Pakistan in Nato Afghan warning

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Pakistan says that Nato needs to act more carefully when carrying out its military operations in Afghanistan.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said the killing of civilians in Pakistan over the week-end underscored the need for improved coordination.

She said that nine people died when a rocket fired from Afghanistan landed in North Waziristan during a battle between foreign forces and insurgents.

Nato said on Sunday that it needed to improve its operations in Afghanistan.

The alliance was reacting to criticism from President Karzai, who accused them and US-led troops of failing to co-ordinate with their Afghan allies, causing civilian deaths.

A Nato spokesman said Mr Karzai had a right to be "disappointed and angry" over the scale of civilian casualties.

It came after a week in which up to 90 Afghan civilians were killed.

'Only Pakistan'

"There is coordination between Nato and Pakistani forces," said Ms Aslam.

"This is in regard to the war on terror and the crossing of undesirables over the international border with Afghanistan.

"We also carry out coordinated operations against them (the militants).

"But only Pakistan can carry out operations against them on its soil.

"Sometimes there is a lack of coordination when Nato is conducting its own operations.

"We do not want any action by Nato on our side. We have protested against the current incident.

"We condemn the killing of innocent civilians. Better coordination and care will be taken in the future," she said.

There are two international missions in Afghanistan.

One is the Nato-led Isaf, with 37,000 troops from 37 countries, including the US.

Its aim is to help the Afghan government bring security, development and better governance.

The other, a US-led coalition, is a counter-terrorism mission that involves mainly special forces.

Both have recently been involved in heavy clashes with insurgents.