Islamabad: A Pakistani court on Thursday declared that US drone strikes on al-Qaeda and Taliban elements in the country's lawless tribal belt were tantamount to a "war crime" and the armed forces would have the right to shoot down the CIA-operated spy planes.
The Peshawar High Court issued the verdict against the US drones in response to four petitions that contended the missile attacks killed civilians and caused collateral damage.
The two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan ruled the drone strikes were a "blatant violation of basic human rights" and the UN Charter and "thus, it is held to be a war crime cognisable by the International Court of Justice or Special Tribunal for War Crimes".
Drone strikes "carried out against a handful of alleged militants, who are not engaged in combat with the US authorities or forces, amount to breach of international law" and a "blatant violation of the sovereignty" of Pakistan, the judges said in their order.
Pakistan's armed forces will ensure that drone strikes are not conducted in future, the order said. "Proper warning be administered in this regard and if that does not work, the government of Pakistan and state institutions, particularly the security forces, shall have the right to (shoot) down the drones," the order said.
The court further directed the Foreign Ministry to move a resolution against the drone attacks in the UN. If the US does not comply with any resolution passed by the UN, Islamabad should sever all ties with Washington and deny logistic facilities to America, the order said.
The court contended that the US government was "bound to compensate all the victims" of drone strikes. US officials have said that the drones target al-Qaeda and Taliban elements in Pakistan's tribal regions who are blamed for cross-border attacks in Afghanistan.
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