Pakistan says incident in tribal area "regrettable"

Pakistan's Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Saturday that the incident in the country's tribal area was "regrettable."

He was referring to the killing of 18 people by U.S. air strikes on Friday in Pakistan's Bajur tribal region but he did not mention the U.S. or any other country while addressing a press conference.

Saying investigation into the incident was under way, he told reporters that he had no information about the presence of Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, in the targeted area.

He refused to give any details before calling an end of the press conference.

Meanwhile, thousands of people took part in a rally on Saturday to condemn air strike by an American plane in the Pakistani remote tribal region, which killed 18 people.

American TV channels have reported that Ayman al-Zawahiri was the target of a CIA air strike Friday in Pakistan Bajur tribal region and may have been among those killed.

"Americans have killed innocent women and children and now they are diverting attention of the world from this cruel act through the baseless claim that al-Qaeda leaders were targeted," SahibzadaHaroon ur Rashid, a lawmaker from the hard-line Jamaat-e-Islami party told the protest rally.

"This is in fact real terrorism to target innocent people, the children and the women," Haroon said. He rejected the U.S. TV reports that Ayman al-Zawahiri or any foreigner was in the area.

"Hundreds of people took part to pull dead bodies out of the rubble soon after the air strike and the people did not see any foreigner killed in the attack," the lawmaker told the huge rally.

He said that the issue of the attack would also be raised in the parliament and that he had sent a motion to the National Assembly, of which he is a member.

The rally participants were chanting slogans against the U.S. sir strike and also against the Pakistani government.

He said the people in the area are very angry at the statements by the military spokesman and information minister that deaths caused by explosions.

He added that U.S. spy planes were flying over the area for a few days but the government did not take note of it. He asked the government to strongly react to the "American bombing."

Source: Xinhua