Pakistani PM to convince Obama on U.S. drone attacks: minister

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ISLAMABAD, Oct. 22 -- Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will be able to convince the U.S. leadership on Pakistan's stance on drone attacks, the country's information minister said Tuesday.

Nawaz Sharif will meet U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington on Wednesday on the last day of his three-day official visit. This will be the first meeting of the two leaders, the Foreign Ministry said.

Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said the prime minister will also inform Obama about the dialogue process with the Taliban to establish peace in the country.

The minister said Pakistan is an independent and sovereign state and will not allow anyone to interfere in its internal affairs. He said the government has already made it clear that no foreign dictation will be accepted at all.

The remarks came hours after a latest rights group report said that the United States has killed civilians in unlawful drone attacks in the country's tribal regions.

The Amnesty International's report "Will I be next?" said the Obama administration may be guilty of war crimes as many of those killed accounted for by the U.S. military as terrorists were in fact civilians, including a 68-year-old grandmother and a 14-year- old boy.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said Nawaz Sharif will raise the drone issue during his visit to the United States, adding the Pakistani government and the leadership is raising the issue at every forum and bilaterally with the United States.

He said Pakistan's principled stand is that these attacks are not only infringement of sovereignty but also against the international laws, and its benefits are less than its negative implications in the war on terror.

"This stance is now accepted across the world. The UN secretary general and the world human rights groups endorse it," the spokesman said.

• Pakistani president terms U.S. drone attacks as problem in relationship

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