The U.S. warning on militants based inPakistan, blamed by Washington for this
week's attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, works against counter-terrorism
cooperation between the two allies, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on
Thursday.
It was referring to comments
by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that Washington would do whatever it takes to
defend American forces inAfghanistan from Pakistan-based militants.
"We believe these remarks
are not in line with the cooperation that exists between the two
countries," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua told reporters.
U.S. officials suspect
militants from the Haqqani network were behind Tuesday's rocket attack on the
U.S. Embassy compound in the Afghan capital, as well as a truck bomb last
Saturday that wounded 77 U.S. force ambers.
"Time and again we've
urged the Pakistanis to exercise their influence over these kinds of attacks
from the Haqqanis. And we have made very little progress in that area,"
Panetta told reporters flying with him to San Francisco on Wednesday.
"I think the message they
need to know is: we're going to do everything we can to defend our
forces."
Pakistani officials said there
was no proof of such cross-border operations.
The comments are likely to
raise tension between the uneasy allies. Relations dropped to a low point after
a unilateral U.S. special forces raid killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani
town in May.
"Pakistan and the United
States have strategic cooperation. We hope to discuss these issues in a
cooperative manner," Janjua told a news conference.
Pakistani officials said it
was the responsibility of U.S.-led forces to crack down on militants when they
enter Afghanistan.
"We are using all our
resources to fight terrorism. As far as these issues like Haqqani network
launching attacks from Pakistani territory is concerned, has any proof ever
been given?" said a senior Pakistani military official who asked not to be
identified.
Panetta declined to answer
questions about what steps the United States might take to defend U.S. forces.
The CIA has had success targeting militants in Pakistan using drones, and has
tried to take out figures in the Haqqani network.
A senior Pakistani government
official involved in defense policy said the South Asian country, reliant on
billions of dollars in U.S. aid, was doing all it could to stop militants from
crossing the border to Afghanistan.
"But if the militants
are doing something inside Afghanistan, then it is the responsibility of the
Afghan and Western forces to hold them on the borders," he said.
"They let everyone go
scot-free on their side (of the border) and then they say Pakistan is not doing
enough."
SUSPECTED TIES TO THE HAQQANIS
Salim Saifullah, chairman of
the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, said comments like Panetta's didn't
help, adding that Pakistan would fight militancy cautiously.
"The United States has a
temporary relationship with Afghanistan. Pakistan and Afghanistan have a
permanent relationship, with a long shared history and common border," he
said.
"Pakistan does not
support these militants, but it will go after them carefully keeping in mind
the situation on the ground."
Panetta, who was CIA director
until July, has long pressed Islamabad to go after the Haqqanis, seen as the
most dangerous of the Taliban-allied insurgent factions fighting U.S.-led NATO
and Afghan troops in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's Directorate of
Inter-Services Intelligence has long been suspected of maintaining ties with
the Haqqani network, cultivated during the 1980s when Jalaluddin Haqqani was a
feared battlefield commander against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
Pakistan says it has no links
to the group.
Panetta said he was concerned
about the Haqqanis' ability to attack American troops and then "escape
back into what is a safe haven in Pakistan."
"And that's
unacceptable," Panetta said.
Last month, Admiral Mike
Mullen, the top U.S. military officer, cited progress curtailing Haqqani group
movements within Afghanistan.
Going after the Haqqani
network could be risky for Pakistan's army, which is already stretched fighting
Taliban militants determined to topple the U.S.-backed government.
"They (Americans) should
not dump their failures on this side of the border always, look at their
resources, intelligence and surveillance capabilities," said another
senior Pakistani military official.
"The militants are not
only going from this side of the border, they have their presence and support
groups inside Afghanistan and such attacks are being planned and coordinated by
those groups."
(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington and Phil Stewart in San Francisco; Writing by Michael
Georgy; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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Source : Reuters
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