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U.S. Military Personnel in Pakistan
Thursday, October 11, 2001
(18:42 GMT)
Islam Online & News Agencies

... Islamabad was maintaining its stance that the country would not be used as a base for offensive action against Afghanistan ...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
Pakistan admitted Thursday that U.S. military personnel were already in the country but insisted no combat troops had been deployed on its territory, news agencies reported.

"There are no U.S. troops in Pakistan, but Pakistan has agreed to provide logistical support and intelligence sharing [for U.S. action against Afghanistan] and of course we are interacting with U.S. personnel in this regard," government spokesman Major General Rashid Qureshi told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The spokesman refused to elaborate on what is a hugely sensitive issue for the country in the wake of President Pervez Musharraf's decision to support U.S. action against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, which Pakistan had previously backed.

Since the attacks on the U.S., and in anticipation of U.S. military action against Afghanistan, anti-U.S. and pro-Taliban protests across Pakistan have cost at least five lives. Many Pakistani religious groups feel it is wrong for their country to back the U.S. in attacks on another Muslim country.

Pakistan has ruled out that its territory would be used to stage attacks on Afghanistan for fear of a backlash from sections of its own population. Some religious group members have vowed to attack any U.S. forces entering the country.
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