Any ‘misadventure’ or ‘miscalculation’ in future will be catastrophic

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Any ‘misadventure’ or ‘miscalculation’ in future will be catastrophic
Pakistan warns US of ‘dire consequences’

* Foreign secretary says American action involved legal issues concerning violation of sovereignty and these should be addressed for sake of global peace and stability
* ISI not hand in glove with al Qaeda
* Pakistan armed forces not consulted before operation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan warned the United States on Thursday of “disastrous consequences” if it carries out any more raids against terrorists like the one that killed Osama Bin Laden, and hit back at international allegations it may have been harbouring the al Qaeda chief. Pakistan also asserted that no-one should have any doubt about its defence capability, and any misadventure and miscalculation in the future in this regard would result in a terrible catastrophe.

Briefing newsmen at the Foreign Office about different aspects and questions regarding the US operation in Abbottabad, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said that Pakistan’s military and political leadership was well-equipped and mindful of the defence requirements of the country. The foreign secretary said the US action, which led to the killing of Osama Bin Laden, was a covert operation and Pakistan armed forces were not consulted. He said that Admiral Mike Mullen had telephoned Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at about 3am and informed him about the operation.

Bashir pointed out that the American action involved legal issues concerning violation of sovereignty and these should be addressed for the sake of global peace and stability. Even Americans were mindful of the sovereignty issue and Admiral Mullen, among other things, also raised this issue during the conversation with the army chief, he added.

The secretary recalled that the UN Security Council had emphasised that “member states must ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism complies with their obligations under international law and in particular human rights, refugee and humanitarian law”.

Bashir pointed out that the compound where Bin Laden had been killed was about four kilometers from the PMA Kakul. “It is a training academy and doesn’t have the kind of defence that we have for our other military and strategic assets, especially aerial and ground defence,” he added.

About remarks of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was either guilty of complicity or incompetent, the foreign secretary termed the allegation as false, and maintained, “Such statements continue to surface and resurface and are aimed at pressurising Pakistan to do more.” Bashir claimed that the performance of no intelligence agency, including the CIA, could be compared with that of the ISI in the war against terror. “There are red lines in Pakistan’s cooperation with the US and other members of the international community, which should be observed,” he added.

The secretary said that the incompetence aspect was being looked into. However, he added, if it was an intelligence failure then, as pointed out by Prime Minister Gilani, it was a global intelligence failure.

Bashir noted that the US itself had acknowledged that some of the leads that ultimately led to the identification of the Abbottabad compound resulted from the information shared between the ISI and CIA. He further said that even US President Barack Obama acknowledged Pakistan’s cooperation in reaching Bin Laden.

The secretary affirmed that the ISI had done a commendable track record of combating terrorism and interdicting al Qaeda. He refuted the speculations that elements within the ISI or the government had provided cover to Bin Laden. agencies

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan