Pakistan raps US over `unauthorised' bin Laden raid Publish Date: Wednesday,4 May, 2011, at 02:29 AM Doha Time
Pakistan yesterday hit out at the US over the operation that killed Osama bin Laden near its capital, saying "unauthorised unilateral" action could threaten international peace. The foreign ministry denied that Pakistan had any prior knowledge of the operation and said there was no question of US helicopters taking off from Pakistani bases, despite strenuously pointing out past intelligence co-operation. "Pakistan expresses its deep concerns and reservations on the manner in which the government of the US carried out this operation without prior information or authorisation from the government of Pakistan," the ministry said. It said such "unauthorised unilateral action" cannot be taken as a rule and said it should not become "a future precedent" for any country. "Such actions undermine co-operation and may also sometimes constitute threat to international peace and security." Following local press reports that US forces jammed Pakistan's radar, Islamabad said American helicopters had flown in "undetected" using "blind spots" in the radar, latest technology and by flying at very low altitude. Pakistan said it scrambled fighter jets within minutes once it realised the helicopters were operating in its air space. In an unusually detailed response, the government defended itself against accusations that intense security at bin Laden's compound should have been enough to raise concerns because it stuck out so noticeably from other properties in the area. It said high outer walls were "in line" with the culture of "privacy and security" and erected around many homes of people from the northwest who had been affected by military operations and Taliban fighting. CIA Director Leon Panetta said in an interview that officials ruled out informing Islamabad about the raid against bin Laden's compound as they feared their Pakistani counterparts might alert the Al Qaeda chief. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, however, rejected as "baseless" charges that his country extended safe haven to extremists. Zardari acknowledged that the US commandos had carried out the raid without Pakistani collaboration - but stressed Islamabad had initially helped to identify the Qaeda courier who led them to bin Laden. Overall, he wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece, "a decade of co-operation and partnership between the US and Pakistan led up to the elimination of Osama bin Laden as a continuing threat to the civilised world". AFP Back to Article Homepage ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
