ISLAMABAD- The Islamabad High Court (IHC) today issued an order to register a First Information Report (FIR) against Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) former station chief Jonathan Banks over deaths of civilians in US drone attacks.
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of IHC was hearing the petition filed by Haji Abdul Karim Khan of North Waziristan. During the hearing, the petitioner said that drone strikes kill innocent civilians, adding that his relatives were also among the victims of these attacks.
The petitioner said that the drone strikes took place on the commands of the ex-CIA station chief, which implicated his direct involvement in the matter. Justice Siddiqui while accepting Karim's petition, ordered the Secretariat police station house officer (SHO) to file an FIR against Banks. Karim had earlier requested the Secretariat Police to register an FIR against Banks but they refused to do so.
Karim Khan, a native of Mir Ali, North Waziristan, had earlier filed an application in the IHC in 2010, seeking registration of an FIR with the Secretariat Police Station in Islamabad. He was seeking registration of an FIR against then CIA station chief Banks for killing his son and a brother in a 2009 drone attack.