Geneva: No Pakistani civilians were killed by US drones last year, a United Nations expert has said. In 2013 Washington slashed its controversial use of the pilotless planes in Pakistan, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism Ben Emmerson told in Geneva. Emmerson said who monitors respect for human rights in counter-terrorism operations; the total number of recorded strikes in 2013 was down to 27 from a peak of 128 in 2010. For the first time in nine years there was no news of injured persons during 2013 in the FATA area of Pakistan.
He also urged the United States to issue its own data on the number of victims caused by its drone strikes. The US has protected its drone strikes by claiming that it takes unexpected care to ensure. There was a threefold in growth in drone-related civilian casualties between 2012 and 2013, Emmerson remarked.
A scandalous side of the US policy is that drone attacks are carried out not by the military but by the Central Intelligence Agency. “Kept on a very tight leash” and that without the drones, the US would have had to resort to “more intrusive military action”, President Barack Obama has maintained the approach.
Emmerson’s approximation of civilian victims from drone strikes in Yemen ranged from 21 to 58. A total of 45 Afghan civilians died in drone strikes last year, almost 12 people have died when a drone struck a wedding convoy in Yemen in December, spoke to the reporters.
