Pakistan summons US envoy over drone strike inside its territory

Islamabad: Pakistan on Monday summoned US ambassador David Hale to express concern over the drone strike by American forces in Pakistani territory to kill Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour which it said was a “violation of its sovereignty”. [caption id=“attachment_2779444” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] According to a statement by the Foreign Office, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi pointed out to the US envoy that the drone strike was a “violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and a breach of the UN’s Charter that guarantees the inviolability of the territorial integrity of its member states.” Fatemi also emphasised that “such actions could adversely impact the ongoing efforts by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) for facilitating peace talks between the Afghan Government and the Taliban.” The Special Assistant said that Pakistan and the US had been closely coordinating in the fight against the menace of terrorism and that “this cooperation needed to be maintained”. Mansour, believed to be in his 50s, was killed when a US drone fired on his vehicle in the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan. He had emerged as the successor to Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, whose 2013 death was only revealed last summer.