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Pakistan rejects US authority to cross its border
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday emphatically rejected statements made in the Senate in Washington that US troops in Afghanistan were authorised to pursue Al-Qaida and Taliban elements inside its territory."No one is permitted to cross our territorial borders," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said in response to comments by US Lieutenant General Douglas Lute that US troops could target terrorist sites inside Pakistan. "There is no such understanding," Aslam said, adding that mechanisms like the tripartite US-Afghan-Pakistani commission and the newly opened joint intelligence-sharing centre in Kabul dealt with the question of militant incursions. But Lute was categorical that engagement rules allowed US forces to pursue insurgents or any one "demonstrating hostile intent" into Pakistan in certain circumstances. "We have all the authorities we need to pursue, either with (artillery) fire or on the ground, across the border," Lute told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington on Thursday. Commanders on the ground could respond if they meet an imminent threat, he said, referring to a corresponding agreement with Pakistani authorities. But permission would be needed to go after a munitions factory further inside the border. The Foreign Ministry in Islamabad noted that such cross-border operations were political decisions that could not be taken by the military alone. As US-Pakistani relations show growing signs of strain over Afghanistan-related security issues, ministry spokeswoman Aslam reminded that the two countries were "partners and not adversaries in the war against terrorism." Meanwhile, chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad stressed that only Pakistani armed forces can take action inside the country. "There is no agreement or arrangement whereby US troops can cross wherever they want to," he said. Some 80,000 Pakistani troops are positioned down the largely tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, where there have been incidents of fighting that spilled into Pakistan. Pakistan and Afghanistan received visits in recent weeks by Vice President Dick Cheney and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates. Both are thought to have applied pressure on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to step up control of the border and also stamp out Al-Qaida elements, which, Washington says, are now running some of their global operations from Pakistan's tribal areas. The claim is hotly disputed by Islamabad. Posted by: John Frum 2007-03-03 |
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