News
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Pakistan expresses deep concern over US raid
* FO says this event of unauthorised unilateral action cannot be taken as a rule
* Pakistan had no prior knowledge of US operation against Osama
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday hit out at the United States over the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden near its capital, saying ‘unauthorised unilateral’ action could threaten international peace.
The Foreign Ministry denied that Pakistan had any prior knowledge of the operation and said there was no question of US helicopters taking off from Pakistani bases, despite strenuously pointing out past intelligence cooperation.
“Pakistan expresses its deep concerns and reservations over the manner in which the government of the United States carried out this operation without prior information or authorisation from the government of Pakistan,” it said.
It said such ‘unauthorised unilateral action’ could not be taken as a rule and said it should not become ‘a future precedent’ for any country.
“Such actions undermine cooperation and may also sometimes constitute threat to international peace and security,” it said, adding, “As far as the target compound is concerned, ISI has been sharing information with the CIA and other friendly intelligence agencies since 2009.”
The statement said the flow of intelligence, indicating some foreigners in the surroundings of Abbottabad, continued till mid April 2011. “It is important to highlight that taking advantage of much superior technological assets, CIA exploited the intelligence leads given by us to identify and reach Osama Bin Ladin,” the statement added.
The FO statement also rejected reports suggesting that the US helicopters took off from the Ghazi Airbase terming them as “absolutely false and incorrect.”
“Neither any base or facility inside Pakistan was used by the US forces, nor Pakistan Army provided any operational or logistical assistance to these operations conducted by the US forces,” the statement asserted.
According to the statement, “US helicopters entered Pakistani airspace making use of blind spots in the radar coverage due to hilly terrain. US helicopters’ undetected flight into Pakistan was also facilitated by the mountainous terrain, efficacious use of latest technology and ‘nap of the earth’ flying techniques.”
“On receipt of information regarding the incident, PAF scrambled its jets within minutes,” it said, adding, “This has been corroborated by the White House Adviser John Brennan, who while replying to a question said, “We didn’t contact the Pakistanis until after all of our people, all of our aircrafts, were out of the Pakistani airspace.”
Questions have also been asked about the whereabouts of the family members of Osama Bin Ladin, the statement said, adding, “They are all in safe hands and being looked after in accordance with law.
Some of them needing medical care are under treatment in the best possible facilities. As per policy, they will be handed over to their countries of origin.”
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk