bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Associated Press

The family of a driver who was killed alongside Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a US drone strike has filed a case against US officials, seeking to press murder charges, police in Pakistan said Sunday.
Mansour had entered Pakistan from Iran using a false name and fake Pakistani identity documents on May 21, when his car was targeted by a US drone. The driver, who was also killed, was later identified as Mohammed Azam.
The police filed a case on behalf of Azam’s family, police official Abdul Wakil Mengal said.
It was not immediately clear what legal avenues the family can realistically pursue.
In the case documents, his brother Mohammed Asim describes Azam as an “innocent man” and a father of four who was the family’s sole breadwinner. “I want justice,” Asim said, according to the case file.
“In our view, both the [officials] who ordered and those who executed the drone strike are responsible for [killing] a man who had nothing to do with terrorism, who was a non-combatant,” said Azam’s uncle, Allah Nazar.
Nazar said his nephew’s death had broken the family. He said that as well as caring for his children, Azam was supporting a disabled brother and his mother, who is blind.
“I have got a simple question to ask the American authorities, that’s: how will this family survive?” Nazar said.
He said the family was seeking financial compensation from American and Pakistani authorities to support Azam’s family and fund his children’s education.
Pakistan condemned the US drone strike, describing it as a violation of its sovereignty.
On Sunday Pakistan’s interior ministry announced that a DNA test confirmed that Mansour had been killed in the US drone attack. American and Afghan officials had already confirmed Mansour’s death, but Islamabad had declined to do so before the DNA test results.
Earlier this week, the Afghan Taliban selected a religious hard-liner, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, as their new head.
_


11 soldiers, 1 child killed in Pakistan after explosive-laden vehicle rams security post

Violence in Balochistan rages on as Pakistan rules out talks with insurgents

Pakistan says it has killed 145 ‘Indian-backed terrorists’ after Balochistan attacks

Afghan resistance museum revamped under Taliban rule

Taliban

Driver’s family seeks murder charges over US drone strike that killed Taliban leader Mullah Mansour

This photograph taken on May 21 shows the wreckage of the car that was being driven by Mohammed Azam, with Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour, around 160km west of Quetta, when it was destroyed by a US drone. Photo: AFP

Afghan Taliban appoint Haibatullah Akhundzada as new leader after Mansour’s death

Taliban new leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada is seen in an undated photograph, posted on a Taliban twitter feed on May 25, 2016, and identified separately by several Taliban officials, who declined be named. Photo: Reuters

FILE - This Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015 file photo, shows Taliban leader Mullah Mansour. The Afghan Taliban has confirmed that its former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a U.S. drone strike last week and appointed a successor. In a statement sent to media Wednesday, May 25, 2016, the insurgent group said its new leader is Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, one of two Mansour's deputies. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)