Pakistan voices concern over drone strikes

Islamabad:Pakistan has emphatically conveyed to the United States its concerns on drone strikes on its territory, the foreign ministry spokesman said Thursday.

The issue has also been raised by Pakistan at different world forums including the UN Human Rights Council, the spokesman, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, told a media briefing.

He said Islamabad would continue to take up the issue with the US officials at the appropriate forums.

When asked a drone strike after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif assumed the office on June 5, the spokesperson said a strong protest was lodged with Washington.

The prime minister’s Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi had summoned the US Charge D’Affaires to the Foreign Office to register the protest on the instruction of Nawaz Sharif, he said.

Drone strikes are violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and the international laws, the spokesman reiterated the country’s oft-expressed stance, which has apparently drawn a blank so far from the superpower.

In his fist speech in the National Assembly after his election on June 5, Prime Minister Sharif called for an end to drone strikes. Pakistan respects sovereignty of other countries and its own sovereignty must also be respected, he said.