Pakistan's defense minister is expressing concern about a White House statement saying the U.S. military has been given authority to eliminate militant safe havens in Pakistan.
The White House statement was published within a late Tuesday email to the press that listed Donald Trump's foreign policy accomplishments during his first year as president.
In an interview with VOA's Urdu Service, Pakistani Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan said he takes the statement "very seriously."
"We want to make it clear to the U.S. that Pakistan is a sovereign country and its sovereignty must be respected," Dastgir said. "Instead of using these words, which can be interpreted in any way, Pakistan should be consulted," he added. "Statements like this are taking us away from peace in Afghanistan."
At a Thursday Pentagon press briefing, a senior official said the U.S. military doesn't "contemplate military operations inside Pakistan."
Pakistan-U.S. relations have deteriorated rapidly. Last month the Trump administration cut nearly all security aid to Islamabad until the country takes stronger steps to deal with terrorist networks operating in its territory.
巴基斯坦国防部长对美国白宫一份声明表达关注。这份声明说，美军已经接到授权摧毁激进分子在巴基斯坦的避风港。
白宫星期二晚间发送给媒体的一份电邮列出了川普总统上任后第一年在外交政策上的成就，其中就提到了有关巴基斯坦的上述说法。
巴基斯坦国防部长达斯特吉尔汗在接受美国之音采访时说，他很严肃对待上述说法。
他说：“我们希望向美方明确表示，巴基斯坦是一个主权国家，其主权必须得到尊重。” 他补充说：“人们对这种说法可能会有不同的解释。美方应该与巴基斯坦磋商。美方的这些话使我们难以在阿富汗取得和平。”
美国军方一位高级官员星期四在五角大楼记者会上表示，美军没有在巴基斯坦境内展开军事行动的打算。
美国与巴基斯坦的关系正在迅速恶化。上个月，川普政府决定切断几乎所有对伊斯兰堡当局的安全援助，直到巴基斯坦对其境内的恐怖分子网络采取更强有力的行动。