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  Slain Pakistani Driver's Family Initiates Legal Action Against US Officials

   by Ayaz Gul

   Relatives of a Pakistani taxi driver, who was killed in last week's
   U.S. drone strike targeting the leader of the Afghan Taliban, have
   formally lodged a police complaint against unnamed U.S. officials.
   The deceased driver, Mohammad Azam, was transporting Taliban chief
   Mullah Mansoor when missiles fired by a drone struck their car in
   Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, killing both of them.
   Police in the remote district of Noshki, where the May 21 missile
   attack took place, confirmed Sunday that Azam's relatives have set the
   criminal justice process in motion by filing what is called a
   First-Information Report (FIR) against unnamed U.S. officials.

   WATCH:  Video from Scene of the Drone Strike

   "My brother, a father of four children, was innocent and the sole bread
   earner for his extremely impoverished family," a brother of the
   deceased driver said in his complaint registered with Noshki police
   station.
   He said Azam had no links to any terror groups and used to ferry
   passengers in his taxi between Taftan, the Pakistani town bordering
   Iran and Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan.
   "I seek justice and legal action against American authorities
   responsible for the attack. I do not know their names but media has
   quoted them as claiming to have used explosive material to kill my
   brother," the complainant added.

   A Quetta-based attorney, Tahir Hussain, told VOA that Azam's family
   will likely to seek a trial in absentia if U.S officials refuse to
   respond and may attempt to push for monetary compensation.

   US defends strike
   President Barack Obama and other members of his administration quickly
   confirmed the killing of Mansoor in the drone strike.

   ''

   Pakistani authorities have not commented on the registration of the
   FIR. Local laws bind the police to fully investigate an incident before
   launching a court case.
   U.S. officials defended the drone attack, saying the Taliban leader was
   opposed to Afghan peace efforts and plotting deadly attacks against
   American soldiers as well as their partners in Afghanistan.
   Mansoor was apparently returning from Iran and was targeted shortly
   after he entered Pakistan, where he had been residing along with other
   Taliban leaders.
   A Pakistani passport found near the destroyed car carrying Mansoor was
   traveling in suggested the slain Taliban chief was using pseudonym,
   Wali Mohammad, for undertaking journeys within and outside Pakistan.
   The travel document contained valid Iranian visa.

   ''

   The U.S. drone operations have long been under fire from rights
   defenders for causing collateral damage, though Washington insists they
   have effectively reduced threat terrorist groups pose to American
   interests in the region.
   Pakistan condemned the drone attack on Mansoor as a violation of the
   country's sovereignty and authorities have since arrested several
   officials for allegedly helping the slain Taliban leader get a
   Pakistani passport.

   A spokesman for Pakistan's Interior Ministry announced Sunday that DNA
   test results have confirmed that it was indeed Mullah Mansoor, the
   Taliban chief, who was killed in the May 21 drone strike. He said the
   DNA samples were taken from a relative of Mansoor who had come from
   Afghanistan to receive his body.

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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/slain-pakistani-driver-family-initiates-legal-action-against-us-officials/3350722.html