Pakistan: 3 percent of drone deaths were civilians

  Last Updated On 31 October,2013 About 1 hour ago

Pakistani government has said that 3 percent of 2,227 people killed in drone strikes were civilians.

ISLAMABAD (AP) - The Pakistani government said Wednesday that 3 percent of 2,227 people killed in U.S. drone strikes since 2008 were civilians, a surprisingly low figure that sparked criticism from groups that have investigated death tolls from the attacks.
The number, which was provided by the Ministry of Defense to the Senate, is much lower than past government calculations and estimates by independent organizations that have gone as high as 300. The ministry said 317 drone strikes have killed 2,160 Islamic militants and 67 civilians since 2008.
The attacks, which mainly target suspected Islamic militants near the northwestern border with Afghanistan, are widely unpopular in Pakistan because they are viewed as violating the country s sovereignty and killing too many civilians. The Pakistani government regularly criticizes the drone program in public, even though it is known to have secretly supported at least some of the strikes in the past.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pressed President Barack Obama to end the attacks in a visit to the White House last week, but the U.S. considers the attacks vital to its battle against al-Qaida and the Taliban and gave no indication it was willing to abandon them.
Defense Ministry officials could not be reached for comment, and the statement posted on the Senate s website did not give any indication why the number was so much lower than past government calculations and outside estimates.