Pakistani Activist Kareem Khan claims he was kidnapped from his home on Feb. 5th and tortured while being interrogated, later he would be blindfolded and released on the outskirts of the Capital of Pakistan. Khan's lawyer told reporters "he was blindfolded and interrogated in two different locations and in both locations he was tied up and beaten on the soles of his feet. " He also added "at first his interrogators wore police uniforms and later civilian clothes.""He was told not to go near media when he was released. If you speak with media, they said, we will come back for you." said Khan's Lawyer.
Khan became an activist after his brother and son were both killed in a drone strike in 2009. Khan also filed a lawsuit against the CIA and the Pakistani Government over the deaths in Pakistani court.
"The United States prizes drones for their accuracy in killing al-Qaida and Taliban militants and says they cause minimal civilian casualties." Reported Katharine Houreld from Reuters.
Drone strikes have become a sore spot in relations between the USA and Pakistan. Every year civilians are killed and the outcry from the public grows, yet it seems they will continue.
Below is the rough estimate from U.S. government sources on casualties from drone strikes.
| Year | Number of Attacks | Casualties | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Militants | Civilians | Unknown | Total | ||
| 2004 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 2005 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 15 |
| 2006 | 2 | 1 | 93 | 0 | 94 |
| 2007 | 4 | 51 | 0 | 12 | 63 |
| 2008 | 36 | 223 | 28 | 47 | 298 |
| 2009 | 54 | 387 | 70 | 92 | 549 |
| 2010 | 122 | 788 | 16 | 45 | 849 |
| 2011 | 73 | 420 | 62 | 35 | 517 |
| 2012 | 48 | 268 | 5 | 33 | 306 |
| 2013 | 21 | 128 | 4 | 0 | 132 |
| Total | 364 | 2,274 | 286 | 270 | 2,830 |
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