Washington University Global Studies Law Review Volume 9 Issue 1 2010 War on Terrorism: Self Defense, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the Legality of U. Drone Attacks in Pakistan Sikander Ahmed Shah University of Michigan Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.edu/law_globalstudies Part of the Military, War, and Peace Commons Recommended Citation Sikander Ahmed Shah, War on Terrorism: Self Defense, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the Legality of U. Drone Attacks in Pakistan, 9 WASH.edu/law_globalstudies/vol9/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Global Studies Law Review by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship.
For more information, please contact digital@wumail. WAR ON TERRORISM: SELF DEFENSE, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, AND THE LEGALITY OF U. DRONE ATTACKS IN PAKISTAN SIKANDER AHMED SHAH TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND. INTERNATIONAL LAW GOVERNING THE USE OF FORCE IN SELF DEFENSE AND THE U.
WAR IN AFGHANISTAN. International Law of Self Defense and Terrorism. The Legality of U. Attacks on Afghanistan.
OCCUPATION OF AFGHANISTAN: ISAF AND OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM. THE LEGALITY OF U. DRONE ATTACKS IN PAKISTAN. Justifications for the Drone Attacks in Relation to the Right of Self Defense.
Drone Attacks in Pakistan and the Customary International Law of Self Defense. 127 INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Few would deny the fact that Pakistan faces a contemporary existential threat.1 The writ of the federal government in various parts of the country is becoming increasingly non-existent.2 The inception of parallel judicial systems3 coupled with the materialization of accords between the federal J. Cum Laude, University of Michigan Ann Arbor; Assistant Professor of Law and Policy, LUMS University, Lahore, Pakistan. Special thanks to Lubna Anwar and Savera Qazi (LL.
2011) for research assistance., FOX News Sunday with Chris Wallace (FOX News Channel television broadcast Mar. 29, 2009) (interview by Chris Wallace with Robert Gates, Sec‘y of Def.), transcript available at http://www.html; Clinton Cites Al-Qaeda as Key Target in Obama Plan, NEWS, Apr. Pakistan: Negotiating Away the Writ of the State, STRATFOR GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE, Feb.com/analysis/20090216_pakistan_negotiating_away_writ_state. Khalid Aziz, Op-Ed., Has Waziristan Stabilized?, NEWS, Apr.pk/editorial_detail.
77 Washington University Open Scholarship 78 WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY GLOBAL STUDIES LAW REVIEW [VOL. 9:77 government and Pakistan-based Taliban militias responsible for heinous crimes and acts of terrorism is alarming.4 Equally distressing is the determination that these accords are, in actuality, acts of desperation on behalf of the government that further dilute effective control over national territory.5 From a human rights perspective, the government is condoning reprehensible and criminal modes of conduct in the heartland of Pakistan by bowing down to radicals, who subscribe to a contorted and purist version of religious law and belief system. Such outsourcing of judicial function, executive authority, and enforcement is in complete contravention of the Constitution of Pakistan and classical Shariah (Islamic) law.6 There are doctrinal complexities concerning jurisdiction and sovereignty in the volatile frontier region of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan, as a sizeable parcel of the territory is semi-autonomous as affirmed under the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan.7 Numerous Pashtun tribes retain administrative control of this territory and matters have historically been regulated under the Pashtunwali code,8 which has been affected by the Salafi,9 Wahhabi,10 and Deobandi11 revivalist movements. This phenomenon, coupled with a lack of sustainable development, is directly responsible for the recent and horrible repression of civilians, the perpetuation of intolerance, and the fostering of militancy in the region.
Historical contingencies are also to blame for the radicalization process that has continued unabated in the tribal belt. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan during the height of the Cold War turned into a proxy war 4. Zardari Details Swat Peace Deal, BBC NEWS, Feb.uk/2/hi/ south_asia/7894581. Nasim Zehra, Swat Deal: An Act of Desperation?, NEWS, Feb.pk/daily_detail.
See Qazis’ Verdict Can’t be Challenged in SC, NEWS, Apr.pk/top_story_detail. But see Akhtar Amin, Qazi Courts to Work Under High Court: NWFP AG, DAILY TIMES, Apr.asp?page= 2009\04\22\story_22-4-2009_pg7_1. See also PAK. See generally AL- MAWARDI, THE ORDINANCES OF GOVERNMENT (Wafaa H., 2006); IBN TAIMIYYA, ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LAW 11–35 (Omar A.