Pak madrasa struck
Pakistan's lawmakers have called for a review of its role in the US-led "war on terror" and a resumption of dialogue with militants amid a wave of violence by al-Qaeda and the Taliban while 11 people were killed in a suspected US missile strike on a religious school yesterday.
Parliament passed a special resolution late on Wednesday after a 15-day closed-door session focusing on the insurgency in Pakistan's tribal regions near the Afghan border.
"We need an urgent review of our national security strategy," a copy of the resolution seen by AFP said.
"The challenge of militancy and extremism must be met through developing a consensus and dialogue with all genuine stakeholders," it said.
Pakistan's new civilian government has responded to massive US pressure to finally tackle insurgent safe havens in the tribal belt by launching a huge military operation in the troubled Bajaur tribal district.
But public anger is mounting over continuing US missile strikes and military incursions on Pakistani soil, as well as the government's failure to stop attacks such as the bombing of the Islamabad Marriott hotel in September.
In the latest such strike on Thursday, suspected US spy drones fired missiles into a religious school (madrasa) set up by a top Taliban commander in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan, killing 11 people, security officials said.
The air strike apparently targeting veteran militant Jalaluddin Haqqani, a major target for US forces, was the latest in a string of attacks on Pakistani soil that have raised tensions between Islamabad and Washington.
Security officials said that the madrasa, or religious school, near Miranshah, the main town in troubled North Waziristan region, was set up by Haqqani during the 1980s "jihad" against Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
It was currently run by one of Haqqani's own commanders, Mullah Mansoor, and was recently used as a guest house for "international and local students travelling from other areas".
"At 2:25 am, two spy drones fired three missiles at the madrasa of Mullah Mansoor. Eleven people have been killed in the missile strike," a security official told AFP.
"Locals are still looking for more people in the rubble," he said.
With the fresh US missile strike in the tribal belt on Thursday, the lawmakers asked the government to move to end such attacks.
"Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity shall be safeguarded. The nation stands united against any incursions and invasions of the homeland, and calls upon the government to deal with it effectively," it said.
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