Pakistan protests NATO airstrikes

Pakistan has criticized NATO airstrikes on its territory that killed over 50 militants, saying they were a violation of its sovereignty. NATO officials have rejected Pakistani protest, saying it had right of self-defence. US officials have said they have an agreement that allows aircraft to cross a few miles (kilometers) into Pakistani airspace if they are in hot pursuit of a target. But Pakistan denied Monday such an agreement exists. Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release Monday that the mandate of foreign troops in Afghanistan ends at the Afghan border. These incidents are a clear violation and breach of the UN mandate under which ISAF operates, Abdul Basit added. Pakistan said that unless corrective measures are implemented, it will have to consider response options. Pakistan said the helicopters intruded into its territory thrice from the eastern Afghan province of Khost as they chased the militants. NATO helicopters based in Afghanistan carried out at least two airstrikes in Pakistan that killed more than 50 militants after the insurgents attacked a small Afghan security outpost near the border. The first strike took place Saturday after insurgents based in Pakistan attacked an Afghan outpost in Khost province, which is located right across the border from Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area, said U.S. Capt. Ryan Donald, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The second attack occurred when helicopters returned to the border area and were attacked by insurgents based in Pakistan, said Donald. The strike killed at least four militants, said Johnson. Pakistani intelligence officials said two NATO helicopters carried out a third strike inside Pakistani territory on Monday morning, killing five militants and wounding nine others. The strike occurred in the village of Mata Sanger in the Kurram tribal area, which is directly across the border from the Afghan provinces of Paktia and Nangarhar, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.