Guests in town

AS soon as the military operation against militants got under way in the Khyber Agency, Islamabad started playing host to American officials and lawmakers who spent a busy day on Monday meeting the Pakistani authorities and discussing with them the evolving security situation in the tribal areas. The issue figured prominently during Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher's interactions with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, PM's Interior Adviser Rehman Malik and National Security Adviser Mahmud Ali Durrani. President Musharraf separately briefed a five-member US congressional delegation on the ongoing operation and efforts being made to prevent the militants from entering Peshawar. But he also sounded a note of caution to the visiting Senators that Pakistan would not tolerate a recurrence of crossborder attacks on its troops in the restive region. The warning came around the time when a drone attack in Bara Town in the early hours of Monday left at least nine people dead and another 15 injured.