Negroponte cautions against unilateral US action in FATA

Washington, Mar.1 : U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte has cautioned the Bush Administration against taking unilateral action in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and suggested that consultations must take place with the concerned authorities in Islamabad first before taking any action in this regard.

"We are not going to be able to use American military forces," the Dawn quoted Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte as telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday evening.

Negroponte strongly rejected suggestions by American politicians and the media that US forces should hit 'actionable' terrorist targets inside Pakistan with or without Islamabad's consent.

"I think that it is harmful when people, very often unidentified sources, talk about us somehow taking this matter into our own hands and acting unilaterally," he said. "I think all that does is get people's backs up on the scene."

"Senator, Pakistan is a sovereign country. And in the last analysis, whatever they do to deal with these issues has got to be based on their government's perception and their people's perception of their own best self-interest," said Mr Negroponte while responding to a question from Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat, who wanted to know how the US would like Islamabad's new rulers to fight the war against terror.

"I think that whatever we do should be done on a cooperative basis," he added.

ANI