Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addresses MPs in Lahore, on May 20, 2013.
Pakistan is poised to take the issue of Washington™s controversial drone strikes on the Pakistani soil to the United Nations.
Pakistani government confirmed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will seek an immediate halt to such attacks during his speech at the annual UN General Assembly session.
Senior Foreign Ministry officials say the prime minister will present Islamabad’s viewpoint with regards to the ongoing US drone strikes within Pakistani territory while addressing the global platform.
Sharif has been a vocal critic of US drone strikes since his party won the general election in May.
He has frequently condemned the US assassination drone strikes in his country, describing them as a violation of international law and the UN charter.
Washington claims to target militants in the country but reports indicate that many of the drone strike victims are civilians. US President Barack Obama recently defended the use of controversial drones as œself-defense.”
A recent report by the British Bureau of Investigative Journalism says over 3,500 people have been killed in Pakistan by US drone attacks since 2004. Several prominent politicians and critics argue that the civilian deaths cause people to join militant groups.
Over the past several years, Washington has been launching drone attacks on Muslim countries, including Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen, claiming that militants are the targets. However, casualty figures clearly indicate that civilians are the main victims.
The killing of Pakistani civilians, including women and children, has strained relations between Islamabad and Washington. The strikes have also triggered massive protests in Pakistan.
The United Nations says the US-operated drone strikes in Pakistan pose a growing challenge to the international rule of law.
JR/KA
Copyright: Press TV