Pakistan summons U.S. diplomat by drone attacks

The Pakistani Foreign Office today filed a formal protest with the U.S. Embassy here for the ongoing drone attacks on tribal areas of northwest of the country.   "The charge d'affaires of the United States, Richard Hoagland, was called Today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. was officially informed the Government's serious concern regarding air strikes on Pakistani territory, "said a statement from the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The protest followed five separate attacks of drones between Saturday and Monday in the provinces of North Waziristan and South Waziristan. These operations left at least 27 people, all insurgents as one of the usual parts of the division of the Central Intelligence Agency in charge of that program, the given as such even before the victims identified. According to the note, Hoagland was notified that "the drone attacks are illegal, contrary to international law and a violation of the sovereignty of Pakistan." Also, in Last April, Parliament declared emphatically that the actions of the drones on national territory was unacceptable and that this principle was marked with "a clear red line." The American drones were granted a break of one and half months from 26 November when NATO warplanes massacred 24 Pakistani soldiers on the border with Afghanistan to be placed in the lowest level the controversial alliance.But on January 11 drones and returned to the charge and the latest total 10 attacks in the last two weeks and 22 so far this year, with a jump of 151 dead and dozens injured. Interestingly, the escalation began followed by the NATO Summit in Chicago (20 and 21 May), where contrary to expectation for United States and the Atlantic alliance, announced that Islamabad will not reopen supply routes to troops occupying Afghanistan, blocked from the said incident. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry statement noted having submitted a second claim to Hoagland connection with the seizure of weapons U.S. diplomats on Sunday in the northwestern city of Peshawar. "He reported that the carrying of unauthorized weapons of diplomats is unacceptable and contrary both to Pakistani laws and accepted norms of diplomatic behavior," said the note. The Washington-Islamabad relations are downhill from the undercover operation that culminated in the killing of Osama bin Laden in the city of Abbottabad on 2 May last year, considered a violation of national sovereignty for the common citizens of Pakistan. Several episodes but especially the death of soldiers on the border with Afghanistan and the U.S. refusal to file a formal apology for the fact, have cracked like never before stormy alliance.