Thaindian News

London, July 22 (IANS) Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani says he has received US assurances that there will be no repeat of the unilateral commando raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in May.

Gilani’s remarks, in an interview with the Guardian, contradict assertions by US President Barack Obama and other American officials that US forces would take similar action against other Al Qaeda leaders if necessary.

Gilani was speaking at a time when Pakistani relations with the US are at a low in the wake of the raid on Osama’s hideout in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad May 2.

Pakistan’s military establishment was outraged not to have been consulted over the raid inside their territory. The raid also set off widespread anti-American sentiments in Pakistan.

“Since we were sharing information with US and there was a tremendous relationship with the CIA and ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence), therefore we could have done a joint operation in Abbottabad, but it didn’t happen. Therefore we had a lot of reservations,” Gilani said.

He added: “They have assured us in future there will be no unilateral actions in Pakistan, and there would be cooperation between both agencies.”

Gialni said he had received the assurance personally from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

On Thursday, Gilani said any repeat of the Abbottabad raid would be “totally unacceptable”.

“Public opinion would further aggravate against the US and you can’t fight a war without the support of the masses. You need the masses to support military actions against militants,” he said.

He said another raid would damage “not only our relationship but also our common objective, to fight against militants.

“We are fighting a war and if we fail that means that it’s not good for the world. We can’t afford losing.”