ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan on Monday expressed concern to the United States over the recent drone strike in its territory, arguing that not only such strike was a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty but it could also adversely impact the efforts for Afghan peace talks.
The concern was conveyed by the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi in a meeting with the US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale in Islamabad on Monday.
The US and Afghan top officials claimed to have killed the Taliban Chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a drone strike conducted in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on May 21.
“Tariq Fatemi pointed out that the drone strike was a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and a breach of the United Nation’s Charter that guarantees the inviolability of the territorial integrity of its member states,” the Foreign Office said referring to his meeting with the US ambassador on Monday.
Tariq Fatemi also “emphasized that such actions could adversely impact the ongoing efforts by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) for facilitating peace talks between the Afghan Government and the Taliban.”
The Foreign Office said that the special assistant also underlined that Pakistan and the United States had been closely coordinating in the fight against the menace of terrorism and that this cooperation needed to be maintained.
On May 18, Pakistan hosted the fifth meeting of the QCG in Islamabad in which the participants had reiterated that a politically negotiated settlement was the only viable option for lasting peace in Afghanistan and called upon the Taliban to give up violence and join peace talks.
