A rchive Date
[ 04-01-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
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[http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/world/1724266
U.S. says pursuits can go into Pakistan
Washington Post
Jan. 3, 2003, 9:58PM
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- With U.S. forces coming under increasing fire along the Afghan-Pakistan border, a military spokesman said Friday that the United States reserves the right to pursue Taliban and al-Qaida guerrillas into Pakistan.
"U.S. forces acknowledge the internationally recognized boundaries of Afghani-stan but may pursue attackers who attempt to escape into Pakistan to evade capture or retaliation," said Maj. Stephen Clutter here at the military base that serves as headquarters for U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan.
His comment, made by e-mail to Reuters news service, articulated a policy that had not been publicly described before and sometimes has been vigorously denied. Clutter said the U.S. military has had the right to cross into Pakistan for some time and that "this is done with the express consent of the Pakistani government."
But Pakistani leaders Friday said there was no agreement for so-called hot pursuit and said they would object to uniformed American soldiers crossing into Pakistan.
However, senior Pakistani security officials speaking on condition of anonymity said that American troops have been allowed to chase al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives into Pakistan since last spring, as long as they don't go far into the country.
Friday's dispute comes after a still murky border clash Sunday when a man dressed in the uniform of a Pakistani border scout fired on a U.S. military patrol near Shkin, wounding one soldier. Americans then called in an air strike that killed two Pakistanis.
Why the man fired on the U.S. unit is still unexplained. But the incident and claims by some hardliners that the U.S. bomb landed in Pakistan has fanned anti-American sentiment, helping draw thousands into the streets for anti-U.S rallies in several Pakistani cities Friday.
Pakistanis also hit the streets to protest a possible U.S. war on Iraq. Religious anti-U.S. factions made big gains in Pakistani elections October partly boosted by voters protesting the Pakistani government's support of the U.S.-led coalition's war on the Taliban and al-Qaida.
Officials estimated that perhaps 12,000 protesters showed up in several cities, with the largest demonstration in Peshawar, where demonstrators chanted, "Long live Saddam Hussein!"
The issue of cooperation with the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan is a very sensitive one for Pakistan and its president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Pakistani assistance was crucial to the creation and support of the Taliban Islamic movement, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 and provided a haven for al-Qaida.
But Musharraf sided with Washington after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States, provoking anger among Pakistani militant groups that share religious and ethnic ties with the Taliban.
Any broad assertion that the Americans have a right to hot pursuit in Pakistan is likely to cause political turmoil there, according to foreign diplomats in Kabul, the Afghan capital.
The Los Angeles Times contributed to this story.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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