The recently declared American intentions of making armed incursions into Pakistan to kill assumed terrorists are unbecoming of a civilized nation. The proposition is reminiscent of the old imperial technique of turning people into nobodies, then killing them in cold blood and claiming that “nobody was killed.”
Today, world civilization has reached a state in which there is no such thing as an “outlaw”. Every human being has or should have a legal identity and should be made to follow the law.
I would suggest that the Pakistani government should enforce Pakistani laws in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas by making it a province of Pakistan with a governor, provincial assembly, divisions and districts, police stations, courts and local government; the army should establish cantonments there.
As for the foreign nationals there, they should be treated as refugees and given political asylum if they apply for it. Once a list of refugees and asylum seekers is prepared, the world would know whether or not Osama bin Laden and Mulla Omar actually exist. And if they do, they should be brought to justice according to international law. They shouldn’t be killed in sleep because their trial would expose embarrassing truths about their accusers.
If the Americans really want to get rid of the terror that haunts them, they should, among other things, help Pakistan in integrating FATA into the State.
