Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit has said that the US drone attacks on Pakistani soil are unjustified, counter-productive and furthermore undermined Pakistani sovereignty.
The drone strikes, which have killed 150 civilians and militants in the last month alone, have also served to fuel anti-American sentiment across Pakistan, which is dangerous at a time when the tension between the two countries is so high.
Last week a border drone attack resulted in the death of three Pakistan military personnel, causing a diplomatic nightmare between the US and Pakistan, as well as NATO officials. Pakistan closed a crucial border to NATO supply trucks heading into Afghanistan, several of which were subsequently torched by militants. On Wednesday an estimated 40 NATO tankers carrying fuel into Afghanistan were attacked. While there is an estimated 6,500 trucks waiting to cross the border, NATO maintains that their efforts in Afghanistan are yet to be affected.
While the US has apologized for the drone attack that killed the Pakistani soldiers, Basit hopes they will rethink the policy all together. He continued that the drone tactic was "not serving the larger strategic interests, especially in the context of our efforts to win hearts and minds, which is part and parcel of our strategy against militants and terrorists."
NATO have said they expect the border issue to be resolved shortly, but by-and-large relations with Islamabad have reached a new low which has been further tested by White House reports that Pakistan is not willing to do what is necessary to curb militancy.
