Will seek surety and guarantees from US:Yousuf Raza Gilani

ISLAMABAD: Blaming the Musharraf regime for most of the problems in Pak-US ties, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today said Pakistan will seek "surety and guarantees" for its sovereignty under new terms of engagement with the US during talks that would be held "very soon".

"I need the surety and guarantees for the sovereignty of my country and such (NATO strike) unilateral actions should not be taken in future," Gilani told a news conference after chairing a special meeting of the federal cabinet in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

Gilani sought recommendations from the Foreign Office and the Parliamentary Committee on National Security for a revamp of ties with the US and NATO after the air strike on two Pakistani military border posts on November 26 that left 24 soldiers killed.

The attack took the already strained Pakistan-US relations for a spin.

The recommendations given by Pakistan's top envoys and the parliamentary panel will be debated by a joint session of both houses of parliament to frame new terms of engagement with the US, he said.

The whole country will back new terms of engagement that are evolved through collective wisdom, he added.

Gilani contended that most of the problems in Pakistan-US ties were due to understandings forged by the previous military regime.

The last military regime was headed by former Pakistan Army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf.

However, Gilani said his government had decided to tell the US that "enough is enough" and that no compromise would be made on Pakistan's sovereignty.

"We are all upset now. When the talks start, then we will discuss these matters," he said, referring to strains in ties with the US.

He said he expected that talks with the US would start "very soon".