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Pakistan demands compensation for victims of drone strikes

Updated 19 December 2017
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Pakistan demands compensation for victims of drone strikes

Updated 19 December 2017
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Ghareed Sher lost his younger brother in a US drone strike in September 2014 in North Waziristan and has been trying to get financial compensation from the government ever since, to no avail.

“Nobody here is willing to listen to us, despite the fact that America has killed my innocent 32-year-old brother in the drone attack,” Sher, 41, told Arab News.

He also accused the Pakistani government of being complicit in US drone strikes inside Pakistani territory and the killing of civilians living in the restive tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

“If our government wasn’t complicit in killing civilians (in US drone attacks), it would have raised the issue at international forums,” he said.

But on Monday, following immense pressure from human rights activists and families of innocent victims of American drone attacks, Pakistan’s Senate passed a resolution recommending that the government demand financial compensation from the US for the victims and to highlight the impact of the drone attacks on their social, economic and psychological conditions.

The resolution, moved by Sen. Mohammed Javed Abbasi of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, stated: “This House recommends to the government to demand payment of compensation from the US government on account of lives lost and damages done to the lives and properties of innocent citizens of Pakistan as a result of drone attacks inside Pakistan since 2000.”

The Senate also urged the government to send copies of its resolution to the UN General Assembly, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the EU, the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, and the Commonwealth.

As many as 2,938 people — including 424 civilians — have been killed by the 429 US drone strikes that have taken place inside Pakistani territory since June 2004, according to data collected by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

The most recent US drone strike inside Pakistan — on September 15, 2017, in Kurram Agency, a border region with Afghanistan — killed three people.

Mirza Shahzad Akbar, a well-known anti-drone activist in Pakistan, called the resolution “a positive step” and urged the government to take up the issue of financial compensation for the victims of drone attacks in bilateral talks with US officials.

“The government has a moral and legal obligation to fight for the rights of the families of civilians killed in US drone attacks,” he said, adding that there was a good chance of this happening “if the matter is pursued diligently.”

Akbar suggested the government should sue for financial compensation on humanitarian grounds in the UN and the International Court of Justice.

In May 2013, the Peshawar High Court ruled that US drone strikes on Pakistani soil were illegal and should be declared a war crime, and directed the federal government to raise the matter with the UN Secretary General.

“In view of the established facts and figures with regard to civilian casualties and damage caused to the properties, livestock of the citizens of Pakistan, the US Government is bound to compensate all the victims’ families at the assessed rate of compensation in kind of US dollars,” the 2013 judgment says.

Dr. Mehdi Hasan, chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, told Arab News that the demand for financial compensation from the US is legal and justified, but will not achieve anything unless Pakistan pursues it persistently on all international forums.

Hasan pointed out, too, that Islamabad depends on US support in many sectors, including defense, and will, therefore, likely be careful in pursuing the matter.

 
Topics: Pakistan drone

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Philippines’ Marcos says threat of assassination ‘troubling’

Updated 7 sec ago
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Philippines’ Marcos says threat of assassination ‘troubling’

  • Security agencies at the weekend said they would step up their protocols
Updated 7 sec ago
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MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said on Monday he will not take lightly “troubling” threats against him, just days after his estranged vice president said she had asked someone to assassinate the president if she herself was killed.
In a video message during which he did not name Vice President Sara Duterte, his former running mate, Marcos said “such criminal plans should not be overlooked.”
Security agencies at the weekend said they would step up their protocols and investigate the statement, which Duterte made at a press conference. The vice president’s office has acknowledged a Reuters request for comment.

