ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has summoned US ambassador Richard Olson and lodged its protest over the US drone strike that killed Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, Foreign Office spokesman said on Saturday.
A US drone strike killed the outlawed militant group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Hakimullah Mehsud as it targeted his vehicle when he was leaving from a meeting at a mosque Dande Darpakhel area of North Waziristan tribal region on Friday evening.
The FO spokesman said that Pakistan handed over to Richard Olson a letter protesting against the recent US drone attack that killed Hakimullah Mehsud and his aides.
Meanwhile in a statement, the Foreign Office said that the latest US drone strike will have a negative impact on the government’s initiative to undertake a dialogue with the Taliban.
“Drone strikes violate the country’s sovereignty and international humanitarian laws‚ besides being counter-productive to efforts to bring peace and stability in Pakistan and the region,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
The statement said that in accordance with this publicly stated‚ consistent policy‚ Pakistan has condemned drone strikes whenever they have taken place‚ including the two recent drone attacks that took place on Thursday and Friday.
“Pakistan has been raising its concern over the drone strikes with the US administration and at the United Nations,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his recent visit to the US had raised the issue with President Barack Obama and other senior US leaders.
The statement said the government is determined to continue with these efforts to engage with the TTP‚ to bring an end to the ongoing violence and make them a part of mainstream politics within the parameters of our constitution.
