Pakistani Tribal Area is suffering from repeated attacks by American predator drones that are causing a lot of so-called 'collateral damage' of women and children dying. The Holy Quran exhorts us to prepare 'steeds of war' to face the enemy. Modern day steeds are these pilot-less predator drones that rain Hellfire missiles on their targets. We should release Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan so that he can prepare this sort of predator drones for us with which we could counterattack the enemy forces. If he can build atomic bombs, he can also build these predator drones. The trouble with the Islamic world is that since the 11th century, the rulers had started persecuting men of science like Bu-Ali Sina and Ibn-e-Rushd, who were top visionaries of their eras. This was done by despotic kings of our history whose place has been taken up now by civil and military dictators of the present day Islamic world. Men of justice like the deposed Chief Justice Chaudhry have been kept out of power by these dictators. In the last 1000 years of Muslims history, we have never seen true democracy and freedom that Islam provides to its followers. -DR M. YAQOOB BHATTI, Lahore Cantt., via e-mail, September 20.