Pakistan asks US to stop drone attacks

The Pakistani interior minister called upon a visiting US regional envoy to stop US drone strikes in the country's tribal region, local media reported on Wednesday.

US pilotless aircraft routinely fire missiles into Pakistan's tribal areas to target militants blamed for cross-border attacks in Afghanistan.

The issue is one of the irritants in bilateral relations and Islamabad calls the attacks a violation of its sovereignty.

"The United States should halt drone attacks in Pakistan once and for all," Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said when meeting with US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Daniel Feldman.

"The six-month break in US drone attacks in Pakistan improved the relationship between the two countries and it was appreciated by all segments of society," a statement quoted the minister as telling the US envoy.

"We should concentrate on the positives of our relationship and differences should be addressed. It is very important that the United States understands Pakistan's point of view," Khan said.

Feldman said there is much better understanding between the two countries.

The US envoy also met Sartaj Aziz, an adviser to the prime minister on national security and foreign affairs, the Foreign Ministry said.

"The adviser stated that Pakistan was determined to open a new chapter in its relations with Afghanistan. Also, Pakistan would extend support for an Afghan-led reconciliation process," Aziz said.

The US envoy was told that Pakistan was engaging with Afghanistan on a broad range of issues, including peace and security, trade and economic ties, reconstruction and rehabilitation, and regional cooperation.

Pakistan hoped the upcoming visit by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani would move this process forward.

1,100 militants killed

The Pakistani army said its four-month offensive in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan has been a success and that at least 1,100 militants had been killed.

Army spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa told reporters on Wednesday that the operations in North Waziristan, which were launched in June, are going according to plan.

He said the positive impact is being felt across Pakistan with a decrease in "terrorist attacks, extortion and kidnappings".

Bajwa said most areas in North Waziristan had been cleared and reconstruction is underway.

The tribal region was considered a sanctuary for local and foreign militant groups until the military launched its offensive there in June, following a deadly militant attack on the country's busiest airport in Karachi.

In a recent operation, Pakistani helicopter gunships on Monday attacked suspected militant hideouts in the Datta Khel and Gharlamai districts of the North Waziristan tribal district, killing at least 33 people.

"In two different aerial engagements in North Waziristan today, nine terrorist hideouts were destroyed, killing a total of 33 terrorists," a military statement said.

Xinhua - AFP - AP

(China Daily 10/30/2014 page11)