Saturday, May 14, 2011

Pakistan Demands End To US Drone Attacks - 14th May 2011

Pakistan's parliament has demanded an end to American drone strikes and called for an independent inquiry into the US special forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

The message came after a 10-hour meeting in Islamabad in which officials debated the "situation arising from unilateral US action in Abbottabad".

The parliament described the continued strikes as "unacceptable".

In a resolution, it said: "Such drone attacks must be stopped forthwith, failing which the government will be constrained to consider taking necessary steps including withdrawal of (the) transit facility allowed to Nato."

Most supplies and equipment required by foreign troops in Afghanistan are shipped through the main northwestern border crossing, which comes under frequent militant attacks.

US strikes doubled last year and the CIA has said the covert programme has severely disrupted al Qaeda's leadership.

On Thursday a US drone strike targeting a militant vehicle in Kharkamar area of North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border killed three militants.

It was the fourth such attack reported in Pakistan's tribal region on the Afghan border since US Navy Seals killed bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.

US drone strikes inflame anti-American feeling in Pakistan. Read More