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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan rejects US authority to cross its border |
| 2007-03-03 |
| 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 |
| #8 Something tells me that this may very well be scripted; first the VP 'drops in' on Perv to 'discuss' things and now we have a heavy hitter in uniform saying that we are not gonna stop just cuz the map changes color form blue to green ( or whatever). This should get some Pakiturbans well wound deciding how to deal with this 'threat.' And it would be doubly interesting to see what the consequences are when (not if) our guys do go into Pakland. Seems there is another article posted here that showed nothing happened when some Afghan troops fired across the border. |
| Posted by: USN, ret. 2007-03-03 21:47 |
| #7 Hey Pppervvvv. Better get your act together or we may "pursue" some of these "Taliban" all the way to ISI headquarters. And there's no guarantee we'll feel like stopping there. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-03-03 20:48 |
| #6 Screw them. Any military force has the inalienable right to retaliate against attackers and military planners, anywhere. International law permits hot pursuit operations. And given that pre-emption is central to US military doctrine, I would condone destruction of any financial or training facility from which beligerents are either paid or directed. The real problem for Mushy is: maintenance of Punjab domination over Pakistan minorities. He allows terror because doing so directs ethnic hostility against third parties. In retrospect - and it is Monday morning quarterbacking - it would have better to bomb the Pashto menace to charcoal, from the North and support an indigenous Northern Alliance takeover. Neither relations with Pakistan nor the beligerent armistice has served US security. Scorched earth is a viable option in face of neverending subsidized Paki interference, and Kharzai (a Pashto) brinkmanship. |
| Posted by: Sneaze 2007-03-03 18:13 |
| #5 I hope nobody tells the pakis that it doesn't matter what they authorize if POTUS says the military can go into pakland. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2007-03-03 16:52 |
| #4 No one is permitted to cross our territorial borders Unless they're brave jihadis crossing into Afghanistan to fight infidels. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-03-03 15:12 |
| #3 Pakistan objects to our crossing the border like they deny there are Taliban there in the first place. It is pro forma, and nobody takes it seriously. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-03-03 15:08 |
| #2 seems to me, Pakland, that if you cede control of your formerly sovereign territory to |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-03-03 14:38 |
| #1 We asked? why bother? |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-03-03 14:16 |