ISLAMABAD/BRUSSELS: Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed regret on Monday for the deaths of Pakistani soldiers last week and said he hoped Pakistan’s border would reopen for NATO supplies to Afghanistan as soon as possible, reports Jumg (5/9./2010)
Angered by repeated attacks by Nato helicopters on militant targets within its borders, Pakistan blocked one of the supply routes for Nato troops in Afghanistan after a strike killed three Pakistani soldiers in the western Kurram region.
Analysts and Western officials said Pakistan’s closure of the border for a few days would not seriously impact the war effort in Afghanistan, but it would create political tension that Pakistan could exploit.
“I expressed my regret for the incident last week in which Pakistani soldiers lost their lives,” Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after meeting Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Brussels. “I expressed my hope the border will be open for supplies as soon as possible.”
The apology came after gunmen attacked a convoy of trucks taking goods to Western forces in Afghanistan on the outskirts of Islamabad, killing three guards. The foreign minister while apprising the Nato secretary general of the gravity of public anger over Nato incursions said that Pakistan would only reopen the supply route for coalition troops in Afghanistan once public anger eases and security improves. “Unless the reaction cools down and we make sure that the supply line is secured, we cannot reopen it,” the foreign minister added. He further said the UN mandate for Isaf is confined to Afghanistan and Nato/Isaf forces are again advised to refrain from any actions that constitute a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty.
Foreign Minister Qureshi did not hold a press conference after the meeting. Hours later, suspected militants attacked trawlers carrying supplies for Nato through Balochistan, killing one man, police said.
Pakistan has officially said the border has been closed for security reasons and the Taliban threat of more attacks will likely prolong the closure of the vital supply route — now in its fifth day — and further strain ties with ally Washington, which has long demanded Pakistan crackdown on militants. “Efforts are underway to resolve this issue, but there is a lot of anger in Pakistan about the border incursion,” a senior Pakistani government official told Reuters.
ISAF spokesman Major Joel Harper told Reuters in Kabul that the border closure wouldn’t impact the mission, but that the supply lines are “an important element of the Pakistani economy. It’s important to our logistics stocks”. The closures would force more supplies through NATO’s northern supply route through Russia and the central Asian republics, he said. “Nato authorities have all along anticipated disruptions in the supply chain and have been stockpiling supplies in advance,” said Kamran Bokhari, South Asia director at STRATFOR global intelligence.
Analysts and Western officials said Pakistan’s closure of the border for a few days would not seriously impact the war effort in Afghanistan, but it would create political tension that Pakistan could exploit.
“I expressed my regret for the incident last week in which Pakistani soldiers lost their lives,” Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after meeting Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Brussels. “I expressed my hope the border will be open for supplies as soon as possible.”
The apology came after gunmen attacked a convoy of trucks taking goods to Western forces in Afghanistan on the outskirts of Islamabad, killing three guards. The foreign minister while apprising the Nato secretary general of the gravity of public anger over Nato incursions said that Pakistan would only reopen the supply route for coalition troops in Afghanistan once public anger eases and security improves. “Unless the reaction cools down and we make sure that the supply line is secured, we cannot reopen it,” the foreign minister added. He further said the UN mandate for Isaf is confined to Afghanistan and Nato/Isaf forces are again advised to refrain from any actions that constitute a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty.
Foreign Minister Qureshi did not hold a press conference after the meeting. Hours later, suspected militants attacked trawlers carrying supplies for Nato through Balochistan, killing one man, police said.
Pakistan has officially said the border has been closed for security reasons and the Taliban threat of more attacks will likely prolong the closure of the vital supply route — now in its fifth day — and further strain ties with ally Washington, which has long demanded Pakistan crackdown on militants. “Efforts are underway to resolve this issue, but there is a lot of anger in Pakistan about the border incursion,” a senior Pakistani government official told Reuters.
ISAF spokesman Major Joel Harper told Reuters in Kabul that the border closure wouldn’t impact the mission, but that the supply lines are “an important element of the Pakistani economy. It’s important to our logistics stocks”. The closures would force more supplies through NATO’s northern supply route through Russia and the central Asian republics, he said. “Nato authorities have all along anticipated disruptions in the supply chain and have been stockpiling supplies in advance,” said Kamran Bokhari, South Asia director at STRATFOR global intelligence.
Andrew Exum, a fellow with the Center for a New American Security and former adviser on Gen Stanley McChrystal’ assessment team in Afghanistan, said the closures mattered little tactically.
“Even though it’s painful it doesn’t cripple the mission,” he said. “The larger strategic issue is that we’re seeing a period of rising public tension between the United States and Pakistan.”
“It’s clear the Pakistanis are frustrated with the United States,” he continued. “It’s clear the Pakistanis are frustrated with the drone strikes in Pakistan. What I don’t think the Pakistanis understand is how frustrated the Americans and the American public are with the Pakistanis.”
Rasmussen said the killing of the three Pakistani soldiers was unintended and showed the need to improve coordination between the NATO and the Pakistani military. He said a joint investigation was under way. “It is important we step up our cooperation,” he said. —Agencies
Mariana Baabar adds: Meanwhile, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), when contacted, said it cannot confirm the identity of two planes that hovered inside Pakistani airspace at the time when Nato helicopters were striking a Pakistani checkpost. A private television channel showed the footage of the incident in which for the first time the presence of these two planes came to light.
