Islamabad: Eighty per cent of about 3,000 people killed in US drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal belt were terrorists, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani has said.
Jilani made the remarks while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday.
However, he described the drone attacks as "unacceptable as they violate the sovereignty of Pakistan".
"Dialogue with the United States is the only way to resolve the issue," he said, contending that the international community was backing Pakistan's position on drone attacks.
Hours after Jilani addressed the parliamentary panel, seven suspected militants were killed when a drone targeted a compound in the restive Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan.
Reports said that two al-Qaeda operatives, Abu Majid al-Iraqi and Sheikh Waqas al-Yamoni were among those killed in the drone strike in Babar Ghar area located on the boundary between North and South Waziristan.
The compound targeted by the drone belonged to Taliban commander Ali Mehsud, according to reports.
Earlier this week, the White House defended the use of drones against al-Qaeda suspects as "legal, ethical and wise", insisting that such attacks complied with the US law and the Constitution even if they targeted Americans.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, February 09, 2013, 13:08