Pakistan condemns latest U.S. drone strike on religious seminary

Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned the latest U.S. drone strike that killed at least five students and their teachers of a religious school.

The U.S. spy aircraft fired missiles on the"madrassa" in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Thursday morning, security sources said. Eight other students were also injured in the strike.

Security sources said that targeted seminary was linked to the Haqqani Network and deputy of the group was among those killed in the strike. "These strikes are a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity,"the Foreign Ministry said. "There is an across the board consensus in Pakistan that these drone strikes must end,"the Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement.

He said the government of Pakistan has been raising its concern over the drone strikes with the U.S. administration and at the United Nations.

The prime minister during his recent visit to the U.S. had raised the issue with President Obama and other senior U.S. leaders."It has been consistently maintained that drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications. Such strikes also set dangerous precedents in the inter-state relations,"the Foreign Ministry said.

The statement said these drone strikes have a negative impact on the government's efforts to bring peace and stability in Pakistan and the region.

The U.S. carried out the strike a day after Pakistan's national security adviser, Sartaj Aziz, told a Senate committee that Washington has promised not to launch attacks during Pakistani government talks with the Taliban.

Aziz told the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday the U.S. drone strike which killed the Taliban chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, this month, has harmed the government peace talks with the militants.

Mehsud was killed when American spy aircraft rained missiles into North Waziristan tribal region on Nov. 1 just a day before a team of top Islamic scholars were to meet him to discuss about the agenda and venue for the negotiations.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP refused to talk with the government after the killing of their chief and also announced revenge attacks.

The U.S. Nov. 1 strike was widely condemned in Pakistan as the government had accused Washington of sabotaging peace process.

Ruling coalition in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has announced to block supply route for NATO forces from November 23rd as a protest against the drone strikes.

The issue of drone strikes is a source of tension between Pakistan and the U.S. as Washington is in no mood to change its covert operation despite Islamabad's public condemnation.

The U.S. insists Pakistan has failed to act against the al- Qaeda operatives and Taliban militants in Waziristan tribal region who are accused of cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.