Islamabad has allowed American and allied forces to cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and hunt for Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists, according to a report.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and US Secretary of State Colin Powell have agreed that troops will react according to the situation, but neither side will issue a statement without consulting the other, diplomatic sources in Washington told the Dawn, a Pakistani daily.
According to the newspaper, the US forces can conduct cross-border raids without making them public.
"There will be no angry remarks from either side, as we saw after the December 29 incident," a diplomat said.
There was tension between the two sides after a Pakistani scout allegedly fired at a US soldier on December 29. Subsequently, a US plane bombed a madrassa in the Pakistani side of the border.
The clash caused angry protests in Pakistan, while US military officials insisted that they reserved the "right to cross the border". This drew angry reactions from Foreign Minister Khurshid Mohammed Kasuri.
Meanwhile, military officials of Pakistan, the US and the allied forces in Afghanistan met on Sunday at Angoor Adda, a village in Southern Waziristan, to defuse tensions.
The meeting, which lasted throughout the day, was held amid tight security, another daily, The News, reported.
General office commanding Kohat Mohammad Tahir and commandant, Waziristan Scouts Force, Mohammad Saeed Khan headed the Pakistani delegation, while a US general stationed in Afghanistan headed the 8-member team of the allied forces.
The meeting took stock of the situation in the wake of the border clash. During the meeting all shops were closed and people were not allowed to enter the bazaar.
