ISLAMABAD, Pakistan , Pakistan's prime minister said Thursday that strikes by foreign forces were “counterproductive,” as officials said there was no warning about the latest U.S. missile strike in the Pakistani northwest.
Meanwhile, militants briefly seized 300 boys at a school in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, police said. The incident ended with the deaths of two suicide bombers; no children were harmed.
The missile strike Wednesday was part of a surge in U.S. cross-border operations, and it was especially galling to Pakistanis because it came the same day an American military leader assured the nation's leaders the U.S. respects Pakistan's sovereignty.
Pakistan's civilian leaders stressed diplomacy to resolve the mounting tensions with an anti-terror ally that has given the Muslim nation billions of dollars in aid.
In his statement, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani did not specifically mention Wednesday's missile strike, though he spoke generally of strikes by foreign forces as being “counterproductive.”
“The U.S. government has been clearly told that there would be no compromise on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan,” he said.
The cross-border operations, including an unusual Sept. 3 ground assault, signal American impatience with Pakistan's efforts to clear out militant sanctuaries in tribal regions along its border with Afghanistan.
Taliban and al-Qaida militants use those semi-autonomous regions as bases to plan attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is rumored to be hiding in the lawless border areas.
Pakistan insists it is doing all it can, while suffering heavy military losses, and that unilateral attacks by the U.S. will deepen tribal sympathy for militants.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited the prime minister, army chief and other officials Wednesday.
The U.S. Embassy said Mullen “reiterated the U.S. commitment to respect Pakistan's sovereignty and to develop further U.S.-Pakistani cooperation and coordination on these critical issues that challenge the security and well-being of the people of both countries.”
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters Thursday that Pakistani officials “were not informed” of the U.S. missile strike Wednesday.
Asked about Mullen's statement, Qureshi said it and the strike “means there is some sort of an institutional disconnect on their side, and if so, they will have to sort it out.”
Two U.S. officials said Thursday that the missile strike was carried out by the CIA. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Mullen's press office on Thursday declined to comment on whether he did or didn't discuss the upcoming strike with Pakistani officials.
But U.S. officials say it is not 100 percent certain that Mullen would have known in advance, himself about the intelligence agency's strike ‚ particularly if it was done on short notice because of some new time-sensitive intelligence that officials believed had to be acted on quickly.
Two Pakistani intelligence officials told The Associated Press that the strike targeted a compound in South Waziristan used by Taliban militants and Hezb-i-Islami, another group involved in attacks in Afghanistan. One of the officials said an unmanned drone of the type used by the CIA and U.S. forces in Afghanistan was heard in the area.
They said informants reported six people died and three others were wounded. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.
Analysts have speculated that the U.S. may have previously received tacit approval from longtime ally Pervez Musharraf, who was ousted as president last month, to launch missile strikes on suspected militant targets.
The head of Pakistan's Interior Ministry, Rehman Malik, said there was no record of such an agreement.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos declined to comment Thursday.
Earlier this month, army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani issued a strong public rebuke to the U.S. over the ground incursion, which also took place in South Waziristan. The army also has said since that Pakistani troops have orders to open fire if foreign forces intrude.
Some analysts say it is unlikely Pakistan would risk American aid by targeting U.S. soldiers or aircraft. And Pakistan's civilian leaders, though praising Kayani's statement, have stressed diplomacy in the days since.
Qureshi said Pakistan needed to consider “whether we should make additional friends or create new enemies for Pakistan.”
He said he planned to give a “very honest and frank assessment of what we are gaining and what we are losing by such actions” in upcoming talks with U.S. officials.
“Our stance is that we should cooperate with each other, and such incursions cannot improve the atmosphere, and rather they will deteriorate it, and will be counterproductive,” he said.
Qureshi said Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, would lead a delegation to the United Nations this month and meet American leaders on the sidelines.
The militant attack Thursday occurred at a boys school in the Upper Dir region. Police officer Akbar Ali said a group of militants briefly took control of the building and 300 students. Residents traded gunfire with the militants until police reached the village about two hours later, he said.
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the main gate, but failed to keep out the security forces who retook the facility. The children were safe, and no one died other than the suicide bombers, Ali said.
