Gilani meets Bush, warns US against 'unilateral' action
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
WASHINGTON, July 29 (AFP): Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani held talks with US President George W. Bush Monday and called on the United States not to act "unilaterally" against Islamic militants in Pakistan.
Gilani, whose new government has been facing intense US pressure to crack down on Pakistan-based militants, told reporters after his meeting with Bush at the White House that Pakistan was committed to fighting extremists.
"We are committed to fight against those extremists and terrorists who are destroying and making the world not safe," he said. "This is a war which is against Pakistan, and we'll fight for our own cause."
Speaking to CNN television just hours after seeing Bush, Gilani said the United States needs to be more patient and should not take unilateral actions against militants in Pakistan.
Asked by CNN about a suspected US missile strike on an Al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan on Monday, Gilani said he had told Bush that "unilaterally it should not be done."
"We must have more cooperation with each other and it's our job because we are fighting the war for ourselves," he said.
Gilani declined to directly accuse the United States of being behind the missile attack, which security officials in Pakistan said had targeted Egyptian militant Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar, Al-Qaeda's top expert on chemical and biological weapons.
But he said if it was proven to have been a US operation, it would be a violation of Pakistani sovereignty.
"Basically Americans are a little impatient. Therefore in the future I think we'll have more cooperation on the intelligence side and we'll do the job ourselves," he said.
Bush said he had received a "strong commitment" from Gilani that Pakistan would try "as best as possible" to prevent Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants from crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan, where they attack US and NATO troops.
"We talked about the common threat we face, extremists who are very dangerous people," Bush said. "We also appreciate the prime minister's strong words against the extremists and terrorists who not only would do us harm, but have harmed people inside Pakistan.
Bush called Pakistan a "strong ally" and said the United States "supports the sovereignty of Pakistan."
"It's tense in that we're working together" to fight terrorism. "But I think that we are much more on the same page than some people would like to paint," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.
Perino declined to comment on the missile strike and neither Bush nor Gilani mentioned it while talking to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House.
Both the US-led military coalition and the separate NATO force in Afghanistan said they were not involved. However, the US Central Intelligence Agency is also known to operate missile-launching drones in the South Waziristan region where the attack took place.
Umar, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, had a five-million-dollar bounty on his head and allegedly ran terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. He is described by the website of the US Government Rewards for Justice program as an "explosives expert and poisons trainer working on behalf of Al-Qaeda."
The missile strike came amid mounting speculation the United States is prepared to launch military raids into Pakistan's troubled tribal belt in pursuit of extremists.
A joint statement issued following their talks said Bush and Gilani "acknowledged that terrorism and violent extremism pose a common threat to Pakistan, the United States, and the international community.
Gilani, whose new government has been facing intense US pressure to crack down on Pakistan-based militants, told reporters after his meeting with Bush at the White House that Pakistan was committed to fighting extremists.
"We are committed to fight against those extremists and terrorists who are destroying and making the world not safe," he said. "This is a war which is against Pakistan, and we'll fight for our own cause."
Speaking to CNN television just hours after seeing Bush, Gilani said the United States needs to be more patient and should not take unilateral actions against militants in Pakistan.
Asked by CNN about a suspected US missile strike on an Al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan on Monday, Gilani said he had told Bush that "unilaterally it should not be done."
"We must have more cooperation with each other and it's our job because we are fighting the war for ourselves," he said.
Gilani declined to directly accuse the United States of being behind the missile attack, which security officials in Pakistan said had targeted Egyptian militant Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar, Al-Qaeda's top expert on chemical and biological weapons.
But he said if it was proven to have been a US operation, it would be a violation of Pakistani sovereignty.
"Basically Americans are a little impatient. Therefore in the future I think we'll have more cooperation on the intelligence side and we'll do the job ourselves," he said.
Bush said he had received a "strong commitment" from Gilani that Pakistan would try "as best as possible" to prevent Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants from crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan, where they attack US and NATO troops.
"We talked about the common threat we face, extremists who are very dangerous people," Bush said. "We also appreciate the prime minister's strong words against the extremists and terrorists who not only would do us harm, but have harmed people inside Pakistan.
Bush called Pakistan a "strong ally" and said the United States "supports the sovereignty of Pakistan."
"It's tense in that we're working together" to fight terrorism. "But I think that we are much more on the same page than some people would like to paint," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.
Perino declined to comment on the missile strike and neither Bush nor Gilani mentioned it while talking to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House.
Both the US-led military coalition and the separate NATO force in Afghanistan said they were not involved. However, the US Central Intelligence Agency is also known to operate missile-launching drones in the South Waziristan region where the attack took place.
Umar, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, had a five-million-dollar bounty on his head and allegedly ran terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. He is described by the website of the US Government Rewards for Justice program as an "explosives expert and poisons trainer working on behalf of Al-Qaeda."
The missile strike came amid mounting speculation the United States is prepared to launch military raids into Pakistan's troubled tribal belt in pursuit of extremists.
A joint statement issued following their talks said Bush and Gilani "acknowledged that terrorism and violent extremism pose a common threat to Pakistan, the United States, and the international community.