The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has just been ordered to shoot down any foreign drones that violate the country's airspace including attack drones operated by the United States, Chief Marshal Sohail Aman said on Thursday.
The announcement is a complete change from the air force's previous view, of which foreign drone strikes on its soil were condemned but the air force never threatened to shoot them out of the sky. “We will not allow anyone to violate our airspace. I have ordered PAF to shoot down drones, including those of the US, if they enter our airspace, violating the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman told an audience in Islamabad.
The statement was made about two weeks after a US drone strike targeted a militant compound in Pakistan's tribal region along the border of Afghanistan, leading to multiple casualities, The Times of India reported.
This is the first time, the Pakistani government has taken a hard stance against foreign drones, especially the ones operated by US forces based in Afghanistan. The comment from Aman was shocking despite the US has been launching missiles into Pakistan and violating the country's sovereignty since about 2004. The CIA was responsible for most US drone strikes in Pakistan until November 30, 2017, said The Times of India.
It's believed, senior members of terrorist groups have been killed over the years in drone strikes, but it has come at a cost of “hundreds of civilian” deaths in the form of collateral damage.
After every drone strike, the Pakistan foreign office issues a condemnatory statement claiming that it will not allow such strikes on its territory.
Hundreds of civilians, according to media reports, including women and children, as well as many senior members of terrorist groups have perished in these attacks. The status of many more people remains unknown.
There has been no official response from the White House concerning this radical shift of how the 'war on terror' just got a little more complex over the skies of Pakistan
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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