– File Photo by Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan told the United States on Friday it would not attend a meeting on Afghanistan later this month, angered by a US missile strike that killed atleast 40 people and drew rare condemnation from the country's powerful military chief.

Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir lodged a strong protest with US ambassador Cameron Munter who was summoned to the foreign offfice a day after the attack in the Datta Khel region of North Waziristan, a spokeswoman said.

“Ambassador Munter was also conveyed that under the current circumstances, Pakistan would not be able to participate in the trilateral meeting between Afghanistan-Pakistan-US,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.

“It was evident that the fundamentals of our relations need to be revisited. Pakistan should not be taken for granted nor treated as a client state,” the statement said.

The United States had proposed the trilateral meeting in Brussels on March 26 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, according to the statement.