Report criticizes civilian casualties in Pakistan

Source Associated Press

Islamabad and Washington must publicly track civilian deaths from military operations and drone strikes in Pakistan and compensate the families of those killed, a U.S. advocacy group said in a new report. The study by the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict warned that unless the Pakistani government and military take action, they risk undermining public support for the war against Taliban and al-Qaida militants. It also cautioned the U.S. that failure to provide greater transparency about who is targeted and killed in the growing number of drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal belt could drive more people to join the extremists. "Despite the severity and consequences of these losses, civilian casualties receive too little attention from U.S., Pakistani, and donor-nation policymakers, as well as military officials," said the report, written by Christopher Rogers and released Wednesday. The group, founded in 2003, urges warring parties to help civilians harmed in armed conflict. The study did not provide a breakdown of the number of people killed or injured by the Pakistani military and suspected U.S. drone strikes because of a lack of available information. Officials and residents regularly report deaths of civilians, but there is very little independent reporting on the incidents.