By Prensa Latina
Islamabad : Pakistan holds firm against the US offer to deploy troops in its territory to fight Islamic groups, and warned against any interference by third countries in the conflict.
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had said his country was ó ready and trained ó for joint operations within the Asian country, but the government of President Pervez Musharraf has firmly rejected the offer.
Even before the proposal was made official, the Pakistani foreign ministry had warned that ó any unauthorized military attack by international forces against Al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan would be considered an act of war. ó
That release was issued after Musharraf told press an unofficial incursion by the US-lead coalition in Afghanistan would be treated like an invasion.