Pakistan furious over uninformed US drone strike in Balochistan

A recent US drone strike conducted in the province of Balochistan, reportedly claimed the life of senior Taliban leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour. After the strike and reported death of the Taliban leader, the Prime Minister and Army Chief of Pakistan were just informed of the attack.

A statement was issued by the FO on the directives of the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, in which the country’s anger over the uninformed attack was voiced. In addition to that, the statement stopped short of officially claiming Mansour’s death on Pakistani soil, by stating that authorities are collecting evidence to verify the claims by Washington and Kabul.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif further confirmed that he received a phone call from US Secretary John Kerry at 10 PM on Saturday, informing him of the drone strike,

According to the details provided of the incident, a person named Wali Muhammad, S/O Shah Muhammad, carrying a Pakistani passport and ID card, entered Pakistan from Taftan borner on 21st May. There was a valid Iranian visa on his passport and the vehicle on which he was travelling, was also from a transport company in Taftan.

Two people were killed in the attack-a driver by the name of Muhammad Azam and another person, whose identity is being verified on the “basis of evidence found at the site of the incident and other relevant information.”

So far there are conflicting reports regarding Mansour’s death. Some sources claim that he died in the attack, while there are other who claim that he is still alive and well.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=53042

Posted by fatimaarshad on May 23 2016. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.