PAKISTAN has pulled out of trilateral talks with the United States on Afghanistan to protest a deadly U.S. drone attack in North Waziristan. The United States has stepped up missile strikes by unmanned planes on militant hideouts in Pakistan’s tribal region in recent months. But this latest drone attack in North Waziristan is one of the deadliest and reportedly killed the highest number of civilians to date. Pakistan’s political and military leaders have condemned the strike. Pakistan’s army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, stated that the Jirga was targeted “callously with complete disregard to human life”. A day later, the Pakistan’s foreign office summoned U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter to formally protest the deadly attack.
“Ambassador Munter was categorically conveyed that such strikes were not only unacceptable, but also constituted a flagrant violation of humanitarian norms and law,” said Janjua. “It was also stated that if for the White House and the State Department to hold back those who have been trying to veer Pakistan-US relationship away from the track,” said Foreign office spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua.It was expected that after the release of CIA contractor and assassin, Raymond Davis, relations would return to normal. As it happens, the price turned out to be quite high. Not only were the family members of the men who Davis gunned down awarded a $2.3 million settlement, but, more importantly, a constellation of US powerbrokers were forced to step out of the shadows and reveal their tacit support for a covert war that is inciting widespread social unrest, fuelling terrorism, and destabilizing US-ally Pakistan.
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Admiral Mike Mullens, Robert Gates, Leon Panetta and Senator John Kerry all came to the defence of a career mercenary who shot two Pakistanis in the back in broad daylight on a crowded street in Lahore and then calmly photographed their bullet-riddled bodies for his records. Even Raymond Davis probably can’t believe that he actually got away with cold-blooded murder….Americans should realize that the killer Raymond Davis cost the yearly salaries of fifty US school teachers.
To save the arrogant Davis, fifty classrooms of American students could have had teachers. Two or three decrepit bridges in the US could have been repaired. Hillary Clinton have refused to admit the payment of the blood money because, they are laying off public workers and teachers and bailing out a criminal.Naturally, the Pakistani public wanted Davis to stand trial for his crimes and explain what he was doing in Pakistan. But that’s not going to happen, because Washington invoked its prodigious powers of coercion to derail the course of justice and whisk its venerable agent to safety. Public uproar and protests have broken out across the country. On Friday, students, lawyers, religious groups and political organizations joined in mass demonstrations in Pakistan’s largest cities to rail against Davis – Dailymailnews
