The family of Mohammad Azam, a taxi driver who was driving Mullah Mansoor around and was killed alongside the Taliban leader, has filed a lawsuit against the United States.

Azam was killed in the U.S. drone strike that also killed Mansoor. The lawsuit claims that no one from the U.S. government has contacted them about compensation for the driver's death. Azam was killed on May 21 as he was driving Mansoor from the Iranian border to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.

Like Us on Facebook

The brother of Azam, Mohammad Qasim, said in a statement that he was the sole breadwinner of their large family and his murder was also an attack on their family. He said they hardly earn enough to have two meals daily. Azam has been working as a driver for more than eight years in Taftan and is survived by his wife and four children.

"Who will feed them now? I appeal to the civilised world, including all those human rights bodies, to investigate the brutal murder of my brother and compensate his children," Qasim said.

Azam reportedly picked up Mansoor after the latter emerged from the Iranian-Pakistani border at 9 am on May 21. He was returning to Pakistan after a long visit to Iran. The Taliban leader passed himself off as a Pakistani citizen and was using a passport and national identification card that bore the false name Muhammad Wali.

The U.S. has decided in the past that if they get the chance to kill Mansoor, they will do it. He has been described as an "obstacle to peace" as he is said to be actively preventing other Taliban commanders from having peace talks with representatives of the Afghan government. He is also accused of spreading violence in Afghanistan as he forced the Kabul government to abandon some territories to the insurgents.

It remains unclear, however, why the U.S. waited for six hours before striking Mansoor and the car he was in.

The U.S. Army has made payments in the past to civilian victims of military operations such as drone strikes in Afghanistan but not in Pakistan. The U.S. has conducted over 400 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004. The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan is yet to comment on the lawsuit. 

TagsMohammad Azam, Taliban leader, May 21 bombing, drone, Mullah Mansoor, driver, taxi driver, United States, Lawsuit