Pakistan summons US diplomat

Islamabad yesterday summoned an American diplomat to protest over the latest US drone strike which killed seven people in northwest Pakistan, the foreign ministry said.
The missile attack in the restive North Waziristan tribal district on Friday was the first since Nawaz Sharif was sworn in as prime minister this week calling for an end to such strikes.
"It was conveyed to the US CdA (Charge d'Affaires) that the government of Pakistan strongly condemns the drone strikes which are a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the foreign ministry statement said, calling for an immediate end to the attacks.
Richard Hoagland, the US charge d'affaires -- a senior American diplomat stationed in Pakistan -- was summoned to the foreign office on the instructions of Sharif, it said.
"It was also pointed out that the government of Pakistan has consistently maintained that drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications," the statement said.
Attacks by unmanned American aircraft are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, but Washington views them as a vital tool in the fight against Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants in the lawless tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.
Sharif's government had also publicly criticised the drone strike that killed Taliban deputy Waliur Rehman last week.