US drone attacks violate Pak sovereignty: Sharif

The U.S. drone campaign violates the sovereignty of Pakistan, which will not allow its national security policies to be determined by foreign powers, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Monday.

In his first public remarks after the killing of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a U.S. drone attack on Friday, Mr Sharif said the days when security policies were decided through “telephone calls from abroad” are over.

Without referring to the killing of the Taliban chief, Mr Sharif said U.S. drone strikes violate Pakistan’s sovereignty and international laws and are counter-productive to efforts to bring peace and stability to the country and the region.

“Gone are the days when our national security policies were determined through telephone calls from abroad. We now have a democratically elected government, chosen by the people of Pakistan,” he said in his address at a field exercise by the army in Punjab province.

“Pakistan is faced with serious challenges both within the country and at international level. But there is hope, a hope to rise through and meet these challenges,” he told a gathering that included top military officers and army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.