ISLAMABAD, May 26 (APP): Pakistan denies handing over body of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor to Taliban
Pakistan on Thursday confirming the death of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhter Mansour in a drone strike said his body would not be handed over to anyone till result of the DNA.
"All indicators confirm that the person killed in the drone strike was Mullah Akhter Mansour who was travelling on a fake identity," Sartaj Aziz, Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs told media persons here at the Foreign Office.
The Advisor said the DNA test result would be available soon.
Aziz, who made an unusual appearance at the weekly Foreign Office briefing instead of FO spokesman, responded to the queries mostly focusing on the hot issue of drone strike killing Mullah Akhter Mansour.
Sartaj Aziz said the drone attack of May 21 had added to the complexity of the Afghan conflict.
"We believe that this action has undermined the Afghan peace process," he said.
"The drone action was a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty as well as breach of the principles of the United Nations Charter governing the conduct of the states. We have conveyed our serious concern to the United States on this issue," he said.
Aziz said during the quadrilateral meeting of May 18, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China had agreed that politically negotiated settlement was the most viable option and had stressed for continued efforts to bring Taliban on the table.
He regretted that "this understanding had not been respected".
The Advisor recalled that earlier in July 2015, talks were scuttled at a key stage when the issue of reduction in violence was to be discussed and mentioned that in less than a year, peace process had been scuttled twice.
Sartaj Aziz said Pakistan was of the view that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and the use of force for past 15 years had failed to deliver peace.
"We believe this approach will further destabilize Afghanistan, which will have negative implications for the region, especially due to the presence of large number of terrorist groups in Afghanistan," he said.
He stressed that a politically negotiated settlement remained the most viable option for bringing lasting peace to Afghanistan and added that the military approach tried for 15 years could not achieve the objective.