Islamabad:
Pakistan today hit out at the US for launching a drone strike on its soil to kill Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour, describing it as a “violation of its sovereignty”.
Mansour was killed in a rare US drone strike deep inside Pakistan. Mansour and another militant were targeted in a precision air strike by multiple unmanned drones operated by US Special Operations forces yesterday as the duo rode in a vehicle in a remote area near Ahmad Wal town in the restive Baluchistan province close to the Afghan border.
Reacting to the news, Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement that the US had shared information that a drone strike was carried out in Pakistan near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area, in which reportedly the Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhter Mansoor was targeted.
“This information was shared with the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff after the drone strike.
“While further investigations are being carried out, Pakistan wishes to once again state that the drone attack was a violation of its sovereignty, an issue which has been raised with the United States in the past as well,” it said.
According to the information gathered so far, a person named Wali Muhammad S/o Shah Muhammad carrying a Pakistani passport and an I D Card, resident of Qilla Abdullah, entered Pakistan from Taftan border on May 21. His passport was bearing a valid Iranian visa. He was travelling on a vehicle hired from a transport company in Taftan. This vehicle was found destroyed at Kochaki along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Foreign Office said.
The driver has been identified as Muhammad Azam.
“The identity of the second body is being verified on the basis of evidence found at the site of the incident and other relevant information,” it said.
“It may be recalled that the fifth meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) held on May 18 had reiterated that a politically negotiated settlement was the only viable option for lasting peace in Afghanistan and called upon the Taliban to give up violence and join peace talks,” it said.
Mansour assumed the leadership in July 2015, replacing Taliban founder and the one-eyed reclusive long-time spiritual head Mullah Mohammad Omar, who died in Pakistan in 2013.
