Stop drone attacks in Pakistan, PM tells US Defence Secretary

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has conveyed Pakistan’s deep concerns over drone strikes to US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel.

During his meeting with Hagel, Prime Minister Sharif stressed that US drone strikes were counter-productive to Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism and extremism on an enduring basis.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel visited Pakistan on Monday (December 09) and discussed issues of mutual interest in his meeting with Prime Minister Sharif. The two leaders agreed to work together to strengthen Pakistan-US relations and advance the shared interest of a stable, secure and prosperous Pakistan and the region.

The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of Pakistan-US strategic partnership for peace and stability in the region. They noted the substantial progress made in the bilateral relationship in recent months and acknowledged that the recent high-level exchanges including the Prime Minister’s visit to Washington, meetings of the Working Groups on Energy, Defence and Security, Non-proliferation and Disarmament, have greatly helped in building trust and strengthening the relationship.

Prime Minister Sharif and US Defence Secretary Hagel also reviewed the current state of bilateral defence and security cooperation and explored ways of further expanding cooperation in this important area of the relationship. In this regard, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of establishing long-term and broad-based defence cooperation with the US on the basis of mutual interest.

Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Mr. Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi, Foreign Secretary Mr. Jalil Abbas Jilani and Secretary Defence Lt. Gen. Asif Yasin Malik also attended the meeting.

The US Defence Secretary also met with Army Chief General Raheel Sharif at the GHQ. During the meeting military relations and stability in the region were discussed.