[Dawn] AS a peaceful protest, the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is
Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
's anti-drone march fell well within democratic norms. What was also clear, though, is that its motive was election-era politics rather than confronting the roots of the problem itself. While roundly criticising the Pak and US administrations, the party focused far less on the fact that Pakistain's drone policy, whatever it may be, is being carried out with the approval of the Mighty Pak Army and the cooperation of Pak intelligence. So while it may have been effective political propaganda, whether or not the protest will put pressure on those really responsible for the drones mess is questionable.
The frustrating truth is that the real nature of America and Pakistain's agreement, or lack thereof, on the drones programme is growing more, not less, murky. The conventional wisdom seemed to be that a programme that was once jointly conducted by the two countries, at least in terms of intelligence-sharing and Pakistain providing a physical base, had now become one conducted by the US without Pakistain's involvement. But a series of reports in Western media outlets are now claiming that Pakistain is still given some knowledge of upcoming drone strikes. Even then, there is no consensus on the extent of the
information provided -- whether it is just an indication of the broad area within which strikes will take place or an actual list of targets -- or on whether or not Pakistain acknowledges receiving the information. The bottom line is that the extent of collaboration remains behind a veil of secrecy that neither the US nor Pakistain governments and intelligence agencies seem eager to lift.
Nor is it clear whether or not the drones are legal -- partly because it is unclear how much consent Pakistain provides -- how targets are selected, or how snuffies are distinguished from civilians present in areas where krazed killer activities are being plotted or carried out. All of which has turned drones into a genuine human-rights issue of great sensitivity for many Paks. That in turn means the programme has become a lightning rod for anti-US sentiment and is also being used to support the argument that military action is not the solution in even Fata's most krazed killer-infested parts. Until the Pak military makes a genuine effort to root out snuffies from the tribal areas, or the government develops a joint mechanism with the US for conducting the programme and shares it with the public, the controversy over drones could derail the objective of cleansing the tribal areas of snuffies who threaten not only other countries, but Pakistain itself.