An average of 140 women and girls were killed by a partner or relative per day in 2023, the UN says

Updated 1 min 5 sec ago
AP
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An average of 140 women and girls were killed by a partner or relative per day in 2023, the UN says

  • The agencies reported approximately 51,100 women and girls were killed in 2023
  • The rates were highest in Africa and the Americas and lowest in Asia and Europe
Updated 1 min 5 sec ago
AP
UNITED NATIONS: The deadliest place for women is at home and 140 women and girls on average were killed by an intimate partner or family member per day last year, two UN agencies reported Monday.
Globally, an intimate partner or family member was responsible for the deaths of approximately 51,100 women and girls during 2023, an increase from an estimated 48,800 victims in 2022, UN Women and the UN Office of Drugs and Crime said.
The report released on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women said the increase was largely the result of more data being available from countries and not more killings.
But the two agencies stressed that “Women and girls everywhere continue to be affected by this extreme form of gender-based violence and no region is excluded.” And they said, “the home is the most dangerous place for women and girls.”
The highest number of intimate partner and family killings was in Africa – with an estimated 21,700 victims in 2023, the report said. Africa also had the highest number of victims relative to the size of its population — 2.9 victims per 100,000 people.
There were also high rates last year in the Americas with 1.6 female victims per 100,000 and in Oceania with 1.5 per 100,000, it said. Rates were significantly lower in Asia at 0.8 victims per 100,000 and Europe at 0.6 per 100,000.
According to the report, the intentional killing of women in the private sphere in Europe and the Americas is largely by intimate partners.
By contrast, the vast majority of male homicides take place outside homes and families, it said.
“Even though men and boys account for the vast majority of homicide victims, women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by lethal violence in the private sphere,” the report said.
“An estimated 80 percent of all homicide victims in 2023 were men while 20 percent were women, but lethal violence within the family takes a much higher toll on women than men, with almost 60 percent of all women who were intentionally killed in 2023 being victims of intimate partner/family member homicide,” it said.
The report said that despite efforts to prevent the killing of women and girls by countries, their killings “remain at alarmingly high levels.”
“They are often the culmination of repeated episodes of gender-based violence, which means they are preventable through timely and effective interventions,” the two agencies said.

Russia says it downs seven Ukrainian missiles over Kursk region

Updated 26 min 32 sec ago
Reuters
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Russia says it downs seven Ukrainian missiles over Kursk region

Updated 26 min 32 sec ago
Reuters

Russia’s air defense systems destroyed seven Ukrainian missiles overnight over the Kursk region, governor of the Russian region that borders Ukraine said on Monday.
He said that air defense units also destroyed seven Ukrainian drones. He did not provide further details.
A pro-Russian military analyst Roman Alyokhin, who serves as an adviser to the governor, said on his Telegram messaging channel that “Kursk was subjected to a massive attack by foreign-made missiles” overnight.

Topics: Ukraine Russia war

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Pakistani police arrest thousands of Imran Khan supporters as capital under lock down ahead of rally

Updated 25 November 2024
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Pakistani police arrest thousands of Imran Khan supporters as capital under lock down ahead of rally

  • Former PM Imran Khan has been behind bars for more than a year and has over 150 criminal cases against him
  • Earlier on Sunday, Pakistan suspended mobile and Internet services ‘in areas with security concerns’
Updated 25 November 2024
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police arrested thousands of Imran Khan supporters as the capital remained under lock down ahead of a rally there to demand the ex-premier’s release from prison, a security officer said Sunday.
Khan has been behind bars for more than a year and has over 150 criminal cases against him. But he remains popular and his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI, says the cases are politically motivated.
Shahid Nawaz, a security officer in eastern Punjab province, said police have arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters. They include five parliamentarians.
Pakistan has since Saturday sealed off Islamabad with shipping containers and shut down major roads and highways connecting the city with PTI strongholds in Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
Tit-for-tat teargas shelling between the police and the PTI was reported on the highway bordering Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Earlier on Sunday, Pakistan suspended mobile and Internet services “in areas with security concerns.”
The government and Interior Ministry posted the announcement on the social media platform X, which is banned in Pakistan. They did not specify the areas, nor did they say how long the suspension would be in place.
“Internet and mobile services will continue to operate as usual in the rest of the country,” the posts said.
Meanwhile, telecom company Nayatel sent out emails offering customers “a reliable landline service” as a workaround in the areas suffering suspended cellphone service.
Khan’s supporters rely heavily on social media to demand his release and use messaging platforms like WhatsApp to share information, including details of events.
PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram said Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi was traveling to Islamabad in a convoy led by the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur.
“She cannot leave the party workers on their own,” said Akram.
There was a festive mood in Peshawar, with PTI members dancing, drumming and holding up pictures of Khan as cars set off for Islamabad.
The government is imposing social media platform bans and targeting VPN services, according to Internet advocacy group Netblocks. On Sunday, the group said live metrics showed problems with WhatsApp that were affecting media sharing on the app.
The US Embassy issued a security alert for Americans in the capital, encouraging them to avoid large gatherings and warning that even “peaceful gatherings can turn violent.”
Last month, authorities suspended the cellphone service in Islamabad and Rawalpindi to thwart a pro-Khan rally. The shutdown disrupted communications and affected everyday services such as banking, ride-hailing and food delivery.
The latest crackdown comes on the eve of a visit by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said authorities have sealed off Islamabad’s Red Zone, which houses key government buildings and is the destination for Khan’s supporters.
“Anyone reaching it will be arrested,” Naqvi told a press conference.
He said the security measures were in place to protect residents and property, blaming the PTI for inconveniencing people and businesses.
He added that protesters were planning to take the same route as the Belarusian delegation, but that the government had headed off this scenario.
Naqvi denied cellphone services were suspended and said only mobile data was affected.

