The US drone programme has provoked protests in Pakistan over concerns that many of its casualties are civilians
US President Barack Obama has confirmed that unmanned drones have regularly struck Pakistan’s tribal areas in his government’s efforts to dismantle what it alleges are al-Qaeda sanctuaries in the region.
Obama’s rare public acknowledgement of the US drone programme in Pakistan came on Monday during an hour-long online video chat with users of the Google+ social network.
Obama said the strikes were a “targeted focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists”.
The president said “a lot” of the strikes had targeted “al-Qaeda suspects who are up in very tough terrain” in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), along the border with Afghanistan, long believed to be a hub of activity for armed groups.
“For us to be able to get them in another way would involve probably a lot more intrusive military action than the ones we’re already engaging in.”
The controversial drone programme run by the CIA has often been met with protests in Pakistan amid concerns of civilian casualties. The Pakistani government publicly
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