Pakistan to US: 'No Boots on Ground'

Pakistan is shoving back against US accusations and ultimatums over its connection with the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network, denying any involvement and warning the US against crossing the border to deal with the insurgents unilaterally. “The Pakistan nation will not allow the boots on our ground, never,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told Reuters. He urged the US to instead give Pakistan intelligence on the network so it could fight it itself.

“Our government is already cooperating with the US,” Malik said, “but they also must respect our sovereignty." American officials suspect Pakistan's ISI ordered or at least encouraged the Haqqani attack on the US embassy in Kabul last week; Admiral Mike Mullen accused Pakistan of waging a “proxy war” through the terrorists. “If you say that it is ISI involved in that attack, I categorically deny it,” Malik said. “We have no such policy." (More Haqqani Network stories.)