1. UN Report on Drone Attacks
In January 2013, the UN launched a probe into drone attacks by the US, following requests from Russia, China and Pakistan. The inquiry aimed to look into civilian deaths caused by drones. Although the inquiry does not look into the actions of any one state in particular, the UN said about 450 civilians may have been killed by US drones in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen. The report is expected to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in 2014. Drone attacks by the US on Pakistani soil have been a source of much resentment and anger in Pakistan, where protests blocked Nato supply routes this year.
The US strategy of using drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan will influence relations between these two countries and the US, which in turn will affect India-Pakistan-US equations.
(This story appears in the 10 January, 2014 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)