Rawalpindi: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif held a meeting with United States (US) Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale on Wednesday and expressed serious concerns over the US drone strike in Balochistan in which Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour was reportedly killed.
“The drone attack, was a violation of sovereignty and is unfavourable to Pak-US ties and regional stability and damaged peace efforts,” the Army chief said.
The COAS said Pakistan’s efforts, successes and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism are unparalleled.
The US drone strike was the first-ever in Balochistan, which has long been a ‘red line’ for Pakistan.
The Pak government had already conveyed a set of ‘red lines’ to the US in 2010.
Mansour was reportedly killed in Pakistan on Saturday when his vehicle was struck by a US drone in Balochistan, believed to be the first time a Taliban leader was killed in such a way inside Pakistani territory.
The US and Afghan governments said Mansour had been an obstacle to a peace process that had ground to a halt when he refused to participate in peace talks earlier this year. Instead, he intensified the war in Afghanistan, now in its 15th year.