Pak to raise drone issue at UN

Pakistan today said it will raise the issue of US drone strikes at the United Nations in accordance with the recommendations of the recently held All Parties Conference.
"The All Parties Conference has recommended that the Federal Government may consider the possibility of taking the drone issue to the United Nations. We have initiated necessary work in this regard in consultation with our missions in Geneva and New York," Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said.
He added that the position of the Pakistan government on drone strikes is principled and clear.
"Drone strikes violate our sovereignty and international law and they are also counter-productive. An international debate is now well underway on the humanitarian and human rights implications of the drone strikes as well as their legitimacy and effectiveness," he said in his weekly press conference.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly later this month in New York.
Chaudhry underlined that the Foreign Ministry will be taking all possible steps to implement the recommendation of the APC in the most effective manner.

He said there is no agreement on the use of drone strikes in Pakistani territory.
The issue of drone strikes, carried out by CIA-operated spy planes, is an emotional one in Pakistan. The government has publicly voiced its protest against the strikes though the US has continued with the attacks.
Last month, US Secretary of State John Kerry had hinted at an end to the drone campaign in the tribal areas of Pakistan, saying that the signature strikes could end "very soon".

It was the first time a senior US official said that there could be a definitive end to the campaign, which the CIA has in the past called an effective counter-terrorism weapon.
According to reports, a total of approximately 575 militants had been killed in around 400 drone strikes in Pakistan.