Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik says the US drone attacks in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan are carried out without the consent of Islamabad. Speaking to reporters outside the Lahore High Court non Friday, Malik said the controversial issue of US drone attacks was to be raised with Washington during bilateral talks.
The remarks come as Washington claims the raids target militants in Pakistan. However, hundreds of civilians have fallen victim to such US drone attacks since 2008.
Islamabad has repeatedly condemned the strikes, saying that they infringe the country's sovereignty and fuel public anger.
Earlier on Thursday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was in Washington for high-level talks, criticized US forces for launching drone attacks on Pakistani soil.
"The issue of sovereignty is there. People of Pakistan feel strongly about it," Qureshi told CNN.