Newsmaker

Pakistan's security situation not completely altered

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-09 18:56

BEIJING -- Pakistan's security situation has not completely changed following the death of Osama bin Laden, said Pakistani Ambassador to China Masood Khan here in an interview with Xinhua on Monday.

Khan said that there have been "no dramatic changes" in Pakistan and acknowledged that the threat of al-Qaeda has not disappeared. Pakistan has marshalled all resources to meet this challenge.

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"After the killing of bin Laden, the international community should more closely gather its efforts to defeat the forces of terrorism," he said. "This should be done in a much more cohesive manner, in an atmosphere of trust."

The interview comes a week after US forces killed the al-Qaeda leader in a raid on his compound in the outskirts of the northwest city of Abbottabad, 35 miles (56 kilometers) from Islamabad.

The ambassador said the US operation was purely a unilateral one that was unauthorized and "infringed upon Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"The United States did not inform Pakistan. We have made our concerns and reservations in this regard known to the U.S. government. We said the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan should be respected in all circumstances," he said. "This is one of the events and should not be taken as a rule."

The ambassador still emphasized the importance of "enhanced coordination and combined efforts" in the fight against terrorism.

"Terrorism is a threat not only to Pakistan, but to the entire region and the global community. Therefore, combined efforts and determined actions would be the right answer," Khan said.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has issued an inquiry into the violation of its airspace by U.S. military helicopters and the country's information minister says the report will be made public.

U.S. helicopters entered deep into Pakistani airspace between May 1 and 2. They are believed to have flown from Afghanistan's eastern Ningrahar Province, avoiding Pakistan's radar system to reach Abbottabad, over 200 kilometers from the Pakistan-Afghan border.