Malik Jalal, from
Wazoo, claims to have narrowly missed at least four drone strikes and says he has been warned by various authorities that he is on a "Kill List".Describing one such attack, Jalal said a car driving behind him was hit by a missile while he was out visiting another village. "I heard the kaboom and the back window of my car shattered. The car behind was in flames and the passengers were in pieces," he said.
Jalal, a tribal elder, has travelled to the UK on the invitation of Lord Ken MacDonald, the former Director of Prosecutions, to ask parliamentarians and the government to take his name off the "Kill List". He further says that his children are "terrified" of dying in a missile attack.
According to him, the US and UK is targeting him for his work with North Waziristan Peace committee (NWPC) ‐ a group attempting to bring peace between the Taliban and the government of Pakistain. Jalal’s role as an intermediary in settling disputes is recognised by the Pak government.
"I had a special role to improve security and we were making progress and that’s why I think America targeted us. I came close to being bombed four times, so in the end I realised they were on to me," Jalal told BBC.
In a letter addressed to Home Secretary Theresa May, who has oversight of MI5 and the NCA, and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who has responsibility for GCHQ and MI6, Jalal has asked for meetings to clear his name and get off the "Kill List". The US ambassador is also copied in the letter.
Recounting another drone incident, Jalal said a friend’s house he had intended to visit for dinner was hit by a missile while he was about 500 metres away in his car.
"I have had to leave Waziristan. In my own family there are six people who are mentally destabilised because of the strikes. In Waziristan there are more than 400,000 people who have mental problems because of the drones. My own son is too scared to go back to Waziristan," the tribal elder said.