Friday, October 21, 2011

Pakistani PM demands end to US threats

Pakistan's Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has urged US officials to stop accusing Islamabad and threatening it with unilateral military action.
Gilani raised the objection during a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Islamabad Thursday evening, Pakistani sources said.
The Pakistani premier reiterated that the United States must use the bilateral forum to raise any complaints.
Reports of US troops massing in Afghanistan along the Pakistani border have raised concerns in the South Asian country about a potential US plan to wage a military offensive on its North Waziristan region.
Leading a high-level delegation, Clinton arrived in Islamabad Thursday on a two-day official tour, following her earlier visit to Afghanistan, Xinhua reported.
Top US officials have alleged that the Pakistani intelligence agency assisted the Haqqani network in attacks against the US Embassy in Afghanistan last month, a charge firmly disputed by Pakistan.
The Haqqani group has been accused of attacking the US Embassy in Kabul and carrying out a truck bombing against a NATO outpost that wounded more than 70 American soldiers in September.
Relations between Islamabad and Washington have already been strained over high civilian casualties caused by the non-UN-sanctioned US drone attacks, which Pakistan has repeatedly condemned as violations of its sovereignty.
Tensions between the two allies further increased following a secret US raid into Pakistan that allegedly led to the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May.

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