Continued protests in Pakistan over U.S. drone attacks

In Peshawar hundred protested against U.S. drone strikes in the tribal regions. Protesters chanted anti-US slogans and condemned civilian deaths in US drone strikes.

The organizer of the rally said:"We strongly oppose US drone attacks on our country. This is in violation of our sovereignty. I feel the military operation against Taliban militants is no solution, we should hold dialogue with Taliban militants, " These protests follow US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Islamabad. Clinton urged more action against militants but in any accounts I have read she does not even mention Pakistanis disapproval of drone attacks. Many think that privately the government has given tacit approval to the attacks. Publicly the government continues to condemn them. The parliament has even passed a motion asking that they stop.

Critics of the attacks say that they have killed hundreds of innocent victims as collateral damage and turned the population even more against the Americans. They serve as a recruiting tool for militant groups.

Pakistan's Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar told reporters that Islamabad has not signed any agreements with Washington concerning the right to carry out drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal regions. Mukhtar that US drone attacks are "unacceptable," adding that his country is determined to resolve the issue soon. There is no sign that the issue is being resolved or even considered. The drone attacks continue unabated. Ever since Obama became president there has been a surge in drone attacks. For more see this article, and this article, and finally this article.