A US Predator drone fires a Hellfire missile. (file photo)<\/p>\n
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the latest deadly US assassination drone strike in North Waziristan, which killed at least seven people.\n<\/p>\n
The ministry released a statement on Friday, saying the strike was a violation of Pakistan\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s sovereignty and territorial integrity.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cThe government has consistently maintained that drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications,\u201d the statement said.\n<\/p>\n
The condemnation came hours after an overnight airstrike in the Darga Mandi village of North Waziristan.\n<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Pakistani cricketer turned politician Imran Khan described the strikes as extra-judicial killings that led to revenge attacks against Pakistan’s civilians and security forces.\n<\/p>\n
US Secretary of State John Kerry said during his trip to Islamabad earlier this year that the drone strikes could end very soon.\n<\/p>\n
The CIA continues to conduct drone strikes inside Pakistani soil after Nawaz Sharif was elected prime minister on June 5, 2013.\n<\/p>\n
Islamabad has repeatedly condemned the attacks, saying they violate Pakistan’s sovereignty.\n<\/p>\n
Washington claims that the airstrikes target militants, but reports on the ground show that civilians have been the main victims of the attacks.\n<\/p>\n
The aerial attacks, initiated by former US president George W. Bush, have been escalated under President Obama.\n<\/p>\n
The United Nations and several human rights organizations have already identified the US as the world’s number one user of “targeted killings” largely due to its drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.\n<\/p>\n
JR\/KA
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