GUJRAT, June 5: United States (US) troops are not violating the sanctity of Pakistani borders as “they use pilotless drones to hit Al-Qaeda hideouts in Pakistani tribal areas, according to Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar.

The minister, apparently justifying the unmanned drone attacks, told a press conference on Thursday the US had claimed to have killed senior Al-Qaeda operatives in Damadola. A drone attack on the village on May 14 claimed 12 lives, who, according to locals, were children and women, while security forces in Afghanistan claimed top Al-Qaeda militants were killed in the fourth attack on the village.

Mr Mukhtar said the government lodged protest if the US violated the borders. He said Al Qaeda operatives should not use Pakistani territory for their militancy.

The minister said that Pakistan Muslim League-N Nawaz Sharif and other coalition partners were evaluating the constitutional package. He said President Pervez Musharraf should fulfill his promise of quitting the Presidency as the PML-Q had lost the elections.

He said the government was working to improve conventional deterrence against its enemies and the armed forces were doing well within the restricted funds provided to them.

About an inquiry into the Kargil issue, he said that the interview of Lt-Gen Jamshed Kiayni (retd), broadcast on a television channel, was not good because he had served with President Musharraf and enjoyed benefits under his command.