Saturday, January 21, 2006
An official said Musharraf also reiterated his support for the war on terrorism.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan's president told a senior American official Saturday the United States must not repeat airstrikes like the one that apparently was aimed at Al-Qaida but killed civilians in a remote village, as officials sought to soothe public outrage over the attack.
Also Saturday, two Pakistani intelligence officials told The Associated Press a captured Al-Qaida leader had informed interrogators that he had met Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's top deputy, last year at one of the homes that was hit.
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf assured visiting U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns that Pakistan would not waver in its support for Washington's war on terrorism but said such airstrikes must not be repeated, a Foreign Ministry official said. The attack prompted nationwide protests calling for Musharraf's ouster.
The comments were Musharraf's first publicized reaction to the Jan. 13 attack on the village of Damadola, near the border with Afghanistan.
The strike, which hit three homes in the mountainous Bajur tribal region, is believed to have killed at least four of al-Zawahri's close associates and at least 13 civilians, including women and children.
Off the record
The Foreign Ministry official said Musharraf told Burns: "What happened in Bajur must not be repeated." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the record.
Musharraf apparently was referring to his country's long-standing policy of prohibiting the 20,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan from pursuing militants across the border into Pakistan or attacking them in the country without permission. Government officials have said they were not informed of last week's attack ahead of time.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri delivered a similar message to Burns when they met later Saturday in the capital, Islamabad.
"While reaffirming Pakistan's commitment to counterterrorism, the foreign minister underlined the need for the two countries to work in a manner that precludes recent incidents like Bajur," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Earlier statement
A separate ministry statement issued earlier after Musharraf's meeting did not mention the president's comments on the airstrike. Instead it said Musharraf expressed gratitude for Washington's assistance in relief efforts for an Oct. 8 earthquake that devastated the country's north. Burns met Musharraf at his office in Rawalpindi, a garrison city near Islamabad.
Pakistan is a key ally of the United States in its war on terrorism. But it has lodged a protest with the United States over the airstrike that angered many in this Islamic nation of 150 million.
Pakistan's independent GEO television reported that Musharraf warned Burns that repeated attacks could affect cooperation in the war on terrorism.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Rakesh Surampudi said he was unable to comment on whether Burns had discussed the attack with Musharraf. Burns, whose visit was scheduled before the Damadola attack, was in Pakistan to talk about security and earthquake relief aid.
Pakistani officials suspect at least four foreign militants may have died in the Jan. 13 attack, including Egyptian Midhat Mursi, an Al-Qaida explosives and chemical weapons expert, and a son-in-law of al-Zawahri. Mursi has a $5 million bounty on his head and is on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists.