Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directly urged President Obama to end U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan. Obama and Sharif spoke after meeting at the White House.

President Obama: “We agreed that we need to continue to find constructive ways to partner together, ways that respect Pakistan’s sovereignty, that respect the concerns of both countries. And I’m optimistic that we can continue to make important strides in moving forward, because both the Pakistani people and the American people have suffered terribly from terrorism in the past.”

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif: “Pakistan and the United States have a strong ongoing counterterrorism cooperation. We have agreed to further strengthen this cooperation. I also brought up the issue of drones in our meeting, emphasizing the need for an end to such strikes.”

Despite Sharif’s public comments, The Washington Post reports the Pakistani government and the United States have closely cooperated on the drone strikes in Pakistan. Secret CIA documents and Pakistani memos show the Pakistani government has received regular U.S. briefings on strikes and the number of casualties. In the briefings, the United States has routinely claimed that no civilians were harmed. A report this week from Amnesty International uncovered new civilian deaths from U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, and said the killings may amount to war crimes.