ISLAMABAD: In a correspondence with US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir protested against Thursday’s drone strike and said the United States must guarantee that similar mistakes would not be repeated, foreign office sources told DawnNews.

The correspondence further stated that Pakistan reserved its right to defend its sovereignty and that such attacks would not be tolerated in the future.

The correspondence also stated that Pakistan would not tolerate similar violations of international law and human rights in the future.

Ambassador Haqqani says US govt should apologise

Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani on Friday demanded the US government to apologise over the attack.

Sources told DawnNews that Ambassador Haqqani had met with officials of the US foreign office and registered his protest on the attack.

Haqqani said not only was the attack unacceptable, it was also a flagrant violation of all humanitarian norms and laws.

Earlier, Pakistan had demanded an apology and explanation from the United States over the drone strike in the tribal region, which officials said killed around 40 people, the foreign ministry said.

“The government of Pakistan strongly condemns the drone strike which has resulted in a large number of casualties,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said in a statement.

“Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir conveyed this strong condemnation to US ambassador Cameron Munter and has demanded an apology and explanation,” she added.

“This is not only unacceptable but also a flagrant violation of all humanitarian rules and norms,” Janjua said.

Thursday’s attack was the most lethal drone strike to hit the lawless region of North Waziristan since August 2008 when the covert campaign escalated in the areas bordering Afghanistan, and the seventh such attack in nine days.