Pakistan 'no' to Bin Laden strike

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/6912947.stm

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Pakistan has again said it opposes any military strike by the United States against Osama Bin Laden, if he is confirmed to be in Pakistan.

Foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri told the BBC public opinion in his country would not tolerate such an attack.

He said he was concerned that any US operation against Bin Laden could lead to dozens of civilian deaths.

Washington has said nothing can be ruled out in the pursuit of the al-Qaeda leader.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said the US recognised Pakistan's sovereignty, but the Bush administration always maintained the option of striking actionable targets.

Earlier Mr Kasuri had said that Bin Laden was not in Pakistan.

'Safe haven'

US director of national intelligence Mike McConnell said recently he believed the architect of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US was in northern Pakistan, near the Afghan border.

Meanwhile, a recent US intelligence report says al-Qaeda is intensifying efforts to put operatives into the US.

The report says the nation is at a heightened risk of attack.

Analysts warn that al-Qaeda's leaders have found a "safe haven" in Pakistani tribal areas, which has allowed them to regroup.

The BBC's Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says a raging debate is continuing in Pakistan over US national intelligence reports that point to the consolidation of the al-Qaeda in the country's tribal areas.

President Pervez Musharraf last week vowed to root out extremists "from every corner of the country".