Pakistan said it will raise the issue of drone attacks on tribal areas with the United States next week during the scheduled visit of US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke to Islamabad. This was stated by Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit during his weekly media briefing.
"Holbrooke is scheduled to visit Pakistan next week and drone attacks issue would come up for our discussions," said Basit as the tribal areas have come under frequent predators attack. Responding to a question, he said that efforts should be made for the resumption of Indo-Pak peace process adding it was the only way forward to resolve all the bilateral issues.
When asked whether Pakistan had lodged protest with the United States against Wednesdays drone attack on Orakzai agency, the spokesman said, "This is part of our ongoing discussions with the US." To another question about any diplomatic protest to the United States on the repeated drone attacks, he said, "Not yet, not in my knowledge."
He said the drone attacks tantamount to violations of Pakistans sovereignty and they were counterproductive. "They are not helpful in our efforts to win hearts and minds. So we cannot accept drone attacks," Basit said. "Pakistan is looking forward to constructive engagement with the US to formulate new approaches," he added.
Responding to a question, he said Pakistan intended to engage with the United States, Europe and other friends to develop a closer understanding on goals and modalities for taking forward its partnership for peace and development in the region.
He said, "We intend to deepen our engagement with Afghanistan and other friends, including China, Iran and other countries in the region for joining efforts to overcome the challenges and forge a strong commitment to a prosperous future for our region."
The spokesman said that Pakistan had its own strategy, policy and priorities that are in our national interests." Pakistan and Afghanistan were inextricably linked and both the countries shared geography, culture and faith. "It is evident that Pakistan faces issues that are evidently a "spill-over" effect from the troubles of Afghanistan. The primary issue and priority must be to stabilise Afghanistan," Basit said.
Pakistan has been able to develop a good co-operative framework with Afghanistan to deal with immediate issues of security, counter terrorism and more importantly to move towards robust economic partnership. Answering a query about statements by Indian leaders urging Pakistan to take action against the perpetrators involved in Mumbai attacks, Basit said most of those statements were related to election campaign underway in India.