SPEAKING on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani once again aired resentment against US drone attacks. Eighteen attacks by pilotless planes have killed scores of people in the tribal areas, mostly innocent non-combatants, over the last few months. The attacks continue to be conducted despite strong protests by an administration committed to fighting terrorism. The present government took the issue to Parliament where it got a unanimous resolution passed which, among other things, expressed the determination to defeat extremism and terrorism in all forms. Never before had a parliamentary consensus been created on the issue. The government initiated two operations in Swat and Bajaur, where it persuaded, for the first time, local tribal leaders to raise lashkars against the militants. This invited the ire of the militants, who conducted three deadly attacks on tribal jirgas killing scores of elders and common tribesmen. They also targeted parliamentarians belonging to the ANP and the PPP, and their relatives. As a statement by a TTP spokesman indicates, the suicide attack in Peshawar on Tuesday was aimed at the provincial senior minister who has been particularly active in pursuing the anti-militant policy. The government has tried, but failed, to make Washington realize that the drone attacks are counter-productive. Government leaders have taken recourse to the media to register protests. The US ambassador has been called to the Foreign Office to convey the message through diplomatic channels. Congressional delegations, including the one that met the PM on Tuesday, have been briefed on the damaging impact of the attacks on Pak-US relations. President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani have personally conveyed the popular sentiments to the Bush Administration. Parliament has unanimously rejected the attacks as an infringement of Pakistan's sovereignty. All this has failed to keep the US drones out of Pakistan's airspace. Meanwhile, Washington has failed to take a number of measures badly needed to fight terrorism effectively. Despite a lot of talk about the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones in the tribal areas, one has seen no progress in that direction. As the PM has noted, the US has yet to adequately equip the armed forces to deal with the terrorists. There is a need to undertake these tasks to facilitate the War on Terror. What is more, Washington has to realize that unless it stops the attacks, letting Pakistan deal with the terrorists in line with the unanimous parliamentary resolution, it would end up destabilizing the elected government. What is more, it is likely to lose the War on Terror in the region.