Pakistan new govt. opposed to U.S. action on its soil

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's new government is trying to convince the United States that unilateral strikes against al Qaeda militants on its territory could be "counter-productive", the country's foreign minister said on Friday.

Pakistan is a staunch partner in the U.S.-led war against the al Qaeda and Taliban, but there is widespread public opposition to this campaign, particularly in the tribal areas on the Afghan border regarded as safe havens for the militants.

U.S. forces have used drones to fire missiles at militants on the Pakistani side of the border several times in recent years.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan would continue its support for the international campaign against the militants, but could not condone actions by foreign forces on its soil.

"Direct intervention, hot pursuit; we are not supportive of it yesterday, we are not supportive of it today," he told the Senate, parliament's upper house, while outlining the foreign policy of the new coalition which assumed office last month.

"We are convincing our friends and we want to convince them that we cannot allow this strategy and it will not be productive. This strategy will be counter-productive."

Qureshi said only Pakistani security forces were authorized to take action against militants on its territory.

The government is very sensitive to allowing foreign troops to operate on its soil because of fears that it could stoke reprisals from the fiercely-independent Pashtun tribes living in the border regions.