Pakistani protocol

Earlier this week, US Lt-General Douglas Lute testified to Congress that US forces had permission to cross into Pakistan in pursuit of al Qaeda and the Taliban. Not so, say the Pakistanis:

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan yesterday vigorously rejected statements made in the Senate in Washington that US troops in Afghanistan were authorised to pursue Al Qaeda and Taliban elements inside its territory. “No one is permitted to cross our territorial borders,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said in response to comments by US Lt-General Douglas Lute that US troops could target terrorist sites inside Pakistan.