Army Chief says drone strikes affect success of Operation Zarb-e-Azb

He was speaking during a meeting with a high-level US delegation at the GHQ where he made the remark.. The delegation included General John Nicholson of the United States Army, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson, and Peter Lavoy who is  the Special Assistant to US President Obama.

Gen. Raheel said it the United States should rather make efforts to efforts to attack Mullah Fazalullah and other terrorists of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who have sought refuge in Afghanistan.

He said that the United States should also make sure that foreign agencies do not operate in Pakistan as it can impact its efforts against terrorism.

The high-level delegation arrived in Pakistan today and has made several meetings with various political and civil-military leaders.

Earlier it met with Special Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz where they discussed a range of bilateral issues and overviewed the security situation in the region.

The most pressing  issue about the drone strike on Pakistan was also raised. Aziz raised serious objections over the attack and that it was a violation of its sovereignty and would impact the peace efforts in Afghanistan as well.

The US delegation refused to budge down  to diffuse the tension and said that no assurances can be given about further drone strikes on Pakistan.

The relations between the United States and Pakistan have worsened ever since a drone strike near Nauski in Balochistan killed the leader of Afghan Taliban Mullah Mansour. The United States Congress have also halted a deal to give F-16 jets to Pakistan.

The United States has also voiced support for India’s membership to the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) during the recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States where he was bestowed the rare honor to address the US Congress.