ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that America has made significant headway in its drone campaign and hoped the strikes in Pakistan, a major irritant in bilateral ties, could end “very soon”.
“I believe that we’re on a good track,” Kerry said in an interview on Pakistani television. “I think the program will end as we have eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it”.
Asked if the US had a “timeline” for ending the drone strikes in Pakistan, Kerry, who was on his first visit to the country as Secretary of State said, “Well, I do. And I think the president has a very real timeline, and we hope it’s going to be very, very soon”.
However, he did not specify what the timeline was.
Kerry on his maiden trip to Pakistan as Secretary of State had held talks with the country’s new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other members of the Pakistani leadership.
His remarks came in the background of President Barack Obama’s speech on drone policy in May.
Obama had then said the reduction in American troop levels in Afghanistan and progress in the fight against al-Qaeda had reduced the need for drone strikes.
US has carried out hundreds of drone strikes in Pakistan killing many wanted terrorists. Pakistan has publicly been opposing the strike as a number of civilians too have been allegedly killed in these strikes. -PTI
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