US drone strike affected Afghan peace process, says Pakistan

Islamabad: The US drone strike which killed Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor not only undermined relations with Pakistan but also affected the ongoing Afghan peace process, Pakistan's top foreign advisor said here on Thursday.

Sartaj Aziz, Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister, dispelled the notion that the government preferred to remain silent on the attack, Geo TV reported.

"The impression that we are silent on this issue is not correct... the important thing is the drone attack in Noshki affected Pakistan-US relations and peace process in Afghanistan," he said while addressing the Senate.

Aziz clarified that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and army chief General Raheel Sharif were immediately informed about the strike.

Last month a US drone strike targeted a vehicle and killed then Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor and the driver in the country's resistive southern province of Balochistan.

The attack evoked strong condemnation from Pakistan's civil and military leadership, who termed it as an attack on the sovereignty of the country.