This is Nawaz Sharif's stance in 2010 on drone attacks, published in dailytimes

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PML-N threatens long march if govt fails to stop attacks

* Saad Rafique says rulers have no right to remain in government if drone attacks are not stopped

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Wednesday threatened the government to launch a countrywide movement and hold a long march to press for mid-term elections if it fails to devise a strategy to stop drone attacks inside Pakistani territory and NATO operations on the country’s soil.

“Enough is enough. We will launch a movement and hold a long march to demand mid-term elections if the present grave situation with regards to the threat to the country’s sovereignty continues,” PML-N parliamentarian Khawaja Saad Rafique said while taking part in a debate on an adjournment motion regarding operation by NATO forces inside Pakistan.

During his speech, Saad posed a question to the government as to why it had continued the policy of a dictator regarding drone attacks in Pakistan. “Why is the dictator’s policy still being followed during the Zardari and Gilani regime,” he said.

The PML-N member asked what kind of sovereign country Pakistan was where drone attacks took place every day and NATO forces were violating its territorial boundaries. “Who is allowing such actions and attacks inside Pakistan,” he said.

He asked the government to tell the House whether there was any secret agreement or understanding between Islamabad and the NATO forces regarding drone attacks inside the country.

Saad Rafique also posed a question as to whether it was the present government or the Musharraf regime that had provided facilities for drone attacks to the US. “If drone attacks are not stopped, the present rulers will have no right to remain in government,” he said, adding that why NATO forces never dared to attack Iran and North Korea. He stressed that it should be the political leader and not the army, which should devise the country’s national security policy.

Another PML-N parliamentarian, Khurram Dastgir, also criticised the government for its failure to control drone attacks, saying that during the Musharraf tenure, as many as 22 drone attacks were launched, while during the present government’s tenure, a total of 188 drone attacks had been conducted in Pakistan.

Khurram said the failure on the part of the government to stop drone attacks encouraged NATO forces to cross the Pakistani border and attack its security forces. Referring to a report of an American newspaper, he said the CIA had been continuing a secret war against Pakistan while conducting operations on its soil.

The opposition member said that the attack on the country’s sovereignty was a serious issue and the Pakistani government should engage the US in “very serious strategic dialogue”.



Source: DailyTimes