Pakistanis Meeting on US Ties after Drone Kills Taliban Chief

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will preside over a crucial meeting Sunday to discuss his country's relationship with the U.S. following the drone strike which killed Taliban Chief Hakimullah Mehsud, Xinhua reported.

Pakistani officials claim the U.S. has wrecked their government's peace dialogue with the Taliban.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said meetings of the Federal Cabinet and Cabinet Committee on National Security would be convened in the next few days to review the entire perspective of Pakistan-U.S. relations and cooperation.

Prime Minster Sharif, who was abroad when the American drones rained missiles into the North Waziristan tribal region on Friday, killing the Taliban chief and several other commanders.

The government had constituted a three-member delegation of top religious scholars to proceed to the Waziristan tribal area on Saturday to meet the Taliban leaders and discuss the agenda and peace talks.

The visit was canceled after the U.S. attack, which has ben widely condemned in Pakistan. Both government and opposition parties are saying the American drone killings have derailed a rare peace initiative.