Islamabad: An expected US military surge in Afghanistan could destabilise neighbouring Pakistan, Pakistan's Prime Minister said on Thursday, days before a long-awaited US announcement on its Afghan strategy.
President Barack Obama is set to unveil a revised strategy for the increasingly unpopular Afghan war next week, with at least 30,000 more US troops expected to be sent to Afghanistan.
But US ally Pakistan fears the reinforcements could force militants to flee into Pakistan, in particular into its volatile southwestern province of Baluchistan, said Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.
''Sending more troops to Afghanistan, there's fear that the influx of militants may be towards Baluchistan,'' Gilani said at a news conference.
The government this week announced a package of reforms for the province aimed at ending a low-level insurgency.
Separatists in Baluchistan have campaigned for decades for greater autonomy and control of the province's abundant natural gas and mineral resources, which they say are unfairly exploited to the benefit of other provinces.
US officials say many Afghan Taliban leaders are also hiding in Baluchistan.
Gilani said President Asif Ali Zardari had asked Obama to consult Pakistan on his Afghan policy.
''We have clearly mentioned ... (we) should be consulted, with our intelligence- and defence-related officials, so that we can formulate our strategy accordingly,'' he said.
The Pakistani military is battling Pakistani Taliban militants in northwestern areas on the Afghan border, in particular in the South Waziristan region.
The militants have responded with a barrage of bomb attacks.
In the latest violence, a bomb wounded three people on Thursday in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
The United States, weighing options for how to turn around deteriorating security in Afghanistan, has welcomed the South Waziristan offensive but is also keen to see Pakistan tackle Afghan Taliban factions in lawless enclaves along the border.
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