Pakistan is again calling for an end to US drone strikes in his country – This is in response to leaked CIA documents which show that for years, senior Pakistani officials have known of, endorsed, and often collaborated with the drones.

“I also brought up the issue of drones in our meeting, emphasizing the need for an end to such strikes,” said Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after his face-to-face meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House.

But the morning after that meeting, the Washington Post newspaper reported that it had obtained CIA documents and Pakistani diplomatic memos that indicated officials were routinely given classified briefings.  The files show the cooperative nature of the drone strikes, which neither country wished to acknowledge publicly. 

“I think people knew it already, but this makes it much more obvious, and the [Pakistani] media and others will have to cool off,” said Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general and military analyst.

The files also disclose then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confronting the Pakistanis about several officials’ ties to Islamist militants who were attacking US interests, even while working with the US on drone targets.