Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has condemned U.S. drone strikes against militants in Pakistan.
The remark by Karzai came as a surprise that clashed with his previous demands that the U.S. take more aggressive action against insurgent havens on Pakistani soil.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Karzai told Pakistan's Geo TV, according to a transcript released by the Afghan presidential palace on Saturday, that he is not favour of drone attacks in Pakistan.
He said that just as he had stood against American military operations in Afghanistan, he fully will stand with Pakistan against any activity by any foreign power that caused civilian casualties in Pakistan.
While Pakistani authorities initially cooperated with the drone campaign, these strikes have become increasingly unpopular because of the civilian casualties they cause.
Pakistan's new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said earlier this month that the U.S. drone strikes are an unacceptable violation of his country's sovereignty and demanded an end to them
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Karzai said in the Geo TV interview that he endorses Sharif's stand.
Despite criticism from Pakistani officials, the U.S. has continued the drone attacks in recent weeks, including a strike that killed the deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban in late May, the report added.
