Imran's party files complaint against CIA station chief

November 27, 2013 08:26 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 10:15 pm IST - ISLAMABAD

Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) has named the CIA station chief in Islamabad, Craig Osth and CIA Director John O. Brennan in a complaint lodged at Tal police station in Hangu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday against the drone strike on November 21 which killed six persons.

In a complaint filed for committing the offences of murder and waging war against Pakistan by Shireen Mazari, central information secretary PTI alleged that Craig Osth is running an illegal clandestine spying operation throughout Pakistan but specifically in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and annexed Tribal Areas, wherein Osth and his allies (names not known yet) throw a GPS (Global Positioning System) device at a targeted house/ car and the Drone (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), which is remotely controlled from an undisclosed location, strikes at the target. In the Hangu case it was Craig Osth and his clandestine network which threw a GPS device at the madrassa in Tal and further ordered the missile strike, which killed and injured a large number of those present including children.

The Peshawar High Court has already declared such drone strikes illegal and a violation of Pakistani and International laws in its judgment. Ms Mazari stated that Craig Osth is currently residing and operating from the United States Embassy situated in the Diplomatic Enclave in Islamabad, which is a clear violation of diplomatic norms and laws as a foreign mission cannot be used for any criminal activity within a sovereign state. CIA Station Chief is not a diplomatic post therefore he does not enjoy any diplomatic immunity and is within the bounds of domestic laws of Pakistan. It is a fact that the nominated accused Craig Osth is not a Pakistani citizen, but under Pakistan Penal Code he is clearly subject to the jurisdiction of Pakistan under Section 3 of the Pakistan Penal Code, she said.

The complaint said Osth is guilty of committing offences under the law of the land and he should be put on the exit control list so he doesn’t try and leave the country.

This is not the first time a CIA station chief in Islamabad has been named in a police complaint. Advocate Shahzhad Akbar too had, before filing a public interest in the Peshawar high court which resulted in the landmark order, named the CIA station chief in 2010.Then the complaint was filed on behalf of Karim Khan whose brother and son died in a drone attack.

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