`Reports of deal on drone attacks need to be substantiated`

New Delhi: India on Monday said it needs to see whether the media reports that Pakistan allowed American drone strikes on its soil under a secret deal are "authentic" or not. These are only newspaper reports which needs to be "substantiated", Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said.

He was asked about a New York Times report which said that in a secret deal, Pakistan allowed American drone strikes on its soil on the condition that the UAVs would stay away from its nuclear facilities and mountain camps where Kashmiri militants were trained for attacks in India. "Pakistani intelligence officials insisted that drones fly only in narrow parts of the tribal areas ensuring that they would not venture where Islamabad did not want the Americans going: Pakistan`s nuclear facilities, and the mountain camps where Kashmiri militants were trained for attacks in India," the paper said. Pakistani officials also insisted that they be allowed to approve each drone strike, giving them tight control over the list of targets, the New York Times report said. PTI