Hina Rabbani Khar calls Clinton to convey anger over NATO attack

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Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Sunday spoke to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and conveyed the ‘deep sense of rage’ felt across the country after the death of 24 soldiers in a NATO attack on a Pakistani check-post.

The foreign ministry said in a statement that Khar rang up Clinton in the early hours of Sunday to inform the US government of the decisions taken by the Defence Coordination Committee, which met in Islamabad on Saturday evening.

The meeting asked the US to vacate the Shamsi air base in Pakistan. It also decided to block supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan via Pakistan.

"The foreign minister conveyed to the secretary of state that such attacks are totally unacceptable. They demonstrate complete disregard for international law and human life, and are in stark violation of Pakistani sovereignty," Xinhua quoted the statement as saying.

Khar said the attack "negates the progress made by the two countries on improving relations and forces Pakistan to revisit the terms of engagement".

Clinton condoled the loss of life and said she was deeply saddened by the event, the statement said.

"She conveyed the US government's desire to work with Pakistan to resolve this issue," it said.