Islamabad
04 September 2008
Pakistani lawmakers have denounced Wednesday's raid by foreign troops
in Pakistani territory, passing a resolution condemning the operation
and vowing to repel similar attacks in the future. VOA's Barry
Newhouse reports from Islamabad that the Pakistani military warned such
operations could provoke a backlash in the country's volatile tribal
regions.
Wednesday's raid was the first confirmed ground
operation by foreign troops based in Afghanistan and it dominated the
agenda in Pakistan's parliament.
Foreign Minister Mahmood Qureshi said the government had already summoned the U.S. ambassador to complain.
He
said the operation was shameful because it violated the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of a U.S. ally in the war against terrorism.
Details
about the raid remain unclear, including who was behind it. Western
news agencies have reported that U.S. military sources claim American
troops based in Afghanistan carried out the assault on a village less
than two kilometers from the Afghan border. The number of people
reported killed varied from seven to 20 and Pakistani officials said
nearly all of them were civilians.
Pakistan's military has
worked with U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan for several years to
establish guidelines governing military action along their shared
border.
Pakistan army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said Wednesday's operation was an unprecedented violation of those guidelines.
"In
the past the other side, NATO ISAF, have been engaging the foreign
militants present in the area and on this actionable intelligence they
engage them through their Predators [drones]," he said. "But never
before did a single incursion take place, which has serious
consequences."
The cross-border operation follows months of
increased violence in eastern Afghanistan. U.S. commanders have blamed
safe havens in Pakistani tribal areas for giving militants space to
re-arm and plan attacks.
But Major General Abbas said
Wednesday's assault was especially worrying because there were no
reports of militants in the area. He said such operations risked
alienating local tribes whose support is vital for defeating Taliban
militants.
"We do not want this line which is dividing the
militant component and the tribe at large to diminish," he said.
"Because if it gets obliterated where the tribe and the militant join
each other - and there is an uprising against the local security forces
or the forces from outside - this would create one big problem."
Top
Pakistani and U.S. commanders met on an aircraft carrier in the Indian
Ocean last week to discuss border security. Major General Abbas
insisted the officials did not authorize cross-border ground assaults
such as Wednesday's raid in South Waziristan.