Dear Mr. President (no President Zardari, I am not harassing you again – I’m writing to your friend this time),

As you put on a grave face and address Pakistanis, condemning the suicide attack that killed over 45 people in Pakistan on Saturday, I thought I should ask you, who exactly are your drone strikes killing?

It’s you (or us, apparently) versus the extremists. Now we know who the extremists are killing. They are killing shoppers browsing in bazaars, children in schools, policemen on duty and fruit-sellers brushing away flies at their stores in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. They are killing tribal elders who are against extremism and they are killing flood victims standing in line for some ration. So it’s pretty clear who your (I mean our) enemies are killing but I would like to know who exactly are your (this time not ours) drone strikes are killing.

The victims of the extremists are named, identified and buried almost respectfully. They are everyday Pakistanis. They are not suspects. Your targets, however, are. At least that’s what the news tells us: ‘Four suspects killed in US drone strike’. How strong you must be to have the authority to kill someone who is a mere suspect – not even a confirmed Bin Laden fan. You say they are the biggest threat to world peace and I don’t doubt you on that but how effective is it when you kill about four or five suspected terrorists a day, then you get the rest of their friends real angry – angry enough to blow up 50 innocent people every other day just because we are allowing you to dance on our sovereignty. I don’t see how that makes sense. Now one could argue that all these terror attacks are not a result of your drone strikes but how else do you explain the actions of these barbarians who are real ticked off at the fact that you keep blowing up their mud huts in Fata. Yes, these militants need to be targeted but what about all those people who aren't targets but are still getting killed in the process?

Yes sir, I understand you are giving us lots of money but your money isn’t going to bring back the dead. Yes, yes, I understand you don’t want to bring back the dead militants but how many militants did you kill anyway? Are there no children and women in Waziristan? Is your technology actually that precise that it can target a militant vehicle so carefully that a child playing right beside that car will go unharmed? Can your administration honestly vouch for the fact that no innocent Pakistani has died as a result of your counter-terrorism strategy? I don’t buy that sir and neither do the millions of other Pakistanis who had made the mistake of having some kind of hope as you flashed your smile on television screens when you were elected President of the United States of America.

I’m not a defense analyst or a foreign policy expert or someone yelling ‘Go America Go’ on the streets of Karachi – I am just someone who is really sick and tired of your drone strikes. You may be protecting the American public from future 9/11s but who is going to protect the Pakistani public from the daily suicide attacks? You want to be our ally, our BFF - shouldn’t our best interest also be considered here? Perhaps your policy may make this world a safer place in the next few decades but right now, Pakistan is a dangerous place and your drone attacks are making it worse.

I’ve kind of given up on our government – but what’s wrong with your administration? You all don’t have fake degrees. Shouldn’t you possess better judgment? Yes I understand our government loves your dollars and our youngsters love your scholarship offers and fast-food chains but to be honest, our general public really can’t stand your arrogance and hypocrisy. As I write this letter to your Sir, our prime minister just went on air to condemn US drone attacks, calling them counter-productive. Even though this statement comes from our PM, I highly doubt it will make any difference to your policy and our government’s shamelessness. To me, it is a well-crafted act of good cop, bad cop.

Your counter-terrorism strategy is really making it hard for the common Pakistani to be your well-wisher. Terrorism was already a major concern for us – your drone strikes has hiked up that concern a notch more because the ‘suspects’ who you miss, come to our backyards and take their anger out on us – as if the deaths of innocent Pakistanis would have an impact on you. Or maybe it would, you looked sincere while making your condolence statement – come up with a better plan Mr. President because this one just isn’t working.

Sleep over it Sir.

Best regards, Shyema Sajjad

Shyema Sajjad is the Deputy Editor at Dawn.com