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Pakistani FM terms US drones strikes unlawful, illegal

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, May 23, IRNA -- Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that US drones strikes on Pakistani soil are “unlawful, illegal and counterproductive”, a media report has said.

"What we need to emphasise even more is how they (Drones) are counterproductive”, Express Tribune quoted the minister as saying.

“Drones are a means to an end, they are there to achieve a certain objective, so if you can achieve those objectives with different tools, which are acceptable to you and me, isn’t that a better tool? So we are trying to look for tools that are mutually acceptable. There is a lot of work that we have done together, and I am fairly optimistic that we can formulate a roadmap to lead to a way where drones are not required in Pakistan,” said the minister.

She was optimistic with the outcome of the attendance of the Pakistani delegation, headed by President Asif Zardari, at the Nato Summit in Chicago.

“When there’s a debate about Afghanistan taking place, in your opinion, should a country like Pakistan, which is a responsible regional player, an important neighbour, and a country that has huge stakes in peace and stability in Afghanistan, not participate?” she said.

Khar said that Pakistan had the highest stakes among the 60 countries that participated in the summit.

“We have proven that we are going to conduct foreign policy in a very transparent manner and that should give people confidence and that we are trying to move forward in a transparent manner,” said Khar.

Speaking about relations between the US and Pakistan, Khar said, “We are engaging with them on all issues, nothing is off the table, so we have to move on each of the issues. We have started a useful engagement process, and want to achieve good results for good US-Pakistan bilateral relations, Pakistan’s relations with Nato countries and its relations with Afghanistan.”

The foreign minister said that they were not compromising on Pakistan’s national interests, and unlike what happened in the past, when they would reach a decision, it would be made public.

She said that Pakistan’s sovereignty must be respected, and there was a consensus that not attending the Bonn conference was a way to send that message to the world.

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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 1019073