Pakistan has denounced a U.S. drone attack believed to have killed Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Akhtar Mansur as a violation of its sovereignty.
"On late Saturday 21st May, 2016, the United States shared information that a drone strike was carried out in Pakistan near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area," in which Mansur was targeted, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement.
The May 22 statement said the U.S. did not inform Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif before conducting the strike on Pakistani soil.
"This information was shared with the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff after the drone strike,” the statement said.
The strike was the first ever known U.S. drone strike in Balochistan, where the Taliban leadership is believed to be based.
The Afghan intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, has said that Mansur was killed in the attack. The U.S. has not issued an official confirmation.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the United States was studying the results of the attack.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
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