US Envoy's Threat of Military Action Angers Pakistan

An American ambassador provoked a diplomatic row with Pakistan yesterday by threatening to send US troops into the north of the country if Taliban fighters and al-Qaida terrorists were not hunted down.

Pakistan reacted angrily to the remarks from Zalmay Khalilzad, US ambassador to Afghanistan, saying he was "not aware of the realities on the ground". But Mr Khalilzad's comments seem to reflect rumbling discontent in Washington over Pakistan's longstanding reluctance to confront either Islamist militants in its semi-autonomous northern regions or the tribal leaders believed to be sheltering them.

Pakistan's information minis ter, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, said up to 50 soldiers had been killed in an army offensive against suspected Islamic militants in northern Pakistan last month. "Our forces are fully capable of confronting terrorists ... [and] have sacrificed their lives in fulfilling their pledge to combat terrorists," he said.

"The American ambassador is not aware of the realities on the ground. It is our principled stand that we will deal with terrorists on our homeland. They [the US government] should deal with them in Afghanistan."

A foreign ministry spokesman, Jalil Abbas Jilani, called the ambassador's comments "unwarranted and uncalled for". "Perhaps ambassador Khalilzad is not aware of the position of his government on this subject, which greatly appreciated Pakistan's efforts in eliminating and rooting [out] terrorist infrastructure and the Taliban elements."

Mr Khalilzad told an American thinktank that exiled Taliban fighters and other Islamist militants finding refuge in northern Pakistan posed the greatest threat to the security of Afghanistan. "We cannot allow this problem to fester indefinitely," he told a conference organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

"We have told the Pakistani leadership that either they must solve this problem or we will have to do it for ourselves."

Pakistan is considered a staunch American ally in the war on terror, winning significant American aid and mili tary support for its loyalty.

President Pervez Musharraf has narrowly survived at least three assassination attempts, apparently by al-Qaida or its local partners. Mr Musharraf deployed 75,000 soldiers in northern Pakistan after America occupied Afghanistan two years ago. Nonetheless, Taliban fugitives have increasingly used the area as a base for attacks into Afghanistan. According to analysts in Islamabad, no Taliban member has yet been arrested in Pakistan.

The Taliban were formed in Pakistan, among the Pashtun people who form the majority in northern Pakistan and southern Afghanistan.

Despite Mr Musharraf's doggedly pro-America stand, analysts say he has remained sensitive to the mixed loyalties of the military elite of which he is a member. In particular, Mr Musharraf has refused to countenance any American sorties into northern Pakistan.

Pakistan launched its first major assault against suspected Islamist militants in northern Pakistan last month, killing more than 60 fighters and capturing more than 160.

Last night, the state department appeared to distance itself from Mr Khalilzad's comments. A spokesman said there has been "concerted and courageous actions by Pakistani forces" against al-Qaida and Taliban militia forces."These actions have involved the loss of considerable Pakistani life."