Angered by a top US military officer’s remarks that he had the authority to attack Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in its restive tribal belt, Pakistan on Thursday asserted that only its own troops could operate on its territory.Pakistan had a “clear position” that it was the “sole prerogative of Pakistani forces” to conduct operations against militants and terrorists within the country’s territory, Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said.Nobody else had the right to take action within the Pakistani territory, Sadiq told a weekly news briefing.Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, had said yesterday that he had all the authority needed for targeting senior al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders in Pakistan’s tribal areas.“I’m comfortable, as the military leader, that I have all the authorities I need,” Mullen had said when asked if he had the authority to target key terrorist leaders hiding in Pakistan’s tribal belt.However, Sadiq pointed out that US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher had said in Islamabad yesterday that the best strategy for eliminating terrorism would be for Pakistan to carry out operations on its side of the border and for Afghanistan to do the same on its side.“Pakistan once again clarifies that on the Pakistani side of the border with Afghanistan, it is Pakistani troops who have the sole responsibility to take action against terrorists,” Sadiq said.The spokesman also shrugged off a report in an American newspaper that the US had an agreement with President Pervez Musharraf to launch direct attacks targeting elusive al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistani territory without seeking prior permission from Islamabad.Sadiq said it was best to ignore such reports quoting anonymous sources.
