ianstone
09-30-2010, 08:16 AM
Pakistan block Nato supply route to Afghanistan after air strike kills three Pakistani troops
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 12:49 PM on 30th September 2010
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Pakistan to consider 'response options' if more attacks
Fourth cross-border attack in recent days
U.S. unmanned drones being investigated
Pakistan stop Nato trucks in retaliation
Pakistan blocked a vital supply route for U.S. and Nato troops in Afghanistan today in apparent retaliation for an alleged cross-border helicopter strike by the coalition that killed three Pakistani frontier troops.
The blockade appeared to be a major escalation in tensions between Pakistan and the United States.
And a permanent stoppage of supply trucks would place massive strains on Nato and hurt the Afghan war effort.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/27/article-1315574-0B5F18ED000005DC-569_468x317.jpg Accused: Pakistan have stopped NATO trucks from entering Afghanistan for the time after the three deaths
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316473-0B6AAAEC000005DC-19_468x334.jpg Danger zone: Air strikes have increased on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border - there have been four such attacks recently
'The helicopters shelled the area for about 25 minutes,' said a Pakistani official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
'Three of our soldiers manning a border post were killed and three wounded.'
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said of the border incident: 'We will have to see whether we are allies or enemies.'
He failed, however, to mention the blockade.
Nato said it was investigating Pakistani reports that coalition aircraft had mistakenly attacked its forces.
A spokeswoman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, however, said none of its helicopters had crossed into Pakistani airspace.
Pakistan has said it would consider 'response options' if Nato forces continued to violate its sovereignty.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/15/article-1312171-01D5924A00000578-147_468x336.jpg Deadly: A pilotless U.S. drone - similar to this one - killed a dozen insurgents, linked to both Al Qaeda and the Taliban
If the attack is confirmed it would be the fourth cross-border raid in recent days, which comes just as the U.S. steps up strikes by unmanned drone aircraft in Pakistan's North Waziristan.
The coalition has on at least one other occasion acknowledged mistakenly killing Pakistani security forces stationed close to the border.
Over the weekend, Nato helicopters fired on targets in Pakistan at least twice, killing several suspected insurgents they had pursued over the border from Afghanistan.
Pakistan's government protested the attacks, which came in a month during which there have been an unprecedented number of U.S. drone missile strikes in the northwest, inflaming already pervasive anti-American sentiment among Pakistanis.
The surge in attacks and apparent increased willingness by Nato to attack targets on the border, or just inside Pakistan, could be a sign the coalition is losing patience with Pakistan, which has long been accused of harboring militants in its lawless tribal regions.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/15/article-1312171-0B31BCAA000005DC-305_233x546.jpg
Pakistani security officials said today's deadly air strike took place on a checkpoint in the Upper Kurram region.
The dead men were from a paramilitary force tasked with safeguarding the border, the security officials said.
Their bodies were taken to Parachinar, the region's largest town. Three other troops also were wounded.
The security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation and because in some cases they were not authorized to release the information to the media.
The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is unmarked.
Border troops wear uniforms that resemble the traditional Pakistani dress of a long shirt and baggy trousers, which could make it hard to distinguish them from ordinary citizens or insurgents.
U.S. officials have complained in the past that Pakistani security forces do little to stop the movement of militants seeking to cross over into Afghanistan and attack foreign troops there.
Lt. Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for intelligence and special operations at Nato headquarters in Kabul, said coalition forces observed early today what they believed were insurgents firing mortars at a coalition base in Dand Wa Patan district of Paktia, which is next to Upper Kurram.
'A coalition air weapons team called for fire support and engaged the insurgents,' he said.
'The air weapons team reported that it did not cross into Pakistani air space and believed the insurgents were located on the Afghan side of the border.
Dorrian said Pakistani military officials had informed the Nato military coalition that members of their border forces had been struck by coalition aircraft.
He said the coalition was reviewing the reports to see if the operation in Paktia was related to those reports.
Hours after the incident, Pakistani authorities were ordered to stop Nato supply trucks from crossing into Afghanistan at the Torkham border post, a major entryway for Nato materials at the edge of the Khyber tribal region, two government officials said.
No reason was given, but earlier this week Pakistan threatened to stop providing protection to NATO convoys if the alliance's helicopters attacked targets inside Pakistan again.
By mid-morning, there was a line of around 100 Nato vehicles at the checkpoint, the officials said.
The other main route into Afghanistan in southeastern Pakistan had received no orders to stop Nato trucks from crossing, which they were doing as normal, said Syed Mohammed Agha, a spokesman for the Pashin Scouts border guards.
Some 80 per cent of non-lethal supplies for foreign forces fighting in landlocked Afghanistan are transported over Pakistani soil after being unloaded at docks in Karachi, a port city in the south.
While Nato and the United States have alternative supply routes, the Pakistani ones are the cheapest and most convenient.
In June 2008, a U.S. air strike killed 11 Pakistani troops and frayed ties between the two nations.
Pakistan said the soldiers died when U.S. aircraft bombed their border post in the Mohmand tribal region.
U.S. officials said coalition aircraft dropped bombs during a clash with militants. They expressed regret over the deaths, but said the attack was justified.
Pakistan and the U.S. have a complicated, but vital, relationship, with distrust on both sides.
Polls show many Pakistanis regard the United States as an enemy, and conspiracy theories abound of U.S. troops wanting to attack Pakistan and take over its nuclear weapons.
