Along with a good number of terrorists, apparently some civilians were also killed. But when the Taliban intentionally kills civilians — often by beheading — not to mention blows schools up and, in general, openly terrorizes Pakistani civilians, not only does the Pakistani government take no action; it often seems to be in cahoots with them.
“Pak urges Obama to halt missile attacks on al-Qaida strongholds,” from the Times of India, January 24:
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan urged President Barack Obama to halt US missile strikes on al-Qaida strongholds near the Afghan border, saying on Saturday that civilians were killed the previous day in the first attacks since Obama’s inauguration.
Pakistani security officials said eight suspected foreign militants, including an Egyptian al-Qaida operative, were among 22 people killed in yesterday’s twin strikes in the Waziristan region.
But the Foreign Ministry said that the attacks by unmanned aircraft also killed an unspecified number of civilians and that it had informed US officials of its “great concern.”
“With the advent of the new US administration, it is Pakistan’s sincere hope that the United States will review its policy and adopt a more holistic and integrated approach toward dealing with the issue of terrorism and extremism,” a ministry statement said.
“We maintain that these attacks are counterproductive and should be discontinued,” it said.
Pakistani leaders complain that stepped-up missile strikes — there have been more than 30 since August — fan anti-American sentiment and undermine the government’s own efforts to counter Islamist militants…