U.S. unilateral action hurts public sentiments: Pakistani President

 The unilateral action taken by the U.S. forces to kill the al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil has hurt the public sentiments, said the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari here on Friday.

The president made the remarks during a meeting with the visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at his presidential office in Islamabad.

During the meeting, Zardari also demanded the United States to stop the drone strikes in the country's northwestern tribal areas.

The president also said that Pakistan has suffered a great loss of lives in fight against terrorism and its economy has been badly affected by terrorism.

Local watchers pointed out that the messages sent by the Pakistani president during his meeting with Hillary Clinton have reflected at least three demands put forward by the Pakistani side on the United Sates to ease the current tensions between the two countries.

Firstly, the United States must ensure that unilateral actions like the May 2nd raid by the U.S. forces on the Pakistani soil shall not be repeated as such unilateral actions have seriously violated the sovereignty of Pakistan.

Secondly, the U.S. side must stop the drone strikes as such strikes have not only violated the territorial air right of Pakistan but also have caused a strong anti-American sentiment in the country, which in return have exerted a great pressure on the ruling party of the Pakistan People's Party co-chaired by Zardari and his son.

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