North Waziristan offensive Pak’s ’sovereign’ decision: FO

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has made it clear that it would not succumb to any pressure from the United States about when to launch an offensive in North Waziristan, and that any decision in this regard would be ’sovereign’.

“Be it the Tribal Areas or any other part, Pakistan will proceed in accordance with its own priorities and plans.” Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Abdul Basit said while responding to a question whether Islamabad would launch a full-fledged military offensive in North Waziristan, the Taliban stronghold, for which the Obama administration has been piling up pressure on it.

“Be it the Tribal Areas or any other part, Pakistan will proceed in accordance with its own priorities and plans,” Basit said during a regular press briefing here.

It may be noted that President Obama’s top two security advisors National Security Adviser General James Jones and Central Investigation Agency (CIA) chief Leon Panetta were recently in Islamabad with a White House’ message that Pakistan, without wasting any more time, should initiate an operation against the extremists flourishing in the tribal regions along the Afghanistan border.

Responding to a question regarding the massive increase in number of US officials in Pakistan, he said except India there was no fixed quota for diplomatic presence of any other country.

“Pakistan and India have a mutual agreement about maximum number of personnel in their respective high commissions in Islamabad and New Delhi,” The Daily Times quoted Basit, as saying. (ANI)