A suspected missile-firing US drone killed two Afghan Taliban militants in a village near the Afghan border.It was the first in the nuclear-armed nation since US President Donald Trump took office in January.Officials said a missile struck the two men while they were riding a motorcycle in the northwestern Kurram Agency. A government official identified one of the men killed as Qari Abdullah Subari, a senior commander from the Afghan Taliban. Drone strikes are extremely unpopular among many Pakistanis because they are seen as a violation of the country’s sovereignty, although leaked documents have shown that Islamabad and Washington have secretly colluded over some cases in the past. The attack occurred in the Sara Khwa area of Kurram, one of seven so-called tribal districts that lie along the border with Afghanistan, where Pakistan has been battling a homegrown Islamist insurgency for more than a decade and a half. A senior Afghan Taliban commander told media that one of those killed in the attack was Qari Abdullah, a guard in the Haqqani network while the second, Saqib Ullah, was a commander of the group. In its last high-profile drone attack inside Pakistan, the United States in May killed Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in the southwestern province of Balochistan. Pakistan should strongly take up the issues with relevant authorities for violation of state’s sovereignty. It has proved that the drone strikes are counter-productive and never produced fruitful results and these strikes also bring loss to innocent people. That Pakistan itself was taking on militants in Fata with Operation Zarb-e-Azb and there is no justification of any such strike in prevailing circumstances. US president Trump has shown no regard for alliances and friendships. That the US carried out a drone strike in Pakistan was very expected. This is notably the first strike carried out in Pakistan by the Trump Administration since it took over almost two months ago. Over the last few years, the frequency of these strikes significantly reduced in Pakistan, as the US focused more on targets in Afghanistan and some areas in the Middle East such as Yemen. Hundreds of women, children and the elderly have been killed with many of those who survived, remaining disabled for life. Pakistan has been carrying out major operations against terrorists and their abettors through those such as Zarb-e-Azband Radd-ul-Fasaad. While most of the terrorist sanctuaries have been wiped out and Pakistan’s armed forces have also acquired drone strike capability, there seems to be no need for the US to act on its own. The Afghan Peace Process is imperative for stability in the region, things should rather proceed smoothly rather than being complicated. Russia and China have also invested quite a lot for the process to move ahead and the US should not unilaterally act on its own through drone attacks on either side of the Durand Line. The fighting must eventually stop and all major stakeholders should cooperate for ensuring lasting peace in the region. United States should acknowledge Pakistan’s efforts in war against terrorism and should sincerely support it for permanently resolution of the issue.
