Image caption Ms Khar warns that the US cannot afford to alienate the Pakistani people

Pakistan's foreign minister has warned that the US could lose Pakistan as an ally if it continues to publicly accuse Islamabad of supporting militants.

Hina Rabbani Khar told Geo TV that the US could not afford to alienate Pakistan's government or its people.

The White House kept up the pressure on Friday, urging Islamabad to break any links it has with the Haqqani network.

On Thursday, the US military accused Pakistan's spy agency of helping the group in a recent attack on Kabul.

Some 25 people died in an assault on the US embassy and other buildings.

Pakistan denies its intelligence service has links with the Haqqani network and says it is determined to fight all militants based on its border with Afghanistan.

'At your own cost'

"You will lose an ally," Hina Rabbani Khar told Geo TV in New York, where she has been attending the UN General Assembly.

Analysis Adm Mike Mullen's statement has made banner headlines in the Pakistani press and has been the main focus of discussion on most television talk shows. Voices of defiance are clashing with those that warn against misadventure. And there are voices saying that there may be some truth in the US allegations. The Express Tribune says Pakistan has provided shelter to the Haqqani network in North Waziristan or done little to stop it operating. Telllingly, The News talks of an "urgent need to find common ground before political grandstanding becomes the sound of helicopter rotor blades in the dead of night." The papers also warn that being on the wrong side of the endgame in Afghanistan, as one newspaper editorial puts it, may prove to be fatal for Pakistan. But there is still room for severe criticism of US unilateralism and there is an attempt to portray Pakistan's military as being capable of defending its borders.

"You cannot afford to alienate Pakistan, you cannot afford to alienate the Pakistani people," she said. "If they are choosing to do so it will be at their own cost."

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also weighed in, telling reporters: "They can't live with us. They can't live without us.

"So, I would say to them that if they can't live without us, they should increase contacts with us to remove misunderstandings."

He and Ms Khar were responding to Adm Mike Mullen's testimony on Thursday when he told a Senate panel: "The Haqqani network... acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency.

"With ISI support, Haqqani operatives planned and conducted a truck bomb attack [on 11 September], as well as the assault on our embassy," said Adm Mullen who steps down this month as chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

White House spokesman Jay Carney accused Pakistan of failing to take action against Haqqani network "safe havens" on its soil.

"It is critical that the government of Pakistan break any links they have and take strong and immediate action against this network so that they are no longer a threat to the United States or to the people of Pakistan," he said.

'Serious difficulties'

US-Pakistan ties have deteriorated sharply since the killing by US commandos of al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden on Pakistani soil in May.

The last 24 hours have seen some of the angriest exchanges between the countries since they declared their uneasy alliance against militants 10 years ago.

US-Pakistan tensions 2 May: US announces Bin Laden's death and says Pakistan not warned of raid

US announces Bin Laden's death and says Pakistan not warned of raid 14 May: Pakistan MPs demand review of US ties

Pakistan MPs demand review of US ties 26 May: US announces withdrawal of some US troops at Pakistan's request

US announces withdrawal of some US troops at Pakistan's request 27 May: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits to try to soothe relations

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits to try to soothe relations 2 June: Top US military chief Adm Mike Mullen admits "significant" cut in US troops in Pakistan

Top US military chief Adm Mike Mullen admits "significant" cut in US troops in Pakistan 10 June: CIA head Leon Panetta visits Pakistan. US admits "slow progress" in healing ties

CIA head Leon Panetta visits Pakistan. US admits "slow progress" in healing ties 8 July: Adm Mullen says Pakistan sanctioned killing of a journalist. Pakistan angrily rejects this

Adm Mullen says Pakistan sanctioned killing of a journalist. Pakistan angrily rejects this 10 July: US suspends $800m of military aid

US suspends $800m of military aid 17 Sept: US envoy to Islamabad cites 'links' between Pakistan government and Haqqanis

US envoy to Islamabad cites 'links' between Pakistan government and Haqqanis 23 Sept: Adm Mike Mullen accuses Pakistan of 'supporting a Kabul attack'

"At the operational level it will be appropriate to say that there are serious difficulties" between Islamabad and Washington, Ms Khar admitted.

Ties between the US and Pakistan had already been strained by continuing US drone strikes targeting militants in the tribal areas and the controversy over the release of Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who killed two Pakistani men in Lahore.

The Haqqani network, which is closely allied to the Taliban and reportedly based in Pakistan, has been blamed for several high-profile attacks against Western, Indian and government targets in Afghanistan.

It is often described by Pakistani officials as a predominantly Afghan group, but correspondents say its roots reach deep inside Pakistani territory, and speculation over its links to Pakistan's security establishment refuses to die down.

US officials have long been frustrated at what they perceive to be Pakistani inaction against the Haqqani network, and analysts say US concern about the group's capabilities is particularly acute as Nato begins withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, Washington said it could target the Haqqani network on Pakistani soil if the authorities there failed to take action against the militants.

Pakistan says it has taken very strict action whenever it has received information about militant groups.