Pakistan files case against unnamed US officials
A case was registered against unnamed US officials who carried out the drone strikes to kill Afghan Taliban Chief–Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in Balochistan. Muhammad Qasim filed the case against officials for killing his brother, Muhammad Azam–the driver of the cab in which Mansoor was travelling. Qasim stated that his innocent brother didn't have any terror links and was the sole breadwinner of his family.
On 2 May'11, al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed by the US in a secret operation in Abbottabad. US special forces had entered Pakistan to carry out the raid that was ordered by President Obama on bin Laden's compound. Salman Bashir, the then-Pakistani Foreign Minister, stated that the US had breached Pakistan's sovereignty and raised doubts about the legality of killing Laden.
In 2011, Salman Bashir said that legal questions arise in terms of the UN charter and that everyone should be mindful of international obligations. Bashir also stated that the US raid was a violation of sovereignty, and such actions raise issues in the international community. Several international lawyers, human rights organizations and religious chiefs had demanded justification of the legitimacy of the US operation.
According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a total of 423 drone strikes had been carried out by the US in Pakistan as of 22 Feb'16. Total civilians killed were 423-965, including 172-207 children. Approximately 1,161-1,744 civilians were injured.
Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, the head of the Afghan Taliban, was killed by the US in a drone strike in Balochistan on 21 May'16. The Afghan government and the Taliban confirmed that Mansoor was killed in an operation that involved multiple drones. The US Department of Defense had stated earlier that Mansoor was targeted when he was traveling in the Pakistani town of Ahmad Wal.
Pakistan confirmed the death of Afghan Taliban Chief Mansoor after carrying out a DNA test. Pakistan's Interior Ministry said that the DNA sample collected from one the dead bodies in Balochistan was matched successfully with a close relative of Mansoor. Mansoor was killed after the cab was targeted by the US forces allegedly on his way back to Pakistan from Iran by road.
Tariq Fatemi, Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif's Special Assistant (Foreign Affairs), stated that their military wasn't aware of the drone strike in Balochistan, in which Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mansour died. Fatemi said that there was no intelligence failure but, Pakistan doesn't have the technology to detect drones. He said that the US drone policy would adversely affect the region where strikes were carried out.
Pakistan accused the US of violating its sovereignty by carrying out drone strike against the Afghan Taliban leader. Pakistan objected that the US didn't inform their Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and stated that it was a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. The attack, authorized by President Obama, was the most high-profile incursion into Pakistani territory since the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
