DUBAI //Pervez Musharraf, the former Pakistani president, last night criticised the United States for violating Pakistan's sovereignty in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Mr Musharraf spoke at a hotel in Dubai last night amid tight security. He was being honoured by the local Pakistani community for his efforts in combating terrorism.
He said that although "the people of Pakistan and all peace-loving people globally should be happy about bin Laden's death, no country will accept such a violation by the United States, which undermines Pakistan's sovereignty, army and intelligence.
"This is not acceptable to any Pakistani individual."
Although the hunt for bin Laden ended in Abbottabad, home to many high-level military personnel, Mr Musharraf said he did not believe that Pakistani government or military officials had knowledge of bin Laden's presence or were harbouring him.
"It is not unusual for blunders to occur," he reasoned. "Look at 9/11 - unfortunately those attacks did happen, so where was their [US] intelligence then?"
In his speech, Mr Musharraf said that Pakistan and the US must co-operate in the fight against terrorism.
"The relationship between Pakistan and the United States has not been at its best for a while now, but to defeat al Qa'eda and the Taliban, which is now our biggest threat, this relationship should not develop into confrontation," he said.
Pakistan, he said, is a "victim of terrorism and its circumstances, not a home to it".
Before the former president spoke, Shah Swar Hussain, organiser of the event and managing director of Hussain Murad Shipping Services, said the event had no connection to bin Laden's death.
"We planned to pay tribute to president Musharraf for his fight against terrorism long ago. Before him, no one spoke out against extremists in Pakistan," Mr Hussain said.
