Munter was summoned to the Foreign Office as Pakistan decided to formally lodge a protest, 10 days after the operation. The envoy was reportedly told by Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir that the American operation on Pakistani soil was an attack on the country’s security and sovereignty.
Lodging a formal complaint with the US ambassador, Bashir said Pakistan “will not tolerate” any such operation or violation of its airspace in the future, sources said. Terming Osama’s death a success, Bashir said Pakistan should have been taken into confidence on the operation.
The US ambassador underlined the need for improved relations between the two countries but demanded a clarification on the al-Qaeda founder’s presence in Abbottabad. Munter regretted the violation of Pakistani airspace, but went on to say that the act was inevitable to capture or eliminate the world’s most wanted terrorist.
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