OTTAWA - The government of Pakistan has blasted Liberal Leader Stephane Dion for his "irrational'' suggestion that NATO intervention might be necessary in the troubled South Asian country that borders Afghanistan.
"We are dismayed by the statement of the leader of Opposition,'' the government said in a statement released late Thursday by the Pakistan High Commission in Ottawa.
"It shows a lack of understanding of the ground realities.''
Dion, who made a brief visit to Afghanistan last weekend, said on his return that NATO will never bring peace to Afghanistan as long as Taliban militants are able to escape across the border into neighbouring Pakistan.
"If they (Pakistani leaders) are not able to do it on their own, it is something we could consider with NATO, how to help Pakistan help us bring peace to Afghanistan,'' Dion said Wednesday.
Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre quickly clarified that Dion was not calling for military intervention in Pakistan but rather a diplomatic solution.
However, the Pakistan government was not mollified.
"We have, at the highest level, made it clear that Pakistan will not allow any foreign forces to operate within its territory under any circumstances.
"The sovereignty of the state will not be compromised at any level as the government and people of Pakistan are fully capable of handling their security matters themselves.''
Dion also raised the ire of Pakistan with his assertion that everything Canadian and other NATO troops do to root out insurgents and bring peace to Afghanistan "is cancelled in part by the inaction in Pakistan.''
In its statement, the Pakistan government took issue with the suggestion that it has done little to stem the flow of Islamic militants back and forth across its border.
"Pakistan is a peace-loving country and has joined the international community in the war against terrorism as an equal partner. The contribution made by Pakistan in this regard has been recognized throughout the world,'' the statement said.
"The price paid by Pakistan being a frontline state cannot be undermined by certain irrational comments.''
Canada's Conservative government also piled on Dion, who is calling for an end to Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan by February, 2009. At a news conference in Saskatchewan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper mocked the Liberal leader for proposing that "Canada abandon Afghanistan and invade Pakistan.''
The Liberal party issued its own statement countering what it called Harper's "erroneous claim and distortions.''
"Mr. Dion obviously did not propose any sort of military intervention. Mr. Dion believes that Canada must focus our diplomatic efforts on Pakistan in order to secure the border with Afghanistan.''
However, Jason Kenney, secretary of state for multiculturalism, pointed out that Dion called for NATO intervention in Pakistan.
"NATO is a military alliance. When you talk about a NATO intervention, you are clearly and explicitly talking about a military intervention,'' Kenney said.
Kenney said the only other possible explanation for Dion's comments is that he doesn't understand what NATO does.
"Either way, he is out of his league on the world stage and not worth the risk . . . His foreign policy is a descent into amateur hour.''
NDP defence critic Dawn Black also noted that NATO is a military organization and called on Dion to retract his "misguided'' comments.
"By proposing to send military forces into a nuclear-armed country of 165 million people, Mr. Dion has made a very risky and damaging statement,'' she said.
Dion is not the only politician to run into trouble over Pakistan.
Several candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination in the United States earned a rebuke from Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, last week for suggesting that U.S troops should join the Pakistan army in hunting down al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
"Any entry by the United States or coalition forces into Pakistan's tribal areas would be resisted as a breach of Pakistan's sovereignty,'' Musharraf told a Chinese newspaper.