Topics: Pakistan Imran Khan

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Social media sites call for Australia to delay its ban on children younger than 16

Updated 25 November 2024
AP
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Social media sites call for Australia to delay its ban on children younger than 16

  • Advocate tells Parliament should wait until the government-commissioned evaluation of age assurance technologies is completed in June
  • Proposed legislation would impose fines of up to $33 million on platforms for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts
Updated 25 November 2024
AP

MELBOURNE: An advocate for major social media platforms told an Australian Senate committee Monday that laws to ban children younger than 16 from the sites should be delayed until next year at least instead of being rushed through the Parliament this week.
Sunita Bose, managing director of Digital Industry Group Inc., an advocate for the digital industry in Australia including X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, was answering questions at a single-day Senate committee hearing into world-first legislation that was introduced into the Parliament last week.
Bose said the Parliament should wait until the government-commissioned evaluation of age assurance technologies is completed in June.
“Parliament is asked to pass a bill this week without knowing how it will work,” Bose said.
The legislation would impose fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) on platforms for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts.
It seems likely to be passed by Parliament by Thursday with the support of the major parties.
It would take effect a year after the bill becomes law, allowing the platforms time to work out technological solutions that would also protect users’ privacy.
Bose received heated questions from several senators and challenges to the accuracy of her answers.
Opposition Sen. Ross Cadell asked how his 10-year-old stepson was able to hold Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube accounts from the age of 8, despite the platforms setting a nominal age limit of 13.
Bose replied that “this is an area where the industry needs to improve.”
She said the proposed social media ban risked isolating some children and driving children to “darker, less safe online spaces” than mainstream platforms.
Bose said her concern with the proposed law was that “this could compromise the safety of young people,” prompting a hostile response from opposition Sen. Sarah Henderson.
“That’s an outrageous statement. You’re trying to protect the big tech giants,” Henderson said.
Unaligned Sen. Jacqui Lambie asked why the platforms didn’t use their algorithms to prevent harmful material being directed to children. The algorithms have been accused of keeping technology-addicted children connected to platforms and of flooding users with harmful material that promotes suicide and eating disorders.
“Your platforms have the ability to do that. The only thing that’s stopping them is themselves and their greed,” Lambie said.
Bose said algorithms were already in place to protect young people online through functions including filtering out nudity.
“We need to see continued investment in algorithms and ensuring that they do a better job at addressing harmful content,” Bose said.
Questioned by opposition Sen. Dave Sharma, Bose said she didn’t know how much advertising revenue the platforms she represented made from Australian children.
She said she was not familiar with research by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that found X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat made $11 billion in advertising from US users under 18 in 2022.
Communications department official Sarah Vandenbroek told the committee said the evaluation of age assurance technologies that will report in June would assess not only their accuracy but also their security and privacy settings.
Department Deputy Secretary James Chisholm said officials had consulted widely before proposing the age limit.
“We think it’s a good idea and it can be done,” Chisholm told the committee.

Topics: social media Australia

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