America Violating International Law in Pakistan

To:  Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani; COAS General Pervaiz Kiyani; President Asif Zardari,UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon,The Office of the Presidency of UN Security Council,

We the undersigned, condemn the recent actions undertaken by the American forces in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan. On Wednesday September 3rd, the American military command in Afghanistan, with Presidential authorization, redefined the ambit of it's military intervention in Afghanistan, so that the Tribal Areas of Pakistan are now reconstituted as a part of a single ‘theatre of war’ with Afghanistan. These acts contravene established principles of international law and in particular constitute a violation of Article 2 of the United Nations Charter. In addition, in these recent ground attacks and in previous acts of aerial bombardment, Geneva Convention protections for civilians have been egregiously flouted by US and NATO forces, adding to the untold numbers of such crimes being committed in occupied Afghanistan. Only days after the restoration of a full civilian government in Pakistan, this recent escalation of conflict threatens to undermine and challenge the popular mandate won by the governing coalition.

The Chief of Army Staff, General Parvaiz Kiyani, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and other governmental officials are now mouthing retaliatory threats against American and NATO forces, when in actuality, Pakistan’s territory serves as the conduit for 85% of supplies that make these actions possible. In addition, the Pakistani military has been the recipient of $8-10 billion of American aid as reimbursement for expenditures undertaken in engaging in wide scale military action against ‘terrorists’, and their hideouts and ‘safe-havens’ in the tribal areas. As America’s ally in its ‘war against terror’ the Pakistani military’s indiscriminate targeting of populations residing in the tribal areas resembles closely an ethnic genocide in its incipient stages. There are no reliable figures for the number of Pakistani citizens killed in the targeted regions of Pakistan since our military started combat activity there but it reaches into the thousands.

As citizens of the state of Pakistan, we call upon our government to end in its criminal complicity with America and to seek alternate solutions to deal with violent and extremist organizations operating in FATA.

We furthermore demand that in accord with Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations, the government of Pakistan should request an urgent meeting of the Security Council to make a determination on the (il)legality of the recent acts of the United States.
Article 2(4) of the UN Charter states:

“All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The America Violating International Law in Pakistan Petition to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani; COAS General Pervaiz Kiyani; President Asif Zardari,UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon,The Office of the Presidency of UN Security Council, was created by and written by Sadaf Aziz (sadafaziz4@hotmail.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.