Drone strikes on Pakistan 'must stop': Pak army chief's stern message to US

Islamabad: US drone strikes in Pakistan “must stop”, Pakistan’s powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif said on Wednesday, days after American special forces killed Taliban chief Mullah Mansour in a drone attack in the country’s restive Balochistan province. Speaking with the media after attending President Mamnoon Hussain’s address to a joint session of Parliament, Sharif said: “US drone strikes in Pakistani territory are regrettable and must stop.” Sharif’s comments on the drone strikes comes in the backdrop of US drone strike in Balochistan on 21 May that killed Mansour. [caption id=“attachment_2811158” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Pakistan Army chief Raheel Sharif. Reuters[/caption] Hailing Mansour’s death as an “important milestone” in efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan, US President Barack Obama has said that American forces would continue to go after threats on Pakistani soil. “We have removed the leader of an organisation that has continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and Coalition forces. We will work on shared objectives with Pakistan, where terrorists that threaten all our nations must be denied safe haven,” Obama has said, confirming Mansour’s death. Sharif also said the operation against the militants was going on successfully. “We have to maintain the victories of Operation Zarb-i-Azb. Terrorists will not be allowed to re-enter into areas cleared in South Waziristan and North Waziristan,” he said. General Sharif said that the border management with Afghanistan was improving and urged Afghanistan to take matching measures on its side of the border. He declared that $ 46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a national project and it would be completed at any cost. He said that the security situation in the country, especially in Karachi city and Balochistan province was improving. Earlier, the army chief attended the joint session of the parliament to listen the address of the president. The session was also attended by the chiefs of navy, and airforce.