Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani warned Washington on Tuesday that continued accusations of playing a double game in the war on militancy only risked fanning anti-Americanism in his country. Gilani, speaking in an interview, also said any unilateral military action by the United States to hunt down militants of the Haqqani network inside Pakistan would be a violation of his country’s sovereignty.
“The negative messaging, naturally that is disturbing my people,” Gilani said in the interview. “If there is messaging that is not appropriate to our friendship, then naturally it is extremely difficult to convince my public. Therefore they should be sending positive messages,” he added.Asked how Islamabad would respond if there was a unilateral military operation by the US inside Pakistan to go after the Haqqanis, Gilani responded: “We are a sovereign country. How can they come and raid in our country?” He said Pakistan had conveyed to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that such unilateral action “will not be acceptable to Pakistan”.
