Pakistan blocks US from searching for bin Laden Associated Press

Published: Sunday July 13, 2008





Print This Email This The top diplomat for Pakistan has said that there are currently no foreign military representatives in Pakistan hunting for Osama bin Laden, and that none would be allowed into the country to search for him. In an interview Saturday, the Pakistani foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said the new government of Pakistan had ruled out such military operations, covert or otherwise, to catch militants including Osama bin Laden, the head of Al Qaeda. "Our government's policy is that our troops, paramilitary forces and our regular forces are deployed in sufficient numbers," Qureshi said. "They are capable of taking action there. And any foreign intrusion would be counterproductive. People will not accept it. Questions of sovereignty come in." The United States has grown increasingly frustrated as Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militants thrive in Pakistan's remote areas and in neighboring Afghanistan, where the United States has offered to contribute troops to strike at terror networks. Critics in Washington also have expressed frustration with the new Pakistani government's pursuit of peace deals in the region. Bin Laden is believed to be hiding somewhere in the Afghan-Pakistan border region. The newly elected civilian government of Pakistan is negotiating with tribal elders to secure peace with militants along the Afghan border in hopes of curbing a surge in violence. It is a step back from the heavy-handed tactics pursued by the previous government led by supporters of President Pervez Musharraf. Tension between the United States and Pakistan have been high since Pakistan said U.S. aircraft killed 11 of its soldiers at a border post in June. U.S. officials have said that coalition aircraft dropped bombs during a clash with militants. Despite statements by Pakistan saying that it does not allow U.S. forces on its territory, villagers in the border region that is a haven for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters have reported seeing U.S. drones fire missiles at suspected militant targets on several occasions in recent years. Qureshi said he tried to reassure Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a meeting Friday that his government was doing everything it could to combat militants in lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Pakistan and Afghanistan regularly exchange criticisms about not doing more to fight extremists operating along their long, remote, mountainous border that is seen by the United States as crucial to stopping terrorism. Qureshi acknowledged that "there are some infiltrations" still occurring, but said that there are no covert U.S. military operations trying to catch bin Laden or other Qaeda figures, Taliban members or any other suspected militants. "There are none," he said. "It will create such an anti-U.S. feeling in Pakistan that I would say would mar the atmosphere of cooperation that exists between us," he said. Qureshi described Pakistani counterterrorism efforts as having a "grassroots" approach. "Our strategy is that the military option alone is not enough," he said. "This war has to be fought besides the armies, with the help of the people, by winning hearts and minds." When asked if he believed that bin Laden was still in Pakistan, he said: "I don't think so. I'm not sure," he said. "Nobody's aware of that. Nobody can speak with certainty. But our policy's very clear. We are allies in this war. And if Pakistan has actionable information vis-a-vis Osama bin laden or any other high value target, Pakistan will immediately take action."