Musharraf: Bin Laden mission violated Pakistan
By Ashish Kumar Sen
washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times
10:56 a.m., Monday, May 2, 2011
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Monday accused the U.S. of violating his country’s sovereignty by sending in special forces to kill Osama bin Laden.
“American troops coming across the border and taking action in one of our towns, that is Abbottabad, is not acceptable to the people of Pakistan. It is a violation of our sovereignty,” Mr. Musharraf told CNN-IBN, an Indian news channel.
He added that it would have been “far better if Pakistani Special Services Group had operated and conducted the mission. To that extent, the modality of handling it and executing the operation is not correct.”
Bin Laden was killed Sunday in a firefight with Navy SEALs in a million-dollar, fortified compound located in an affluent neighborhood in Abbottabad, about a two-hour drive from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
Senior U.S. officials, who briefed reporters early Monday, said the Obama administration did not inform Pakistani authorities of the mission until after it was concluded.
Mr. Musharraf said the “lack of trust is very bad.”
“If two organizations [are] conducting an operation against a common enemy, there has to be trust and confidence in each other,” he said.
Pakistan is “totally on board” on fighting al Qaeda and Taliban.
Mr. Musharraf said it was possible that some local Pakistanis had colluded with bin Laden.
“A battle has been won, but the war continues,” Mr. Musharraf said, warning that “al Qaeda is still there.” |
