Pakistan on Wednesday condemning the US drone attack lodged protest with the US Ambassador saying such attacks were counterproductive and have become core irritant in the counter-terror campaign. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir lodged a strong protest with US Ambassador Cameron Munter over the drone attack in Angoor Adda, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
The statement said, "We have repeatedly said that such attacks are counterproductive and only contribute to strengthen the hands of terrorists. Drone attacks have become a core irritant in the counter-terror campaign. Pakistan has taken up the matter with the US at all levels." Earlier, addressing the National Assembly, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani had also criticised the drone attacks, which he said, were turning the masses against the government. Such attacks were reuniting the local tribes with the militants, he said while explaining how drone strikes were counterproductive.
The prime minister had also emphasised over Islamabad's role in war against terror saying "nobody can win Afghanistan without Pakistan." The strike came just one day after a meeting between Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha and CIA chief Leon Panetta in Washington. The fresh strike, which according to some media reports killed six persons and injured several others, indicating that the two sides were still at odds.