Pakistan: U.S. must not repeat airstrike
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-22 10:15

Pakistan's president told the United States it must not repeat airstrikes like the one that killed civilians in a remote mountain village, as officials sought to soothe public outrage over the incident.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's remarks Saturday were his first publicized reaction to the January 13 strike on Damadola village, an attack that has spurred nationwide protests against the United States in this Muslim-dominated nation of 130 million people.

The strike apparently targeted, but missed, al-Qaida's No. 2 leader in the mountainous region of Bajur. Pakistani officials believe the blast wiped out four other top al-Qaida operatives, but also killed least 13 civilians, including women and children.

On Saturday, Musharraf told visiting U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns that "what happened in Bajur must not be repeated," a Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk on the record.

Pakistan's independent GEO television reported that Musharraf also told Burns his country is "fully capable of defending its frontiers" and that repeated attacks could affect cooperation in the war on terror, in which Islamabad is a top U.S. ally.

The Foreign Ministry official said, however, that Musharraf pledged to continue backing the United States in anti-terror efforts.

Neither the ministry official nor the news report gave details about Burns' response. U.S. Embassy spokesman Rakesh Surampudi said he was unable to comment on whether Burns had discussed the attacks with Musharraf.

At a later meeting, Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri told Burns the attacks were "counterproductive" given the "prevailing public sentiment" in Pakistan.

"While reaffirming Pakistan's commitment to counterterrorism, the foreign minister underlined the need for the two countries to work in a manner that precludes recent incidents like Bajur," the ministry said in a statement.