The Pakistani government has to balance its support for the U.S. war in Afghanistan - and its need for billions of dollars in American aid - with maintaining support from its own population.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316473/Pakistan-block-NATO-supply-route-Afghanistan-air-strike-kills-3-troops.html#ixzz110xEbJT1
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 12:49 PM on 30th September 2010
Comments (1) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316473/Pakistan-block-NATO-supply-route-Afghanistan-air-strike-kills-3-troops.html#comments)
Add to My Stories (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316473/Pakistan-block-NATO-supply-route-Afghanistan-air-strike-kills-3-troops.html)
Pakistan to consider 'response options' if more attacks
Fourth cross-border attack in recent days
U.S. unmanned drones being investigated
Pakistan stop Nato trucks in retaliation
Pakistan blocked a vital supply route for U.S. and Nato troops in Afghanistan today in apparent retaliation for an alleged cross-border helicopter strike by the coalition that killed three Pakistani frontier troops.
The blockade appeared to be a major escalation in tensions between Pakistan and the United States.
And a permanent stoppage of supply trucks would place massive strains on Nato and hurt the Afghan war effort.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/27/article-1315574-0B5F18ED000005DC-569_468x317.jpg Accused: Pakistan have stopped NATO trucks from entering Afghanistan for the time after the three deaths
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/30/article-1316473-0B6AAAEC000005DC-19_468x334.jpg Danger zone: Air strikes have increased on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border - there have been four such attacks recently
'The helicopters shelled the area for about 25 minutes,' said a Pakistani official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
'Three of our soldiers manning a border post were killed and three wounded.'
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said of the border incident: 'We will have to see whether we are allies or enemies.'
He failed, however, to mention the blockade.
Nato said it was investigating Pakistani reports that coalition aircraft had mistakenly attacked its forces.
A spokeswoman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, however, said none of its helicopters had crossed into Pakistani airspace.
Pakistan has said it would consider 'response options' if Nato forces continued to violate its sovereignty.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/15/article-1312171-01D5924A00000578-147_468x336.jpg Deadly: A pilotless U.S. drone - similar to this one - killed a dozen insurgents, linked to both Al Qaeda and the Taliban
If the attack is confirmed it would be the fourth cross-border raid in recent days, which comes just as the U.S. steps up strikes by unmanned drone aircraft in Pakistan's North Waziristan.
The coalition has on at least one other occasion acknowledged mistakenly killing Pakistani security forces stationed close to the border.
Over the weekend, Nato helicopters fired on targets in Pakistan at least twice, killing several suspected insurgents they had pursued over the border from Afghanistan.
Pakistan's government protested the attacks, which came in a month during which there have been an unprecedented number of U.S. drone missile strikes in the northwest, inflaming already pervasive anti-American sentiment among Pakistanis.
The surge in attacks and apparent increased willingness by Nato to attack targets on the border, or just inside Pakistan, could be a sign the coalition is losing patience with Pakistan, which has long been accused of harboring militants in its lawless tribal regions.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/15/article-1312171-0B31BCAA000005DC-305_233x546.jpg
Pakistani security officials said today's deadly air strike took place on a checkpoint in the Upper Kurram region.
The dead men were from a paramilitary force tasked with safeguarding the border, the security officials said.
Their bodies were taken to Parachinar, the region's largest town. Three other troops also were wounded.
The security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation and because in some cases they were not authorized to release the information to the media.
The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is unmarked.
Border troops wear uniforms that resemble the traditional Pakistani dress of a long shirt and baggy trousers, which could make it hard to distinguish them from ordinary citizens or insurgents.
U.S. officials have complained in the past that Pakistani security forces do little to stop the movement of militants seeking to cross over into Afghanistan and attack foreign troops there.
Lt. Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for intelligence and special operations at Nato headquarters in Kabul, said coalition forces observed early today what they believed were insurgents firing mortars at a coalition base in Dand Wa Patan district of Paktia, which is next to Upper Kurram.
'A coalition air weapons team called for fire support and engaged the insurgents,' he said.
'The air weapons team reported that it did not cross into Pakistani air space and believed the insurgents were located on the Afghan side of the border.
Dorrian said Pakistani military officials had informed the Nato military coalition that members of their border forces had been struck by coalition aircraft.
He said the coalition was reviewing the reports to see if the operation in Paktia was related to those reports.
Hours after the incident, Pakistani authorities were ordered to stop Nato supply trucks from crossing into Afghanistan at the Torkham border post, a major entryway for Nato materials at the edge of the Khyber tribal region, two government officials said.
No reason was given, but earlier this week Pakistan threatened to stop providing protection to NATO convoys if the alliance's helicopters attacked targets inside Pakistan again.
By mid-morning, there was a line of around 100 Nato vehicles at the checkpoint, the officials said.
The other main route into Afghanistan in southeastern Pakistan had received no orders to stop Nato trucks from crossing, which they were doing as normal, said Syed Mohammed Agha, a spokesman for the Pashin Scouts border guards.
Some 80 per cent of non-lethal supplies for foreign forces fighting in landlocked Afghanistan are transported over Pakistani soil after being unloaded at docks in Karachi, a port city in the south.
While Nato and the United States have alternative supply routes, the Pakistani ones are the cheapest and most convenient.
In June 2008, a U.S. air strike killed 11 Pakistani troops and frayed ties between the two nations.
Pakistan said the soldiers died when U.S. aircraft bombed their border post in the Mohmand tribal region.
U.S. officials said coalition aircraft dropped bombs during a clash with militants. They expressed regret over the deaths, but said the attack was justified.
Pakistan and the U.S. have a complicated, but vital, relationship, with distrust on both sides.
Polls show many Pakistanis regard the United States as an enemy, and conspiracy theories abound of U.S. troops wanting to attack Pakistan and take over its nuclear weapons.
The Pakistani government has to balance its support for the U.S. war in Afghanistan - and its need for billions of dollars in American aid - with maintaining support from its own population.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316473/Pakistan-block-NATO-supply-route-Afghanistan-air-strike-kills-3-troops.html#ixzz110xEbJT1