US warning not warranted 8212; Pak

ISLAMABAD, JANUARY 30: Pakistan has rejected an apparent warning from the United States that it could be branded as quot;a sponsor of terrorismquot;, saying there was quot;no warrant for any warningquot;.

quot;In Pakistan, there is legitimate sympathy with Kashmiris8230; The legitimate Kashmiri struggle cannot be described as terrorist activity8230; Official Pakistani agencies do not provide any support to the religious organisations involved in insurgency,quot; a foreign ministry statement said. The statement quoted by the English daily The News added, quot;We Pakistan believe in the peaceful negotiation process.quot;

The statement comes in the wake of comments by US State Department spokesman James Rubin that Islamabad was sheltering Kashmiri militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and others.

The statement said these organisations are bound by Pakistani laws and quot;infringement of the laws would entail required actionquot;.

Stating that Islamabad has been Washington8217;s ally in its fight against terrorism, the statement cited extradition fromPakistan of suspects allegedly involved in the World Trade Centre bombing in New York and attack on US embassies in Africa as examples in support of its stand.