Pakistan condemns US drone strike in North Waziristan

Foreign office demands the immediate cessation of strikes such as those conduced in Datta Khel on Sunday morning

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday condemned Sunday’s drone strike in Datta Khel, North Waziristan, which had targeted a Taliban-linked militant commander.

The drone strike, targeting Hafiz Gul Bahadur, had killed at least six militants on Sunday morning.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, the government reiterated its position that such strikes constitute a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The foreign office demanded the immediate cessation of such strikes.

The statement is a departure from recent trends when strikes in the immediate aftermath of the Peshawar school attack were not condemned by the foreign office. Further, Monday’s statement did not carry the oft repeated line of how the strikes are counter productive.