The Pakistani military issued a sharply worded statement today warning the US not to conduct covert actions in the future and ordering a reduction of US military personnel inside the country.
The statement, which was released by the Pakistani military’s Inter-Services Public Relations branch, is attributed to comments made by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Chief of Army Staff, during a meeting with the corps commanders. The meeting was held just four days after the US launched a covert raid that killed Osama bin Laden inside a fortified safe house in the city of Abbottabad.
“COAS [Chief of Army Staff] made it very 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 statement said.
“The Corps Commanders were informed about the decision to reduce the strength of US military personnel in Pakistan to the minimum essential,” it continued.
In early April, after the controversial Raymond Davis affair, Pakistan is reported to have asked the US to dramatically reduce US military, CIA and contractor personnel, according to The New York Times. Davis, a CIA contractor who is thought to have been observing terrorist networks in Pakistan, shot and killed two Pakistanis in late January. He was held for nearly two months despite having diplomatic immunity.
In today’s statement Kayani admitted to “shortcomings in developing intelligence on the presence of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan,” but claimed that the military’s Inter-Services Intelligence directorate (ISI) is responsible for killing or capturing more than 100 top al Qaeda leaders and that it provided “initial information” that led to the bin Laden raid.
“However, in the case of Osama Bin Laden, while the CIA developed intelligence based on initial information provided by ISI, it did not share further development of intelligence on the case with ISI, contrary to the existing practice between the two services,” the statement said.
Kayani also warned that its “strategic assets,” or its nuclear weapons, would be heavily defended. Pakistan continues to produced nuclear weapons, and is estimated to have more than 100 serviceable warheads.
“As regards the possibility of similar hostile action against our strategic assets, the Forum reaffirmed that, unlike an undefended civilian compound, our strategic assets are well protected and an elaborate defensive mechanism is in place,” the statement said.
Kayani further warned that India should not to attempt a similar raid on Pakistani territory, and “that any misadventure of this kind will be responded to very strongly. There should be no doubt about it.”
Kayani’s warning to the US comes as relations between the two countries are at an all-time low. Top US officials believe Pakistan was complicit in sheltering bin Laden. Two days ago, CIA Director Leon Panetta said that Pakistan could not be trusted with information about the planned raid to kill bin Laden.
“[I]t was decided that any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardize the mission,” Panetta told TIME. “They might alert the targets.”
