DHAKA: US defence secretary Chuck Hagel discussed the use of US drones against militants in remote areas of Pakistan on Monday during the first visit by a Pentagon chief to the South Asian ally in almost four years.

Islamabad says drone strikes kill too many civilians and violate its sovereignty.

Protests by anti-drone activists prompted the United States to suspend ground shipments of NATO cargo leaving Afghanistan via Pakistan last week.

During his visit, Hagel met prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other senior officials including the newly appointed army chief, Raheel Sharif.

Both sides were tight-lipped on the details of the talks.

‘The prime minister ... conveyed Pakistan’s deep concern over continuing US drone strikes, stressing that drone strikes were counter-productive to our efforts to combat terrorism and extremism on an enduring basis,’ the foreign ministry said in a statement, reports The Voice of Russia.

BDST: 1945 HRS, DEC 09, 2013