First Drone Strike Following The Pakistani Elections Carried Out

First Drone Strike Following The Pakistani Elections Carried Out

The first drone strike by the US since the Pakistani election resulted to the death of seven people in the North Waziristan region in Pakistan.

A reduction on the drone strike program was announced recently by US President Barack Obama, which was cautiously welcomed by Pakistan. An official from the ally of the US in its fight against militants condemned all drone attacks, which is against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan.

Security officials in Pakistan said that two missiles were fired by a drone, hitting a house in Chashma village in the administrative town of the region.

Aside from the seven people who were killed in the strike, four others were injured. Rescue efforts by tribesmen started one hour after the strike. North Waziristan is located along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, where a number of militants are supposedly based.

Recently-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that he will have to discuss the strikes with US allies of the country.

People living in the region welcomed the announcement of the reduction in drone strikes by the US since it has been the main target of such attacks in the last seven years. Some of these attacks resulted to the deaths of a number of civilians. The attack occurred as the newly-elected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly held its first session following the election.

Most of the seats in the assembly were won by the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party, which is critical of the attacks in the region.

The statement of Obama acknowledging that force was not the only solution to the problem was welcomed by the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan. It indicated that the main cause of the terrorism should also be resolved.

The Foreign Ministry also added that the Pakistani government is consistent with its opposition to the drone strikes since it may result to civilian deaths and the violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

Posted by James Fried on Thursday May 30 2013, 5:12 AM EST. Ref: Reuters. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0