ISLAMABAD, Jan 14: Pakistan on Saturday lodged a protest with the US ambassador over the missile attack on Bajaur Agency launched from Afghanistan on Friday in which 18 people were killed.

A foreign ministry press release said that Pakistan would also take up the matter in the next meeting of the Tripartite Commission of the militaries of the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It said: “The incident is being thoroughly investigated” and added that “according to preliminary investigations there was foreign presence in the area”.

“Our armed forces have undertaken large-scale operation against the foreign militants and it remains our responsibility to protect our territory from outside intrusion,” it said.

AFP adds: Meanwhile, foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told AFP that Pakistan had summoned the US envoy to the foreign office in protest.

“Foreign Secretary Riaz Khan handed over a formal protest to the US ambassador at the foreign ministry this evening,” said Ms Aslam.

It is the second protest lodged by Pakistan with the US for alleged incursion into its tribal region bordering Afghanistan this month.

“According to preliminary investigations there was foreign presence in the area that in all probability was targeted from across the border in Afghanistan,” the foreign ministry said.

“As a result of this act there has been loss of innocent civilian lives which we condemn. The investigations are still continuing,” it added.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said a number of the dead appeared to be foreigners “possibly involved in sabotage activities. Most of the bodies were charred.”

“But we have no information about (Al Qaeda number two Ayman) Al Zawahiri. We are investigating what caused the explosions,” he said.

However, the US Defence Department denied that the US military had carried out any attacks in the area. “There is no reason to believe the US military is conducting operations there,” said Lt-Col Todd Vician.

Ihtasham ul Haque adds: Earlier, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told a news conference that Pakistan “will not allow such incidents to recur”.

The minister neither denied nor confirmed media reports that Al Zawahiri had been killed in the attack.

“I just cannot say anything about this issue as the security agencies concerned are still investigating,” he said.

“We have no information about Al Zawahiri. Let the investigation be completed. Only then, perhaps, I will be in a position to talk about it,” he said. Nevertheless, the minister held ‘foreign intruders’ responsible for the attack. “While this act is highly condemnable, we have been for a long time striving to rid all our tribal areas of foreign intruders who have been responsible for all the misery and violence in the region. That situation has to be brought to an end,” he said, regretting the loss of civilian lives.

“It is also the responsibility of the people of tribal areas to fully cooperate with the government in flushing out the foreign militants so that complete peace prevails in areas ensuring speedy development for which the government has allocated vast resources,” he asserted.