Pakistan Army Chief warns U.S

PAKISTAN: Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani said on Wednesday Pakistan would not allow foreign troops to conduct operations on its soil, after a cross-border incursion by U.S. commandos.

Kayani’s strongly-worded statement coincided with comments by the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, that a “more comprehensive strategy” was being formed to combat the threat from the Taliban and al Qaeda in the region.

Kayani, who met Mullen and other U.S. commanders on an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean on Aug. 28, delivered a clear message foreign forces would not be tolerated on Pakistani territory, without directly referring to Mullen’s comments.

“The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country will be defended at all cost and no external force is allowed to conduct operations ... inside Pakistan,” a military statement quoted Kayani as saying.

Islamabad,

Reuters