China has asked the US to respect Pakistans sovereignty and territorial integrity while fighting its war on terror following a war of words between Washington and Islamabad over US military Chief Admiral Mike Mullens accusations. Admiral Mullen had yesterday said that Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency was actively supporting the Haqqani network,which is linked to al-Qaeda,and blamed it for an assault on the US embassy in Kabul last week. On being asked about Mullens accusations that ISI was supporting the Haqqani network to wage a proxy war in Afghanistan,a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry defended Pakistan,saying it has been in the forefront of international efforts against terrorism. Pakistan has made important sacrifices in global fight against terrorism. We hope relevant country will respect other countries sovereignty and territorial integrity, The Nation quoted him,as saying. He,however,said he was not aware of specific allegations of the US. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani visited China in May this year with the hope to establish strong relations with its old ally Beijing,after the US killing of Osama bin Laden further strained Islamabad's ties with Washington.
