Jemima’s film on US drone strikes set for world premiere

Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars was screened here,attended by who’s who of Pakistan,ahead of its world premiere on Wednesday.

The film depicts impact of drone strikes on the lives of lakh of people living in the unruly tribal areas of Pakistan.

It also includes an interview with a former American drone operator,Brandon Bryant,who shares his experience at a time when global rights groups are saying that such strikes carried out by US equals war crimes.

Subscriber Only Stories

View All

Replacing addresses with three words… the world of What3words

Delhi Confidential: Pro-public on Republic Day

Meet the woman who found name missing from voter list in UP — and took th...

At DGP meet, officers flag Islamist, Hindutva outfits in radicalisation

Apply New Year promo code SD25

Bryant believes he is responsible for more than 1,600 fatal hits. The 27-year-old said watching the grisly consequences of his actions unfold on a computer screen led to drinking,depression and finally post-traumatic stress disorder.

Bryant said he is also haunted by the image of a small figure running towards a building he had just aimed at in Afghanistan. Bryant was convinced the figure was a child,but his superiors told him it was a dog. He claims that in the final report of the strike,neither a child nor a dog was mentioned.

The film also highlights the story of 16-year-old Tariq Aziz,who was killed by a drone merely a week after he participated in a public conference in Islamabad in 2011.

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan attended the first screening along with diplomats,activists and members of the civil society.

Khan hoped that the film will change public opinion in the West about the lethal drone strikes and their impact.

Khan said drone attacks amount to war crimes as they violate human rights and kill large number of innocent women and children.