Pakistan condemns US drone strike

Pakistan has strongly condemned the US drone strike which killed four people in the country’s tribal region of North Waziristan Saturday, the foreign ministry said.

“These unilateral strikes are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” reported Xinhua citing Pakistan’s foreign ministry in a statement.

The statement stressed upon Pakistan’s repeated emphasis on bringing an immediate end to drone strikes.

“The government of Pakistan has consistently maintained that drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications.”

The latest attack came a day after Pakistan announced to formally lodge its protest on US drone attacks in the UN General Assembly session next month.

The ministry also said such strikes also set dangerous precedents in the inter-state relations.

“These drone strikes have a negative impact on the mutual desire of both countries to forge a cordial and cooperative relationship and to ensure peace and stability in the region.”

The US routinely fires missiles into Waziristan tribal region to target militants, accused of crossing into Afghanistan for attacks on foreign and Afghan forces.

-_ians