16 September 2011
ISLAMABAD, SHINA SAMAR BAGH: The U.S. warning on militants based in Pakistan, 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 Thursday.
It was referring to comments by U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that Washington would do whatever it takes to defend U.S. forces in Afghanistan 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 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.
“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 also 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.
Separately, a suicide bomber attacked the funeral service Thursday of a Pakistani tribal leader opposed to the Taliban, killing at least 20 people in the second strike this week against local foes of the militant network.
The blast in the Lower Dir region, just 25 kilometers west of the Afghan border, also wounded 60 people, as around 200 mourners were attending the funeral in the Shina Samar Bagh village, police officer Sher Hassan Khan said.
Another police officer, Salim Marwat, said the attacker had been hiding in a nearby field and then ran toward the graveyard shouting “Allahu Akbar!” – the Arabic phrase meaning “God is Great” that is also a Muslim rallying cry – then detonated his bomb.
Copyright The Daily Star 2011.
