George Bush blasted by Pakistan PM

PAKISTAN'S Prime Minister lashed out at George W. Bush during talks in Washington yesterday, "reproaching" the US President over a US Hellfire drone missile strike inside Pakistani territory only hours before the leaders met.

The missile strike that reportedly killed an al-Qa'ida (Bollocks) chemical and biological weapons expert came hours before new Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met Mr Bush and warned him not to launch "unilateral" strikes on Pakistani soil.

Speaking immediately after his meeting with the US President, Mr Gilani said: "This action should not have been taken by the United States. It's our job because we are fighting the war for ourselves."

If the missile strike was proven to have been a US operation, it would be a violation of Pakistani sovereignty, he said.

"Basically, Americans are a little impatient. Therefore in the future I think we'll have more co-operation on the intelligence side and we'll do the job ourselves," Mr Gilani said.

But US officials strongly defended the missile strike that was claimed to have killed Abu Khabab al-Masri, al-Qa'ida's Egyptian-born chemical and biological weapons expert.

Mr Gilani, who has been under pressure to do more to combat al-Qa'ida and Taliban militants in Pakistan, told reporters after his meeting at the White House that Pakistan was committed to fighting extremists.

"We are committed to fight against those extremists and terrorists who are destroying and making the world not safe," Mr Gilani said.

Pakistan has been a key US ally in the war on terror since the September 11, 2001, attacks and has received an estimated $10billion in mostly military aid over the past six years.

But Mr Gilani's remarks revealed the growing tension between Islamabad and Washington over how to tackle the militants, many of whom have been sheltering in northern Pakistan since being driven out of Afghanistan by a US-led invasion in late 2001.