NEW YORK: The number of reported civilian deaths caused by the CIA’s drone campaign in Pakistan is at an all-time low since early 2008 and the average number of people killed in each strike has also fallen sharply over the last few years, a new report said here on Monday.
The report released by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and from the New America Foundation shows that to date there have been 13 drone strikes in Pakistan and 82 people have been killed, down from the record 122 strikes and 849 people killed in 2010.
Another study conducted by a US military adviser on Afghanistan has found that drone strikes in Afghanistan during a year of the protracted conflict caused 10 times more civilian casualties than strikes by manned fighter aircraft.
The new study, referred to in an official US military journal, contradicts claims by US officials that the robotic planes are more precise than their manned counterparts.
Recently United Nations experts have criticised the drone campaign saying it could be deemed against the international law and sovereignty and integrity of the country.
Anwar Iqbal adds from Washington: The report notes that in the past six months, the drones have killed two significant militant leaders.
Maulvi Nazir, a senior commander of the so-called ‘Good Taliban’ and Waliur Rehman, deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban.
Another strike on June 7 killed seven including Mutaqi (aka Bahadar Khan), described by some sources as a ‘key Pakistan Taliban commander’.
The attack came two days after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif used his inaugural address to demand an end to US drone strikes. After the attack, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned deputy US ambassador Richard Hoagland to protest, which led to a major diplomatic row between the two countries.
The report points out that Waliur Rehman’s death in a drone strike in May hardened TTP’s stance against the new Pakistani government and dashed hopes of peace talks between the militant group and authorities in Islamabad. The TTP has since claimed that a spate of bloody attacks were in retaliation for Rehman’s death, including the murder of 10 foreign climbers and their local guide in the mountainous north of the country.