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Pakistan warns US against drone attacks
Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani warns that the US incursions inside Pakistani territories have fueled anti-American feelings across the country. Gilani said in Islamabad that the "policy of the US incursions" had proved counter-productive, a Press TV correspondent reported Tuesday. The premier noted that the deadly attacks were severely undermining public support for counter-terrorism measures. Gilani made the remarks at a meeting with visiting US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke. Washington "should reconsider... US incursions as such actions have proved counter-productive and are promoting anti-American feeling in the area while severely undermining the public support for the counter terrorism measures," a spokesman for the premier said. Earlier on Monday, President Barack Obama called for a 'concerted effort' to root out militant safe havens to guarantee success in Afghanistan. 'My bottom line is that we cannot allow al-Qaeda to operate,' Obama said, adding that 'We cannot have those safe havens in that region, and we're going to have to work both smartly and effectively, but with consistency, in order to make sure that those safe havens don't exist.' The tribal regions along the shared border between Pakistan and Afghanistan have become a safe haven for militants after a US-led invasion in late 2001 toppled Taliban in Afghanistan and sent insurgents to border areas with Pakistan. The US and its western allies have accused Pakistan of 'not doing enough' to prevent attacks on supply routes as well as cross-border operations carried out by insurgents against foreign troops in Afghanistan. Pentagon has used the allegation as a pretext to launch drone attacks on Pakistan's tribal regions -- a move that has increased tension between Islamabad and Washington and has triggered anti-American sentiments among the Pakistani people. Pakistan says that the drone attacks undermine the country's sovereignty and trigger public anger. Over 500 people -- suspected militants as well as civilians -- have been killed in such attacks, which started under the Bush administration. Pakistani Foreign Minster Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Holbrooke was visiting Pakistan to observe ground realities and to listen to the view point of country's leadership. The Pakistani senior official called for a new strategy of dialogue to combat militancy and urged Washington to reconsider military action on its territory in its first talks with US President Barack Obama's envoy. "The new US strategic policy towards Pakistan and Afghanistan is likely to come out by April 2, as the new US administration is reviewing Bush regime's policies", the minister said. "I am here to listen and learn," in "this critically important country," Holbrooke said in a US embassy statement. Posted by: Fred 2009-02-11 |
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