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Islamabad, April 14(ANI): Pakistan has lodged a protest with the United States over the Angoor Adda drone attack on Wednesday, and described the continued drone strikes as a ‘core irritant’ in counter-terrorism cooperation.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the drone attack at Angoor Adda. We have repeatedly said that such attacks are counter-productive and only contribute to strengthen the hands of the terrorists,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Drone attacks have become a core irritant in the counter-terror campaign. Pakistan has taken up the matter with the US at all levels,” it added.

The statement said that Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir lodged a strong protest with the US Ambassador Cameron Munter on Wednesday over the drone attack at Angoor Adda in South Waziristan.

Six people were killed on Wednesday in the first US drone strike in Pakistan since March 17, when a similar drone attack had killed over 40 civilians in North Waziristan Agency.

In a rare act of condemnation following last month’s incident, Pakistan Army chief General Kayani had termed the US drone campaign in his country as “intolerable and unjustified”, and said the March 17 drone strike was an example of a “complete violation of human rights”.

The latest drone attack came after Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha returned to Pakistan from Washington, where he held an important meeting with Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief Leon Panneta.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua, however, emphasised that Munter had not been summoned, and that he was at the Foreign Office to discuss bilateral issues when he was handed over the demarche, the Dawn reported.

Drone attacks, usually denounced using clichés like ‘unacceptable’, ‘violation of sovereignty’ and ‘flagrant violation of humanitarian norms and law’, were probably identified as a core irritant in counter-terrorism cooperation for the first time. (ANI)