Though it is not known whether the drone-led missile strike was successful in getting the high-value targets, for which it was intended, the attack has opened another Pandora’s box.
The attack has come specifically on the day when the elected legislators in the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province were assembling to take oath. The parliamentarians — majority of them from cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan’s party — had contested and won elections on an agenda of getting the province free from drone attacks. Thus the drone attack at the very inception of their legislative career is no less than a snub and a challenge to handle the task of dealing with the United States in an eloquent manner. Secondly, the attack has come almost a week after President Barack Obama outlined his policy on drones and counter-terrorism efforts, directing the Pentagon to be more specific in choosing targets, and not to impact civilian lives and infrastructure. As far as this strike is concerned, the US authorities would need to do a lot of explanations, citing that they were successful in getting the criminals, and no damage was caused in the collateral realms. Until that is done, this solo strike is likely to stir a brawl of bad blood between both the countries.
With Pakistan’s new leadership yet to make a comment over the fresh attack, things are in a state of flux. It is almost certain that this issue is going to keep both the provincial and the federal governments of prime minister-in-waiting Nawaz Sharif bogged down in foreign affairs, losing their concentration on more pressing issues such as rectifying economy and fighting terrorism. The reason is they, per se, would not be like to be seen towing the previous government’s line of action, wherein the Pakistan People’s Party of President Asif Ali Zardari played the fiddle when the US authorities continued with its savage drone sorties. This tit-for-tat approach, however, wouldn’t come to the rescue of the people of the terror-hit region, who look up to the movers-and-shakers for a rationale approach in netting the terrorists. A policy that should see terror being nipped without collateral damage is indispensable.