Pakistan calls on world states to stop US drone strikes immediately

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif categorically demanded an immediate halt to drone attacks as they were a sheer violation of Pakistan's sovereignty by the US, media reports said. "The attacks conducted by US-led NATO forces on Pakistani soil using unmanned spy planes are counter-productive to the anti-extremism efforts", Sharif said while addressing the 68th Annual Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday. Sharif said that the war against terrorism must be waged within the framework of international law, Geo News reported. He added that the use of drone strikes in the border areas of Pakistan was a continued breach of the country's territorial integrity. "It results in casualties of innocent civilians and is detrimental to our resolve and efforts to eliminate extremism and terrorism from Pakistan." He added that he had urged the United States to cease these strikes, so that further casualties and sufferings could be averted. Earlier this month, Pakistan "strongly" condemned an airstrike carried out by a US assassination drone, which killed at least seven people in the country’s Northwestern tribal area. "These unilateral strikes are a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The deadly attack occurred on Sunday, when a US drone fired four missiles at two houses in Shawal area, about 55 kilometers (35 miles) West of Miranshah Town. The statement further said that Islamabad has repeatedly emphasized "the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes". Reports said the latest drone strike was the 19th of its kind in Pakistan in 2013. More than 100 people have lost their lives in such strikes in the country so far this year. The Pakistani government has repeatedly protested against the US drone strikes, saying they violate the Asian country’s sovereignty. The Pakistani Prime Minister recently blasted the deadly assaults in his country, describing them as a violation of the international law and the United Nations Charter. Washington claims its drone strikes target militants, although casualty figures show that Pakistani civilians often fall victim to the attacks. The United States often uses its assassination drones to hit targets in Pakistan and some other countries including Yemen and Afghanistan. US President Barack Obama has defended the use of the controversial drones as "self-defense". The airstrikes, initiated under former US President George W. Bush, have been escalated under the Obama administration. The United Nations says the US-operated drone strikes in Pakistan pose a growing challenge to the international rule of law.