US drone attack on Pakistan soil violation of sovereignty: PM Nawaz Sharif

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Talking to reporters after his arrival in London for a medical check-up, Sharif said that it was not clear that Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour was among the two people reportedly killed in the air strike, adding that details of the incident were still being collected.

A statement by the Foreign Office in Islamabad said that the US had shared the information that a drone strike had been carried out in Pakistan near the Pak-Afghan border in which Mansour was targeted.

The information was shared with Prime Minister Sharif and Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif after the strike.

The statement said that while investigations were being carried out, “Pakistan wishes to once again state that the drone attack was a violation of its sovereignty, an issue which has been raised with the United States in the past as well”.

The FO said that the fifth meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group held on May 18 had reiterated that a politically negotiated settlement was the only viable option for a lasting peace in Afghanistan and called upon the Taliban to give up violence and join peace talks.

People close to the Taliban said the strike took place as senior ‘commanders’ were travelling to attend a wedding in a Pakistani village.

The Taliban’s chief justice official, Mullah Shaikh Abdul Hakim, could have been among those killed in the strike, they said.

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