Pakistan summoned Ambassador of the Untied States Richard Olson on Saturday and lodged a protest over the recent drone attacks, killing the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Chief Hakimullah Mehsud. "In order to register our concerns, the US ambassador was called to the Foreign Office by the Foreign Secretary to register protest over the recent drone attacks," said Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, adding that the latest drone strike would have a negative impact on the government's initiative to have dialogue with the TTP.
"It has also been decided to instruct our ambassadors in the capitals of the P-5 member states to call at an appropriate level to brief the host governments on our concerns, with specific reference to the setback caused to the government's peace process initiative by the latest drone attack," he said. The government, however, is determined to continue with the efforts to engage with the TTP in order to bring an end to the on-going violence and make the Taliban a part of mainstream politics within the parameters of the constitution, he added.
He said that the government of Pakistan had made its position clear that drone strikes constituted a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, violation of international humanitarian laws, besides being counter-productive to Pakistan's efforts to bring peace and stability in the country and the region. In accordance with the government's publicly stated and consistent policy, the spokesman said that Pakistan had condemned drone strikes whenever they took place, including the two recent drone attacks that were carried out on Thursday and Friday. He said that the government of Pakistan had been raising its concern over the drone strikes with the US administration and at the United Nations, adding that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his recent visit to the US had raised the issue with US President Barack Obama and other senior US leaders.
The latest drone attack comes a day earlier, as Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that a three-member team of Ulema was all set to leave for a meeting with Taliban representatives to hold discussions on agenda and venue of the formal peace talks.
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