Pakistan conveys 'rage' over NATO strike

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Sunday telephoned her US counterpart Hillary Clinton to convey Pakistan's "deep sense of rage" over cross-border NATO air strikes, the foreign office said.

Khar said that attacks like Saturday's strike on military outposts that left at least 24 Pakistani soldiers dead were "totally unacceptable" as they contravened international law and violated Pakistani sovereignty.

The Pakistani minister spoke to Clinton in the early hours of Sunday to inform her of decisions made by the Defence Committee of the Cabinet including blocking NATO supply routes, the foreign office said in a statement.

"The foreign minister conveyed to the secretary of state, the deep sense of rage felt across Pakistan at the senseless loss of 24 soldiers due to the NATO/ISAF attack on the Pakistani post," it said.

Khar said "such attacks are totally unacceptable. They demonstrate complete disregard for international law and human life, and are in stark violation of Pakistani sovereignty".

"This negates the progress made by the two countries on improving relations and forces Pakistan to revisit the terms of engagement," Khar added.

The statement said that Clinton offered her condolences over the loss of life, said she was deeply saddened by the event, and conveyed the US government's intention to work with Pakistan to resolve the issue.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011