Pakistan was "seeking clarification" about the death of Mullah Akhtar Mansour, after American officials said the Afghan Taliban chief was killed in a rare US drone strike inside the country.
Reacting to reports about Mansour's death, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said, "I have seen the reports. We are seeking clarification."
In what could be a body blow to the insurgents, US officials said Mansour was "likely killed" in a rare US drone strike inside the Pakistani territory in a mission authorised by President Barack Obama.
Mansour's death, if confirmed, could further sink prospects of any immediate direct peace talks between the Taliban and the quadrilateral group of Pakistan, the US, Aghanistan and China. It could also spark a new succession battle within the fractious militant group.
The drone strikes come days after the US, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan held another round of talks in Islamabad aimed at reviving the long-stalled direct peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
The Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman repeated the country's stance that it was making efforts to bring Taliban back to the negotiating table.
Zakaria, however, said "military action is not a solution."
According to Pakistani officials, a drone strike took place in remote Noshki area of Balochistan province near the country's border with Afghanistan yesterday.
"The strike targeted a car and killed its two occupants," a senior local civilian official said.
He said one dead body was completely burnt while the other was intact. "Both the bodies were shifted for further examination," he said on the condition of anonymity.
Pakistan security officials have not commented on the incident so far.
Taliban in their initial reaction rejected the killing of their leader, saying that their leader was still alive.
Earlier, Secretary Kerry said he notified Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by telephone about the drone strike.
Born in the 1960s, Mansour was appointed head of the Taliban in July last year following the revelation that the group's founder Mullah Omar had been dead for two years.
