Pakistani family who lost grandmother to 'U.S. drone strike' gives harrowing testimony to Congress that moves translator to tears.

• Rafiq ur Rehman and his children Zubair, 13, and Nabila, 9, are first civilians to give evidence to Congress
• Grandmother Mammana Bibi, 67, died in October 2012
• In a testimony Zubair will tell Congress: 'My grandmother was nobody’s enemy

Two children whose grandmother died in an alleged U.S. drone strike have given an emotional testimony to Congress which moved a translator to tears. 

Rafiq ur Rehman, a school teacher, and his children Zubair, 13, and Nabila, 9, are the first civilians to give evidence to Congress about the alleged strike. 

The children's grandmother Mammana Bibi, 67, who was Mr Rehman's mother, died in October 2012.

Nabila Rehman, nine, eats ice cream as she watches Robert Greenwald, producer and director of the documentary 'Unmanned - America's Drone Wars' lift a picture of her Pakistani grandmother

Nabila Rehman, 9, poses for a picture alongside her brother Zubair (left) and father Rafiq (right) and U.S. representative Alan Grayson

Yesterday, a translator was moved to tears when she heard the family's account. 

In a testimony 13-year-old Zubair, told Congress: 'My grandmother was nobody’s enemy. 

'She was kind and caring. She used to help the mothers in my village deliver their babies. 

'In the evening, she would tell all of the children to gather around and she would tell us stories. 

Mamana Bibi, who was killed in a US-led drone strike in north western Pakistan last October

Stories of her life, of our family, of our community. She had so many stories that I can’t pick a favourite. I miss all of them.'

The family is being represented by human rights group Reprieve and their legal representative Jennifer Gibson. 

Their Islamabad-based lawyer, Shahzad Akbar, a Fellow of Reprieve, had intended to join them but was denied a Visa by the U.S. authorities, according to the charity. 

Mr Rehman added: 'In Urdu we have a saying: "aik lari main pro kay rakhna". Literally translated, it means the string that holds the pearls together. 

'That is what my mother was. She was the string that held our family together. Since her death, the string has been broken and life has not been the same. 

'We feel alone and we feel lost. We also feel scared. 

'My family no longer gathers together like it did when my mother was alive. I hardly see my brothers and sisters and my children rarely see their cousins. Their cousins tell them that they are afraid to visit because the drone might then kill them, too.'

An Amnesty International report published last week said 900 people have been killed by drone strikes and is calling for the U.S. to stand trial for its actions. 

However, the U.S. has always claimed that few civilians have been killed by drones and argues its campaign is 'consistent with all applicable domestic and international law'.

Nabila Rehman, 9, holds up a picture she drew depicting the alleged U.S. drone strike on her Pakistan village

Nine-year-old Nabila Rehman holds a photo with a drawing she made depicting a drone strike that allegedly killed her grandmother

Nine-year-old Nabila Rehman pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington

Devastated: Nabila Rehman (centre), 9, sits between her brother Zubair (right) and father Rafiq (left) at the beginning of a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington

Nine-year-old Nabila Rehman, from the remote tribal region of North Waziristan in Pakistan, during the news conference

Reprieve staff attorney Jennifer Gibson said: 'The onus is now on President Obama and his Administration to bring this war out of the shadows and to give answers. That is how a democracy works. 

'Democracies demand transparency. They cannot operate in shadows. Until we do that, every child who loses life or limb persuades dozens more in tribal Pakistan that the United States does not distinguish friend from foe. 

'Children who are not hit themselves, like Nabila and Zubair, continue to live in terror that the hovering drone may attack them next. Silence in the face of this only fuels resentment – not just against the United States, but against the government of Pakistan for its complicity in these killings. 

'Too often this debate has been a quibble about statistics and not about the human cost – and political consequence – of the drone wars. 

'I hope today’s testimony offers a much-needed antidote to this.'