lost in melb.
05-06-2011, 12:24 AM
By Philip Williams in Islamabad, wires
Updated 2 hours 20 minutes ago
The powerful Pakistan army chief of staff has called for the number of US troops based in his country to be cut as investigations begin into intelligence failings over Osama bin Laden's whereabouts.
While the Pakistan government has been critical of the US raid that killed bin Laden, the threat to cut American forces is the first concrete measure of the anger.
It is not known how many are currently stationed in Pakistan, but General Ashfaq Kayani says he wants numbers kept to a minimum.
General Kayani has "made it clear that any similar action violating the sovereignty of Pakistan will warrant a review on the level of military/intelligence cooperation with the United States", the army said.
However, the army also said it would conduct an investigation into failures by its intelligence to detect the world's most wanted man on its own soil.
Americans are questioning how the Al Qaeda leader could live for years in comfort in a garrison town near Islamabad. Some call for cutting billions of dollars in US aid.
Pakistan's army too is facing rare criticism at home over the US operation in Abbottabad, a town just an hour's drive from the capital.
And while the General acknowledged Pakistan's intelligence services had failed to locate bin Laden, he defended their overall effectiveness in combating terrorism.
The government is preparing for possible demonstrations later today as several political parties have called for protests over the raids after Friday prayers.
A major Islamist party in Pakistan, Jamaat-e-Islami, called for mass protests against what it called a violation of sovereignty by the US raid.
It also urged the government to end support for American battles against militants.
Updated 2 hours 20 minutes ago
The powerful Pakistan army chief of staff has called for the number of US troops based in his country to be cut as investigations begin into intelligence failings over Osama bin Laden's whereabouts.
While the Pakistan government has been critical of the US raid that killed bin Laden, the threat to cut American forces is the first concrete measure of the anger.
It is not known how many are currently stationed in Pakistan, but General Ashfaq Kayani says he wants numbers kept to a minimum.
General Kayani has "made it clear that any similar action violating the sovereignty of Pakistan will warrant a review on the level of military/intelligence cooperation with the United States", the army said.
However, the army also said it would conduct an investigation into failures by its intelligence to detect the world's most wanted man on its own soil.
Americans are questioning how the Al Qaeda leader could live for years in comfort in a garrison town near Islamabad. Some call for cutting billions of dollars in US aid.
Pakistan's army too is facing rare criticism at home over the US operation in Abbottabad, a town just an hour's drive from the capital.
And while the General acknowledged Pakistan's intelligence services had failed to locate bin Laden, he defended their overall effectiveness in combating terrorism.
The government is preparing for possible demonstrations later today as several political parties have called for protests over the raids after Friday prayers.
A major Islamist party in Pakistan, Jamaat-e-Islami, called for mass protests against what it called a violation of sovereignty by the US raid.
It also urged the government to end support for American battles against militants.