Pakistani police register case against ex-CIA chief in drone strike

Police in the Pakistani capital on Thursday registered case on murder and terrorism charges against the former CIA Station Chief in a drone strike that had killed two people in 2009, lawyers said.

Kareem Khan, a resident of Mirali, North Waziristan Agency who had lost his son and his brother in a drone attack carried out by the CIA in 2009, approached the Islamabad High Court to register case against two CIA officials, Jonathan Banks and John A Rizzo. Khan had moved the application in 2010.

The Islamabad Police registered the case on charges of murder, waging war against Pakistan and terrorism, Lawyer for the complainant, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, said.

The recent move in the case came as result of clear orders of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of Islamabad High Court wherein on April 7, when he ordered the Inspector General of Islamabad Capital Territory Tahir Alam Khan to register a criminal case against the former CIA station chief in Islamabad Jonathan Banks and CIA legal counsel John A Rizzofor offenses of murder, conspiracy, waging war against Pakistan and terrorism.

The Police have immediately written through the Commissioner Islamabad office to FATA Secretariat to transfer the case on the pretext that the incident occurred in their jurisdiction, the lawyer said.

"We are happy that finally a criminal case has been registered against the CIA officials for drone strikes killing, but we will definitely challenge Police's action to transfer the case to FATA without any legal justification," said Akbar, who has been pursuing this case since 2010 said in a statement.

"Today with registration of FIR against the killers of my son and brother and thousands of other civilian victims, the position of drone victims has been vindicated that CIA is committing acts of murder in Pakistan by killing our innocent civilians with impunity," said Kareem Khan in his comments. Endi