Pakistan Saturday played down remarks from senior U.S. military officials that American forces in Afghanistan routinely pursued and fired upon Taliban enemies into Pakistan.

Lt General Douglas Lute told the U.S. Senate Armed Forces Committee that the U.S. forces in Afghanistan had the authorities they need to pursue either with artillery fore or on the ground across the border, according to reports.

"It is not the job of generals to make decisions. The decisions are taken at the political level and commanders can not take decisions," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.

She told local TV channels that remarks from American generals about operations inside Pakistan did not have much importance.

"We are partners in war on terrorism and we have a mechanism to deal with such matters," she said.

Aslam also referred to a recent statement from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Washington had not made any decision to carry out any strike inside Pakistan.

"We have a mechanism to discuss such matters. The tripartite commission comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States is in place. A joint intelligence center has been established in Kabul which functions 24 hours," Aslam said.

She was of the view that statements from the U.S. generals about operations inside Pakistan do not reflect the official policy of the United States.

In another development, members of the U.S. Senate have urged the Bush administration to launch military strikes at the alleged Al Qaeda targets inside Pakistan, according to Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper.

Pakistani envoy in Washington Mehmood Ali Durrani has been quoted as saying that such attitude of U.S. generals could bring down the present set-up in Islamabad.

Source: Xinhua