ISLAMABAD, 13 September 2007 — US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte offered broad support yesterday for President Pervez Musharraf as Washington’s key ally faces mounting opposition and Al-Qaeda-linked violence.

Negroponte refused to condemn Musharraf’s deportation of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif hours after his return from seven years in exile, saying it was an “internal” matter for Pakistan. “We view this as an internal Pakistani political and legal matter and it is for the government, people and authorities of Pakistan to decide,” he said.

He also played down indications that the United States could launch unilateral strikes against militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas, saying that US forces would always respect Islamabad’s sovereignty.

The fresh show of support comes at a valuable time Musharraf, who according to a poll released on the same day is less popular among Pakistanis than Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

“We welcome Pakistan’s leadership as a voice of moderation and reason in the Islamic world. Your nation remains a valuable ally in the war on terror,” Negroponte, who arrived yesterday from Kabul, told a news conference.

He said the United States “looks forward to democratic elections here quite shortly” but stopped short of specifically urging Musharraf to ensure that they are free and fair.

Negroponte said they had discussed comments by US officials that did not rule out unilateral strikes on Pakistan — words branded “irresponsible and dangerous” by Pakistan — but said that Islamabad would be consulted.

“If we intend to carry out whatever activities we do in the tribal areas there will be complete respect for the sovereignty of Pakistan,” Negroponte said.

“We highly value Pakistan’s efforts to curb militancy in its tribal areas. “We have allocated $750 million for the economic development of Pakistan’s tribal regions.”

At this point Foreign Secretary Riaz Ahmad Khan said, “Our tribal areas do not only include South and North Waziristan but six other tribal agencies that border Afghanistan and we have initiated development schemes in those areas.”

Negroponte told reporters the two sides discussed ways to share intelligence in a better way. He said Pakistan-US dialogue was very essential for regional peace and security. “The strategic dialogue covers Pakistan-US relations including joint efforts to contain terrorism, situation inside Afghanistan and Pakistan’s efforts to eliminate Al-Qaeda and Taleban terrorists, US assistance to Pakistan in defense, education, energy and trade,” Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told Arab News.

But as Negroponte spoke, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who was earlier in the day banned from entering Karachi, led a small protest in Islamabad. “My protest was against the visit of Negroponte. The US should stop interference in Pakistani politics,” he told AFP.

Army Kills 40 Militants

Pakistani helicopter gunships and artillery pounded pro-Taleban militant hide-outs in a tribal region near the Afghan border, killing up to 40 insurgents, the army said yesterday.

Hours earlier, dozens of Islamist fighters attacked a checkpoint and kidnapped 12 troops a few kilometers away in the country’s northwest, as rebels threatened to start killing another 200 being held in the area. Other reports put the number of kidnapped security men at 19.

Pakistani forces on Tuesday night launched the latest in a string of military operations on the border of the tribal regions of North and South Waziristan.

“The miscreants were occupying mountaintops to launch several attacks on troops. We used artillery and Cobra gunship helicopters to dislodge them,” top Pakistani military spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said.

“The ground troops have started reaching the area for mopping up operations once the firing ends,” Arshad said, adding that the clash was ongoing.

In a pre-dawn raid yesterday, rebels armed with rocket launchers surrounded a security post on the outskirts of the troubled city of Bannu, which borders North Waziristan, officials said.

They wounded a policeman and a soldier before whisking away 12 paramilitary troops, local security chief Amir Badshah said, adding: “They were local Taleban.”

Separately a militant spokesman warned that they would start killing more than 200 soldiers who surrendered without firing a shot in South Waziristan nearly two weeks ago.

“We will start killing them in batches of three soldiers if the military operations do not stop,” spokesman Zulfiqar Mehsud said.