policies and as a reaction of the attitude of Western media, particularly American media towards Pakistan and towards Muslims,” Mehdi Hassan of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission told Media.
Human rights activists have complained that the lack of access in the tribal area is a major hurdle to determine the exact number of people killed in US drone strikes.
The drone attacks are considered illegal under international law and continue to fuel anti-US sentiments among Pakistani people, particularly in the tribal areas close to the Afghanistan border. Opposition parties say the number of civilian deaths is between 2,000 to 3,000 since 2004.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly criticized US drone strikes, saying the use of force against so-called militants is counter-productive and only leads to more violence.
“We have taken up the question of the drone attacks with the US government. At all levels, the drone attacks have become a core irritant in the counter-terror campaign,” spokeswoman of Pakistan Foreign Ministry, Tehmina Janjua, said at a news conference.
——–Agencies