Pakistan's army threatens to review US ties

AL Jazeera Americas

Warning against future raid comes as US politicians question Pakistan funding following bin Laden killing in Abbottabad. Last Modified: 06 May 2011 04:27

The relationship between Pakistan and the US is under intense scrutiny, with the Pakistani army saying that it will review co-operation with the US if there is another violation of its sovereignity. The warning follows the special operation by US commandos inside Pakistani territory that led to the death of Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda. Pakistan has been under international pressure to explain why bin Laden was able to hide in a compound in a hill town near its capital, Islamabad. Pakistan has denied any knowledge of bin Laden's whereabouts and the army said on Thursday it would conduct an investigation into failures by its intelligence to detect the world's most wanted man on its own soil. Although both governments have attempted to highlight co-operation between the two, comments coming from senior officials on Thursday suggested the opposite. Army's statement The Pakistan army threatened on Thursday to reconsider its anti-terrorism co-operation with the US if the Americans carried out another unilateral attack like the killing of bin Laden. "COAS made it clear that any similar action violating the sovereignty of Pakistan will warrant a review on the level of military/intelligence co-operation with the United States," the army said in a statement, referring to the chief of army staff, General Ashfaq Kayani. At the same time, Pakistan's military said it had launched an investigation into how bin Laden was able to live in the country undetected - for up to five years, according to one of the al-Qaeda leader's wives. A Pakistani security officer has sold bin Laden death scene photos to the Reuters news agency. Separately, the Pakistani foreign secretary, Salman Bashir, gave warning that regional neighbours should not think they can follow America's lead. He cautioned the US and other countries on Thursday against future raids in the country on suspected fighters, saying that such actions would have "disastrous consequences". "We feel that that sort of misadventure or miscalculation would result in a terrible catastrophe," he said. "There should be no doubt Pakistan has adequate capacity to ensure its own defence." For their part, Americans are questioning how bin Laden could live for years in a Pakistani garrison town. Two politicians, Kay Granger and Howard Berman, wrote to Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, on Thursday complaining about US aid to Pakistan. Clinton said in Rome on Thursday that the US was still anxious to maintain its alliance with Pakistan. The Pakistani army and spy agency have supplied intelligence to the US, arrested al-Qaeda figures and taken on fighters in areas bordering Afghanistan. "It is not always an easy relationship," Clinton said. "But, on the other hand, it is a productive one for both our countries and we are going to continue to cooperate between our governments, our militaries, our law-enforcement agencies." Pentagon statement Separately, a senior Pentagon official said that the US so far had no "definitive evidence" that Pakistan knew of bin Laden's hideout. But Michele Flournoy, a senior police aide to Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, also said Pakistan must now demonstrate, visibly and convincingly, their commitment to defeating al-Qaeda. The developments came as the BBC reported on Thursday quoting a Pakistani military official that one of bin Laden's wives told intelligence officials he had been living in Pakistan for the past five years. The woman, one of three of bin Laden's wives held after the raid, said she had lived in one room for that entire period, the BBC reported. The official said 13 children had also been recovered from the compound. The CIA said it kept Pakistan out of the loop because it feared bin Laden would be tipped off, highlighting the depth of mistrust between the two supposed allies. US special forces launched the Monday morning raid with helicopter-borne soldiers attacking a compound in Abbottabad, north of Islamabad. Four other people were also killed in the raid.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

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