Pak not to allow 'foreign incursions'

Pakistan will not allow any incursions by foreign forces into its restive tribal belt where the country's troops are conducting operations against militants, senior security officials said on Monday. There has been no change in the rules of engagement with the US and the Pakistani military will not permit any aerial or ground incursions by foreign troops, the security officials said at a briefing on anti-militancy operations in the North West Frontier Province and adjoining tribal belt. The military assertion came in the wake of President Asif Ali Zardari's comments that Pakistan will not allow US forces to violate the country's sovereignty through cross-border raids. Pointing out that such attacks are counter-productive, Zardari had said the US should share intelligence so that Pakistani forces could act against militants on the country's soil. The security officials said the civilian government wanted the anti-militancy operations to "continue till the end". The operations would not be suspended during the coming winter though they were suspended last year due to elections. The officials indicated that a date could not be set for ending the operations. They admitted that Pakistan's radars could not detect Predator drones used by US-led forces in Afghanistan to carry out a series of missile strikes in the tribal areas. Pakistan has angrily protested the missile strikes, which have resulted in the killing of senior Taliban and al- Qaida leaders as well as innocent civilians, including women and children.