Pakistani opposition party calls for Gates expulsion

Some Pakistani opposition lawmakers urge the government to expel US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is on a two-day visit to Islamabad, from the country.

The opposition lawmaker, Khurshid Ahmed, of Jamaat-i Islami, says that Gates is maneuvering to force Pakistan to allow American security contractors into the country.

Opposition lawmakers accuse the US security firms, including Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater, of seeking to locate Pakistan's nukes, under the cover of NGO activities.

Gates, on his first trip to Pakistan since US President Barack Obama took office last year, is visiting after a period of tense relations between the two sides.

A big source of friction between the two countries is strikes by missile-firing US drone aircraft in northwest Pakistan.

The drone attacks are launched under the pretext of targeting militants but usually result in civilian casualties.

Gates met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad late on Thursday. The two discussed the security situation in the region, drone attacks, the fight against militancy, drug trafficking and strengthening of Pakistan's law enforcement agencies.

Before with meeting Zardari, Gates met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and warned that "Taliban safe havens" along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border must be tackled or both nations would suffer "more lethal and more brazen" attacks.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116751§ionid=351020401.