Pakistan has rejected the U.S. defense secretary's allegations that it has allowed militants to use Pakistan to stage attacks on U.S. forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday that Leon Panetta “is oversimplifying some very complex issues.”

The statement said Panetta's remarks, made this week in Kabul, were “misplaced and unhelpful in bringing about peace and stability in the region.”

The Foreign Ministry said Pakistan has repeatedly announced “it will not allow its territory to be used against any country, nor will it allow safe havens.”

Panetta said stabilization efforts in Afghanistan would remain difficult as long as militants had safe havens in Pakistan.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said it is following a “well thought-out strategy to eradicate extremism and terrorism, and will follow its own timeline.”

Relations between Islamabad and Washington have been strained over a host of issues recently, including Pakistan's closing the border to NATO trucks in response to the killing of 24 Pakistani troops by NATO forces.