Another US operation inside Pakistan likely: PML-N

Pakistan may face another attack by the US forces similar to the May 2 raid in which American commandos flew into Abbottabad in helicopters and killing top al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Raja Zafarul Haq told Business Recorder on Monday that there was every likelihood that the US may carry out another unilateral strike inside Pakistan if the government failed to plug the security loopholes.
He said President Obama has indicated that if there were another high value al Qaeda target, the US would not hesitate in repeating a similar unilateral attack inside Pakistan, which reflects that much needs to be done to improve our security apparatus.
"It has happened and it will happen again if the government failed to make the defence impregnable. The government has completely failed in controlling terrorists activities in the country," he added.
When asked what his party's strategy will be to curb such incidents in future, he said PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif has visited different cities, including Karachi and spoken his heart out over the government's failure to meet the security needs of the country. When asked what PML-N was doing to defuse the situation, he said the party was minutely observing the situation and would chalk out a strategy as it did in case of restoration of superior judiciary.
Senator SM Zafar of Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid) was of the view that bin Laden episode was being viewed as Pakistan's weakness and to negate this impression, Pakistan has to review the 'do more' policy. The US may undertake another unilateral attack in pursuit of al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives in Pakistan if there is any evidence. We have to jointly fight the terror, he said, adding that the issue must be resolved by using diplomatic channels.
Defence analysts say if a repeat of the bin Laden episode happens, Pakistan is unlikely to retaliate. "We can't react," says Brigadier Asad Munir, a former intelligence chief responsible for the tribal zone. "We can't fight the US but following this statement, we can surely tell them we cannot cooperate anymore."
Munir acknowledged the presence of those forces and identified them as ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) teams but, he said, "never once has any American soldier ever shot anyone on our soil." Munir said the recent statements coming from the Obama administration are adding fuel to fire, given the prevalent anti-US sentiments in Pakistan.
"The raid itself was wrong, but the statements afterwards were undermining Pakistan's modernity," Munir said. "While I understand the secrecy for this bin Laden operation, they need not have cut down the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to size." Increasingly, within Pakistan, there was much hopelessness and despair. Analysts said the government has lost credibility, so does the military, and that the two have deceived the people for too long with hollow statements.