Pakistan says U.S. drone attacks could hurt ties

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Intensified U.S. drone aircraft attacks or ground operations against Islamist militants in Pakistan could endanger relations between the two allies, Pakistan's foreign minister said on Wednesday Tension over pilot less drone aircraft attacks will likely deepen as the CIA hunts down enemies along the border after a suicide bomber crossed over Pakistan's border and killed seven of its employees in Afghanistan.

Pakistan officially objects to the strikes against suspected al Qaeda and Taliban militants along its northwest, saying they violate its sovereignty.

The attacks have also created fierce anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, a key ally Washington sees as a front-line state in its war on militancy.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said after meeting U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke that some very clear "red lines" were discussed.

"I said despite the partnership that we enjoy, Pakistan cannot, and Pakistan feels that it will undermine our relationship, if there's expansion of drones and if there are operations on ground," he told a news conference.

The United States has stepped up its drone attacks since the double agent blew himself up at a U.S. base in Afghanistan on December 30, killing seven CIA agents.

American officials say the drones are an effective weapon against militants.

Islamabad has pushed Washington to provide it with the drones to allow it to carry out its own attacks on Taliban insurgents, a move that could ease anti-American sentiment in Pakistan.

WORRY OVER EXPANSION

U.S. officials say the strikes are carried out under an agreement with Islamabad that allows Pakistani leaders to criticize them in public. Pakistan denies any such agreement.

The drone strikes have been limited to Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun tribal regions near the Afghan border, semi-autonomous lands believed to be sanctuaries for al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

What Pakistan worries most about is a possible expansion of drone attacks to the southwestern province of Baluchistan, where the Pakistani government already faces a low-level insurgency from rebels seeking autonomy.

Washington believes Afghan Taliban leaders are hiding there.

Pakistan is fighting its own homegrown Taliban insurgency and has resisted intense U.S. pressure to go after Afghan Taliban, who do not attack in Pakistan and who Pakistan sees as assets which give it leverage against the influence of old rival India in Afghanistan.

Relations became seriously strained between the allies when U.S. commandos raided a border village in South Waziristan and killed 20 people, including women and children, on September 3, 2008.

Pakistan later closed down the main supply route through Pakistan for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, saying the move was based on security reasons.