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WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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US officials: Pakistani troops fire on US helicopters at border
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-26 15:49 The Pakistani military said the matter was "being resolved" in consultations between the army and the NATO force in Afghanistan. A NATO statement said the militaries were "working together to resolve the matter."
The shooting comes amid a string of cross-border incidents, including a raid by American commandos into Pakistan's tribal areas Sept. 3 that angered many in Pakistan, and the apparent crash landing because of possible mechanical failure of a US spy drone this week in Pakistan's tribal areas. Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, a Pakistani army spokesman, said last week that Pakistani field commanders have previously tolerated international forces crossing a short way into the country because of the ill-defined and contested nature of the mountainous frontier. "But after the (Sept. 3) incident, the orders are clear," Abbas said. "In case it happens again in this form, that there is a very significant detection, which is very definite, no ambiguity, across the border, on ground or in the air: open fire." On Wednesday, Pakistan's army said it had found the wreckage of a suspected surveillance drone in South Waziristan, but denied claims by Pakistani intelligence officials that troops and local residents shot it down. Abbas said Pakistan's military was awaiting a full report from Afghanistan on Thursday's shooting, but that Pakistani units had "very clear" orders not to fire across the border. In Washington, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said the coalition immediately requested an explanation from Pakistan for what he described as a "troubling" incident. "It would be fairly hard to mistake a helicopter flying in that region as anything but (NATO) or US," Whitman said. Asked how Pakistani forces could mistake US helicopters for enemy forces, especially since Taliban and al-Qaida forces don't have aircraft, Whitman said: "Only Pakistan can articulate their intent." Pakistani civilian leaders have condemned the cross-border operations by US forces, which have been authorized by Bush, while the army has vowed to defend Pakistan's territory "at all cost." Pakistan's tribal areas have become a breeding ground for Taliban and al-Qaida militants, who are launching attacks inside Pakistan but also across the border into Afghanistan, where the levels of violence have reached record heights since the ouster of the Taliban from power in the US-led invasion in 2001. Shuja Nawaz, a prominent Pakistani military analyst, said Pakistan is in no position to seek a confrontation with the vastly superior US military. But he said it "certainly doesn't want to be drawn in a situation where it allows the US to act with impunity" because of the impact on its already-dented morale. |
