Pakistan gets control of drone attacks

It also marks a broad new role for the US military in hunting Taliban and al-Qaeda,who pose a growing threat to both Pakistan and Afghanistan. For years,that task has been the domain of the CIA.

Under the new partnership,a separate fleet of US drones operated by the Defence Department will be free for the first time to venture beyond the Afghan border under the direction of Pakistani military officials,working alongside US counterparts at a command centre in Afghanistan’s Jalalabad.

“This is about building trust,” said a US military official. “This is about giving them capabilities they do not currently have to help them defeat this radical extreme element in their country.”

The programme represents a significant departure from how the war against the Taliban has been fought for most of the last seven years. The heavy US military presence in Afghanistan has been largely powerless to pursue the Islamic extremists who routinely escape into Pakistan.

The initiative carries serious risks for Pakistan,struggling to balance a desire for more control over the Predators with a deep reluctance to become complicit in US drone strikes on its people.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari,on his visit to Washington last week,reiterated his nation’s request for its own fleet of Predators. US officials have all but ruled that out,and they described the new,jointly operated flights as an effective compromise.

Pakistani officials said on Tuesday that they were working with US officials to better utilise the American technology. In a statement,Husain Haqqani,Islamabad’s ambassador to Washington,said Pakistan remained concerned that the “unilateral” CIA drone strikes violated the nation’s sovereignty.

“Pakistan has not been averse to using every available means in tracking down al-Qaeda and other terrorists,” Haqqani said. “We have been working with the US side to find ways in which the US technological advantage matches up with our desire to uphold our sovereignty within our borders.”

CIA Predators flown covertly in Pakistan continue to focus on the al-Qaeda. The drones,however,are intended to undermine the militant networks that have moved closer to Islamabad,the capital,in recent weeks.

However,Zardari said on Wednesday that Pakistan wants complete “ownership” of the US drone technology for carrying out strikes against terrorist targets in its territory.

“We want ownership of the drone. Democracy doesn’t believe in half measures,” Zardari said.