US judge may review drone attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan

Washington, Sept 17 (ANI): A trespassing case against fourteen antiwar activists for entering an airbase in Nevada is likely to lead the judge to review drone attacks by the US in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In a trial of the case in which fourteen activists were arrested for crossing onto Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas base in protest against the US' use of drone warfare, the judge agreed not to treat the use of drones as a simple misdemeanour, the Dawn reports.

In a Las Vegas court, the defendants pleaded not guilty, as they were protesting the use of drones in the Pak-Afghan region that are controlled from the Nevada base.

While one of the anti-war activists-Kathy Kelly- argued in the court that they were trespassing out of necessity and assembling peacefully, some of them succeeded in convincing the judge to hold a full hearing on the use of drones rather than treating it as a simple trespassing case.

Subsequently, the judge announced he would take about three to four months to study the issues and testimonies involved before arriving at a decision.

There have been over 200 strikes, which have killed over 900 people, mostly civilians, in the troubled northwest tribal areas of Pakistan since 2008.

Recently, a report by a top UN official had criticized the Obama administration for continuing the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operated drone attacks in the semi-autonomous tribal areas of Pakistan, as it has resulted in countless civilian deaths. (ANI)