The
Foreign Office reiterated on May
24 its denunciation of drone attacks,
but said that Pakistan’s desire
for normalisation of ties with the
United States remained unaffected,
reports Dawn. “Let me also
add here that the US is an important
country and it is an important relationship
for Pakistan and there is a mutual
desire to normalise this relationship,”
FO spokesman Moazzam Khan said at
his weekly media briefing while
responding to a question about drone
attacks and negotiations on re-engagement.
“We strongly condemn the drone attacks.
We regard them a violation of our
territorial integrity. They are
in contravention of international
law. They are illegal, counter-productive
and totally unacceptable,” he said.
The
US has continued to pound militant
targets in tribal areas with hellfire
missiles from Predator drones, although
the two countries are negotiating
a parliamentary demand for cessation
of the strikes. The attacks, which
analysts once feared could scuttle
the re-engagement process, have
not affected the talks. Other differences,
including those over fee structure
for using Pakistani territory for
transportation of supplies for coalition
forces in Afghanistan have, however,
slowed down the dialogue. |
