ISLAMABAD: “Report 25” in the Islamabad secretariat police station's record is set to become a symbolic document in Pakistan's counter-terrorism relations with the United States. Based on an application by Kareem Khan of Muchikhel, Mirali, North Waziristan, the report can possibly pave the way for the registration of a case against Jonathan Banks, an alleged CIA functionary operating from the US embassy in Islamabad, on charges of providing operational guidance for drone attacks in Fata region, including one that killed the complainant's son and brother.

Kareem Khan's application caps two weeks of activity by a group of protesters from the Fata region who have camped outside the parliament, and not far from the Islamabad Press Club, pleading for an end to drone attacks.

All of them have seen the horror of drone strikes. Some like Sadullah, a grade-7 student, also from Mirali, have been crippled for life, while others, the majority in the group, have been traumatised by the death of their relatives.

It is the first time since the drone attacks started in 2004 that some victims have taken an initiative for a legal action against the US authorities. This strengthens a hitherto disjointed outcry against drones, elevating it to an expression of the nation's sentiment. Dawn

“I want the court to provide me relief. I want these criminals to be brought to justice. They sit in Islamabad and kill Pakistan's citizens. Let us see what the government does for us now,” said Kareem Khan while talking to .

This expectation of support from the government is already half-met. The group of protesters has been getting substantial political support. Almost every political party has sent a representative to the camp to assure the protesters of its support. Even the Awami National Party, whose leaders have been the most vocal in supporting the drone attacks, has publicly endorsed their stance. Afrasiab Khattak, chief of the party's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa unit, surprised his own colleagues by spending time with the campaigners from Fata.

But a question has been baffling observers: who tipped off the petitioners about the identity of the putative CIA operative and his presence in Islamabad?

Even the most well-informed sources in the capital would not have access to such privileged piece of information. For this to have become a part of Kareem's application indicates that the mood in Islamabad's corridors of power is changing with regard to drone attacks and their usefulness. TIT FOR TAT?:

Islamabad's diplomatic circles are abuzz with speculation as to what could have caused this change of mood. One reason cited is the 26-page lawsuit filed with a New York Court on Nov 19 against the ISI and LeT by the relatives of those who were gunned down by militants at Mumbai's Chabad House on Nov 26, 2008.

The court has issued summons to, among others, the present and former heads of the ISI, Lt Generals Shuja Pasha and Nadeem Taj.

“It could be tit for tat, in a bizarre battle of one-upmanship between the agencies,” mused a western diplomat at a recent reception.

It is hard to verify this explanation in the absence of any official word. The Foreign Office, as well as military spokespersons, have declined to comment on the subject. And the ISI does not have an official spokesperson.

A much more convincing explanation could be that the frequency of drone attacks has at last exasperated the decision makers into feeling enough is enough.

If indeed the Fata protesters are being facilitated by Islamabad's ruling establishment, then it seems to have a lot to do with a new set of anxieties that have overtaken both GHQ and Islamabad.

Statements from top US intelligence officials warning about the possibility of expanding the territorial scope of the strikes has rung alarm bells.

Sources close to the security establishment say that suggestions by US think tanks of attacks in Quetta against the so-called Quetta Shura and on madressahs in Akora Khattak, Karak, are being taken seriously.

While US officials have always reassured Pakistan that such suggestions are “wild talk”, the sources say, no one is under any illusion that this cannot happen.

Cultivating public opinion against drone attacks is therefore important to make the CIA think twice before expanding drone attacks to urban centres.

Hence “Report 25” is a clear message from Pakistan that the nation has now begun to draw a red line vis-à-vis the drones.

But it is hard to imagine that this would make US policymakers review their policy. This is in part because of the private sanction that Islamabad has given to these strikes since 2004.

'LAUGHABLE': Karim Khan's complaint has come after as many as 207 reported drone strikes and considerable civilian casualties. The Long War Journal has given a conservative estimate of the innocents killed in these strikes, putting the figure at over one hundred.

The locals laugh off these estimates. “This is laughable. Hundreds have been killed in my area alone. This is just to prove US policy right. These estimates have no value,” said Kareem.

Regardless of the debate on casualties, it is an open secret that Pakistan's highest authorities have been in on drone strikes. The most persuasive evidence came when a WikiLeaks cable quoted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as saying: “I don't care if they do it as long as they get the right people. We'll protest in the National Assembly and then ignore it.”

Making the US change this policy of cooperation will be easier said than done. In fact, the US has already ramped up the drone effort inside Pakistan, and that is why of the total drone strikes on Pakistan, a whopping 197 have taken place since 2008.