Qureshi says force not enough to root out terror: Osama hunt by US not allowed

He paid tributes to members of the Pakistani community for the contributions to their homeland’s  economic and political development. “You are the ambassadors of Pakistan in this country and we look forward to your work in projecting the true image of the country.”

Earlier, Ambassador Haqqani welcomed the Foreign Minister and used the occasion to urge the community member to shun their differences and speak with one voice. “Unity among you is the need of the hour”, he said.

Monitoring Desk adds: Qureshi has ruled out allowing military personnel from the United States, or any other foreign country, in Pakistan to hunt for Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda.

Qureshi said that the country’s new government had not permitted any such operation in the regions bordering Afghanistan and never would.

“Our government’s policy is that our troops, paramilitary forces and our regular forces are deployed in sufficient numbers. They are capable of taking action there. And any foreign intrusion would be counter-productive,” Aljazeera quoted Qureshi as saying in an interview with an American news agency.

“People will not accept it. Questions of sovereignty come in.” Qureshi acknowledged that ‘there are some infiltrations’ still occurring, but he said no covert US military operations to catch Al-Qaeda figures, Taliban members or any other suspected fighters, had been staged. “There are none,” he said.

“It will create such an anti-US feeling in Pakistan that I would say would mar the atmosphere of cooperation that exists between us.”

Qureshi said he tried to reassure Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at their meeting Friday that his government was doing everything it can to combat militants in lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

He described Pakistan’s counter-terrorism as a ‘grassroots’ approach. “Our strategy is that the military option alone is not enough,” he said. “This war has to be fought besides the armies, with the help of the people, by winning hearts and minds.”

“I don’t think Osama is in Pakistan. I’m not sure,” he said. “Nobody’s aware of that. Nobody can speak with certainty. But our policy’s very clear. We are allies in this war. And if Pakistan has actionable information vis-a-vis Osama bin Laden or any other high-value target, Pakistan will immediately take action.”

Qureshi also ruled out any future investigation into whether his nation’s military helped disgraced Pakistani scientist AQ Khan spread nuclear weapons to rogue nations.

“What had to be found out, was found out,” he said. “AQ Khan, as far as we are considered, is history. AQ Khan no longer has any official status. The network that he put together has been effectively broken.”