Pakistan rules out foreign 'invasion' against militants
Pakistani lawyers and political activists wave placards as they march in Lahore yesterday demanding reinstatement of sacked judges. The two main ruling coalition parties agreed to reinstate the judges when they originally formed the coalition in March this year, but have failed to agree on how to do it.Photo: AFP
Pakistan will not allow foreign troops into its tribal areas to root out extremists threatening coalition forces in neighbouring Afghanistan, its foreign minister said here yesterday.
"Invading the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) is not an option," Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a question and answer session after a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies think-tank in central London.
"It will not solve any issue. First of all, we are a sovereign country and... we feel that we have capable troops in Pakistan that can look after peace and security within our territory."
Qureshi's comments came as Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani prepared to leave for the United States to discuss stepping up efforts against Islamist extremists launching attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan.
The visit comes amid mounting fears in Pakistan that the United States is prepared to launch military "hot pursuit" raids into the troubled Pakistani tribal belt as attacks soar in Afghanistan.
Gilani will face searching questions about his commitment to fighting Taliban and al-Qaeda militants along the Afghan border when he flies to Washington this weekend.
"The US will have one simple question for Gilani: 'Do you have the will to manage the affairs in the tribal areas?'," Hasan Askari, a political analyst at Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC, told AFP.
US President George W. Bush said earlier this month that he was "troubled" by the cross-border movement of extremists from Pakistan to Afghanistan and would discuss the threat with Gilani when he visits.
US military commanders have reported a 40 percent rise in militant attacks on parts of eastern Afghanistan since Pakistan's new government launched peace talks with Taliban rebels in the tribal belt.
Deaths of western troops in Afghanistan have exceeded those in Iraq for the last two months, while the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul and a militant raid that killed nine US troops this month have also set alarm bells ringing.
With Gilani's government also facing economic problems at home just five months after defeating allies of US-backed President Pervez Musharraf in elections, he is set to come under renewed pressure from Bush on Monday.
Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said Gilani's trip to Washington would cover the "war on terror", bilateral relations and the economy.
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