End of drone strikes in Pak highly unlikely in near future: Report

Lahore, May 7 (ANI): While Pakistan has been continuously objecting to the US led drone targeting of the extremists in the lawless tribal areas along the Afghan border, it is highly unlikely that the United States would suspend the missile strikes any time soon, as they have resulted in sanitizing several top Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives.

A weekly report by the by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad stated that the Obama Administration considers the drone strikes a very successful tool to counter the terror threat, so it is unlikely that the strikes would be suspended in the near future.

The report said that the US, jubilant by the success of its unmanned Predator aircrafts, is considering using Reaper, which is a more advanced and deadlier version of the Predator.

It also quoted a former chief-of-staff of the US Air Force (USAF), General Michael Moseley, as saying that the USAir Force has now moved to a true hunter role with the Reaper.

The report added that Pakistan's concerns on Reaper operations along the Afghan border and adjacent areas were likely to remain a source of abrasion between Pakistan and the US-led coalition forces operating in the region, The Daily Times reported.(ANI)