By Xinhua,
Islamabad : Pakistani Prime Minister YousafRaza Gilani on Thursday echoed an army statement criticizing recent cross-border raids by U.S.-led coalition forces, which have caused killing of civilians.
“The statement of the army chief reflects the government’s policy,” said Gilani at a project inauguration ceremony in Islamabad.
The prime minister said that Pakistan is a responsible country and is playing its role to fight terrorism.
The coalition forces are increasing their missile and drone attacks on targets inside Pakistan in recent month, blaming Pakistan’s local Taliban for rising insurgency in Afghanistan.
The attacks, acknowledged by the U.S. officials, have also caused many civilian deaths and triggered mounting anger and criticism across the country.
Pakistan’s army chief General Ashfaq Kayani on Wednesday issued a harsh-wording statement, criticizing the cross-border attacks by the coalition forces from Afghanistan and vowing to defend the country “at all cost”.
“The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country will be defended at all cost and no external force is allowed to conduct operations inside Pakistan,” said Kayani.
He said there is no any agreement or understanding with the coalition forces whereby they are allowed to conduct operations on Pakistani soil.