Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, in his speech to the UN General Assembly's general debate in New York on Thursday, urged Western powers not to violate his country's sovereignty in fighting against terrorism.

President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari addresses the 63rd United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York September 25, 2008. [Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

"Violating our nation's sovereignty is not helpful in eliminating the terrorist menace. Indeed, this could have the opposite effect," Zardari said.

"Just as we will not let Pakistan's territory to be used by terrorists for attacks against our people and our neighbors, we cannot allow our territory and our sovereignty to be violated by our friends," he said.

"Attacks within Pakistan that violate our sovereignty actually serve to empower the forces against which we fight together," he stressed.

Zardari's remarks came after the Pakistani military said troopshad fired warning shots at two NATO helicopters which were "well within Pakistani territory." The US military has called the incident an "unfortunate misunderstanding".

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2008)