Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar telephoned her US counterpart Hillary Clinton Sunday to convey Pakistan’s deep rage over the cross-border NATO air strikes that left at least 24 Pakistani soldiers dead.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar telephoned her US counterpart Hillary Clinton Sunday to convey Pakistan’s deep rage over the cross-border NATO air strikes that left at least 24 Pakistani soldiers dead.

Khar said that such attacks were "totally unacceptable" as they contravened international law and violated Pakistani sovereignty, a statement issued by Pakistan’s foreign office said.

The Pakistani minister spoke to Clinton early Sunday and informed her of the decisions of the Cabinet’s Defense Committee that include blocking NATO supply routes, AFP quoted the statement as saying.

"The foreign minister conveyed to the secretary of state, the deep sense of rage felt across Pakistan at the senseless loss of 24 soldiers due to the NATO/ISAF attack on the Pakistani post…” the statement revealed.

Khar further added: “Such attacks are totally unacceptable. They demonstrate complete disregard for international law and human life, and are in stark violation of Pakistani sovereignty… this negates the progress made by the two countries on improving relations and forces Pakistan to revisit the terms of engagement.”

For her part, the US secretary of state offered her condolences over the loss of life and expressed her “government's intention to work with Pakistan to resolve the issue.”

NATO expressed regret later on Sunday over the attack in a statement its Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen wrote to Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

"I have written... to make it clear that the deaths of Pakistani personnel are as unacceptable and deplorable as the deaths of Afghan and international personnel," the statement said.

"This was a tragic unintended incident," it added.