What is our chief security threat? It is terrorism. What should we prioritize? No doubt its elimination. And what are drones doing, except the same? Rather than theoretical terms we need to think in terms of ground reality. We are faced with a severe threat and cannot channel our meager resources to military operations against the militants.
The present government should not get blackmailed by rightist propaganda; it should boldly and publicly acknowledge the agreement with the US [regarding drone attacks] if there is any.78
Thus the conventional wisdom in the West that Pakistanis unanimously see the drone strikes as a violation of their country’s sovereignty does not seem to hold true. A number of FATA natives, as well as Pakistanis elsewhere, see the drone strikes as the best antidote against the terrorists who have truly violated their country’s sovereignty by carving parts of it off into off-limits, fundamentalist shariah law terrorist states. The same certainly holds true for the Pakistani military establishment and government, which have taken much criticism for their backing of the drone strikes but continue to tacitly support them despite their unpopularity.
PASHTUNS (AND OTHER PAKISTANIS) WHO FAVOR THE DRONE CAMPAIGN
Conventional wisdom among antidrone activists in the West is that the drones “make more enemies than they kill” and drive the FATA’s tribemen to actively support the Taliban. There are, however, anecdotal accounts, such as that of Pervez Hoodbhoy, that describe a people who are seething as they suffer from the tyranny of the Taliban. Hoodboy writes,
Many FATA students in my university have seen the barbarity of Taliban militants from close quarters. They want the beasts killed—and they don’t care how and by whom. For example, a physics PhD student from Mohmand told me that he has not been back to his village for 3 years and still lives in constant fear of being kidnapped by militants. His crime? To have protested the public decapitation by the Taliban of 14 members of a neighbour’s family outside the village mosque.
Not surprisingly, Kurram’s Shiite community of about half a million people is also said to be largely supportive of drone strikes. They have suffered an estimated 2,000 deaths at the hands of Taliban militants since 2007. Photographs of severed heads and limbs have been posted on the internet by the Taliban, who think that Shiites deserve nothing less.
A scientific survey of attitudes in FATA in today’s dangerous circumstances is impossible. Nevertheless, the impression one gets in talking to individuals is that tribal people with education generally favour drone strikes. This includes those who have lost relatives. But uneducated people, who form the overwhelming majority, hate them….
But the Taliban want something immensely more dreadful. They stone women to death, force girl-children into burqa, cut off limbs, kill doctors for administering polio shots, threaten beard-shaving barbers with death, blow up girls schools, and kill musicians. In a society policed by Taliban vice-and-virtue squads, art, drama, and cultural expressions would disappear. The only education would be that of madrassas.79
Similarly, Aamir Latif reported,
Many in tribal areas remain hostile to the Taliban. Hazar says that the Taliban view tribal elders and prayer leaders as their main rivals and keep a close eye on them because they are generally respected by the civilians in the region. “We are better Muslims than the Taliban. We don’t need their advice. We have already been following a decent way of life. What else do they want from us?” says Kamal Shah, a lawyer who heads the anti-Taliban jirga.
Hundreds of tribesmen displaced by the ongoing pitched battles between Pakistani security forces and Taliban militants in the restive northern tribal belt staged an anti-Taliban rally on Monday. This was the first time that the displaced tribesmen demonstrated against the Taliban, dubbing them responsible for their woes.80
Many other Pashtuns would seem to agree with these sentiments. Several studies demonstrate that there is some Pashtun support for the drone strikes against the region’s grim Taliban masters. In 2008 the Pakistan-based Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy carried out a survey among tribesmen in the agencies of North Waziristan, South Waziristan, and Kurram that led to some surprising conclusions. Following are some of the survey questions and their responses:
■ Do the militant organizations get damaged due to drone attacks? (Yes 60%, No 40%)
■ Do you think the drones are accurate in their strikes? (Yes 52%, No 48%)
■ Do you think anti-American feelings in the area increased due to drone attacks recently? (Yes 42%, No 58%)
■ Should Pakistan military carry out targeted strikes at the militant organisations? (Yes 70%, No 30%)81
In other words, a majority of those questioned said the drones weaken the militants, are accurate, and don’t lead to anti-Americanism. The study further found that
the popular notion outside the Pakhtun [Pashtun] belt that a large majority of the local population supports the Taliban movement lacks substance. The notion that anti-Americanism in the region has increased due to drone attacks is rejected. The study supports the notion that a large majority of the people in the Pakhtun belt wants to be incorporated with the state and wants to integrate with the rest of the world….
The people I asked about civilian causalities in the drone attacks said most of the attacks had hit their targets, which include Arab, Chechen, Uzbek and Tajik terrorists of Al-Qaeda, Pakistani Taliban (Pakhtun and Punjabis) and training camps of the terrorists.82
These voices in favor of the drones were not an anomaly in the FATA. In December 2009 a coalition of FATA-based political parties and civil organizations opposed to terrorism issued the “Peshawar Declaration.” Among other provisions, it stated,
■ The conference demands that targeted and immediate operations against all centers and networks of terrorism should be initiated.
■ This conference also demands the elimination of all foreign, nonlocal and local terrorists in FATA.83
The declaration also dealt with the drone attacks in detaiclass="underline"
The issue of Drone attacks is the most important one. If the people of the war-affected areas are satisfied with any counter-militancy strategy, it is the Drone attacks which they support the most. According to the people of Waziristan, Drones have never killed any civilian. Even some people in Waziristan compare Drones with Ababels (The holy swallows sent by God to avenge Abraham, the intended conqueror of the Khana Kaaba). A component of the Pakistani media, some retired generals, a few journalists/analysts and pro-Taliban political parties never tire in their baseless propaganda against Drone attacks.84
There is also a peace movement in the FATA known as Amn Teherek (aka Amn Tehrik) (the Peace Movement). Its platform has been described as follows: “The Amn Tehrek publicly opposes Taliban and Al-Qaida, denounces the ‘strategic depth’ madness, demands the military to conduct targeted operations against the militants in FATA and supports drone attacks. The Amn Teherek has expressed such views almost every month in its socio-political activism. Mainstream Pakistani media largely ignore them.”85 This group has established the Pakhtunkhwa Peace Forum, which had a Facebook page with such messages as “Drone proved its worth in FATA by killing the worst enemies of Pashtun and humanity…. Bravo Mr. drone you are the only source which helped us salvate from terrorists in region.”86