US rejects Pakistan's 'claim' of forces striking an Afghan refugee camp in Kurram Agency

[INDIAPOSITIVE]

Pakistan's claim that the United States forces struck an Afghan refugee camp in Kurram Agency on Wednesday is false, said US Embassy Spokesperson Rick Sinelsine in Pakistan on Thursday.

The spokesperson, however, did not confirm or deny whether the US army had carried out a drone attack in the region.

On Wednesday, Pakistan had condemned a US drone strike deep inside its territory, saying: “Pakistan condemns a drone strike in Kurram Agency carried out by the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) this [Wednesday] morning, which targeted an Afghan refugee camp."

Islamabad had also warned Washington that such ‘unilateral’ steps would be detrimental to cooperation between the two countries in fight against terrorism.

The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday, responding to the US Embassy's remarks, said that Pakistan stands by its initial statement.

This was the first US drone strike inside Pakistani territory over the past 19 months, the FO had confirmed, as none of the over one dozen attacks by the unmanned vehicle reported in the media during this period had drawn official condemnation from Pakistan’s FO.

Area residents had told Dawn that an unmanned plane fired missiles on a mud house in Spin Thall near the garrison town of Thall, killing two men namely Ihsanullah and Nasir Mehmood. While locals said this was the third drone strike in Spin Thall in recent months, this was perhaps the first condemnation by the FO after the killing of Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour by a drone in Balochistan in May 22, 2016.

Relations with the US have been on a downslide since the announcement of the new South Asia and Afghanistan policy by President Trump.

Last month in a report on Afghanistan, Pentagon had stated that a range of tools including “unilateral steps in areas of divergence” would be employed to induce the required change.

The US also suspended security assistance for Pakistan as a follow-up to US President Donald Trump’s New Year tweet accusing Islamabad of “lies and deceit”.

A day earlier, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had told journalists that Pakistan had all options, including both diplomatic and military responses, available for responding to any violation of its sovereignty. He had also underscored that there was no justification for any unilateral action.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1385202/u...iking-an-afghan-refugee-camp-in-kurram-agency

 

[Imran Khan]

Pakistani crying is funny

 

[El Sidd]

What kind a poorly written article is this?

 

[Mav3rick]

So they have provided a tactfully crafted statement that "Pakistan's claim that the United States forces struck an Afghan refugee camp in Kurram Agency on Wednesday is false" which could mean a number of things from incorrect mention of 'Afghan Refugee Camp' to 'Afghan Refugee Camp in Khurram Agency' to 'Khurram Agency' to 'Wednesday'.......basically it feels as if the US says that the precise statement is incorrect. However, at the same time they refused to deny or acknowledge whether a drone strike was carried out or not.

 

[BHarwana]

4 hours ago BY Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday reiterated that the United States targeted an Afghan refugee camp in Kurram Agency a day earlier after the US denied that the drone strike struck an Afghan refugee camp.

Earlier in the day, US Embassy spokesperson issued a statement, saying: “The claim in an MFA statement yesterday that US forces struck an Afghan refugee camp in Kurram Agency yesterday is false.”

Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said on Thursday that Pakistan sticks to its stance that the recent US drone strike targeted an Afghan refugee camp near Kurram Agency.

Pakistan had on Wednesday condemned the drone strike conducted by coalition forces in Kurram Agency and called the unilateral action detrimental to the spirit of cooperation between the two countries in the fight against terrorism.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement had stated that the strike had targeted an Afghan refugee camp.

On Wednesday, Pakistani officials and police had said two missiles fired from a US drone have struck a home near the Afghan border, killing two militants from the Haqqani network.

Local police chief Ameer Zaman Khan had said that strike took place in Dapa Mamuzai village near Kurram tribal region.

Two intelligence officials identified the slain militants as commander Ahsanullah and Nasir Mehsud. They said the men were from the Haqqani network of the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan considers US drone strikes a violation of its sovereignty, while the US accuses Pakistan of providing safe havens for militants.

Pakistan denies the charge, saying it acts against militants without discrimination.

Earlier, on January 17, as many as two suspected militants were killed in drone strike in Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan.

The drone attack took place in Shanqilay area of Afghanistan near the Pak-Afghan border. Hours before, at least one person was injured in a strike in Lower Kurram Agency.

A missile fired from a drone landed outside a house in Badshah Kot area of the agency – one of the seven tribal agencies in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas.


https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/20...ugee-camp-in-kurram-agency-washington-denies/

 

[Khanate]

Mango Mussolini is going full Fake News here.

 

[BHarwana]

These are war crimes. Every military knows that refugees camps are not allowed to be targeted under UN resolution. No matter what the circumstances are.

 

[Vortex]

America has all rights to do whatever they want to do.... World has accepted this fact.

In all humans history, the most powerful country had the right, because they hadthe power... Until someone challenge it. Same behavour as wolves.

 

[BHarwana]

First USA displaced the poor Afghan refugees from their country and now USA is not letting them peacefully stay in refugee camps what a monster USA is.

 

[X.I.X]

USA is the country which doesn't knows anything happening in more than 70% of afghanistan after spending 3 trillion dollars and 3000 lives of its soldiers and it is saying that it knows very well that it was not any refugee camp.....

LOL

 

[alphapak]

Pakistan seriously needs a new leadership. This government and
Army leadership are bloody cowards, can't shoot down a drone even
though U.S has stopped their funds.

Why does the U.S not do drone strikes on Iran or North Korea?
because there leadership has self respect, Pak leaders are the most
shameless people on the planet.

 

[X.I.X]

Pakistan seriously needs a new leadership. This government and
Army leadership are bloody cowards, can't shoot down a drone even
though U.S has stopped their funds.

Mind your language kiddo. All our politicians are rascals and bastards, don't involve our ARMED FORCES in that

 

[alphapak]

Mind your language kiddo. All our politicians are rascals and bastards, don't involve our ARMED FORCES in that

Do you know that Gen Musharaf is the one to open the doors for Drone strikes
inside Pak territory?

 

[X.I.X]

Do you know that Gen Musharaf is the one to open the doors for Drone strikes
inside Pak territory?

MUSHARRAF is the one person that has really changed the the future of PAKISTAN and ARMED forces. As far as DRONE is concerned; we don't have another option at that time and now, you see that we clearly refusing them on their mouth. This is the first time that ISPR said that it was a refugee camp. So, look before you leap. OUR GREAT COUNTRY IF PROTECTED BY OUR ARMED FORCES AND not the filthy politicians.

the deadline of repatriation of all the afghan refugees has already been given by PAKISTAN. Go search it...

Do you know that Gen Musharaf is the one to open the doors for Drone strikes
inside Pak territory?

The Kasoor child murder and rape was all financed and supported by PMLN and its affiliates. All the story in unfolding now. Watch the program of Shahid Masood in this regard. That's the reality of all the filthy politicians

Did you know that one of the bank account of accused Imran Ali has got alone 1.6 million Euros in one transaction? He has has more than 80 bank accounts registered to it.

 

[Luffy 500]

Mind your language kiddo. All our politicians are rascals and bastards, don't involve our ARMED FORCES in that

Being overly biased towards a single political faction/institution/party in your country is always problematic even if you have relations and/or vested interest with such an institute. The whole world knows that PAK foreign policy and defence is dominated by its military and its civilian gov is powerless. 1/2 of PAK history has been ruled by its military. It made plenty of administrative blunders since 47 . None of the Muslim league leaders and founders of PAK were military men BTW. To oppose the US you need strong leadership and strong leadership seldom comes from military men or unelected/unrepresentative institutions , NOT because they are incompetent but rather that they are NOT built for the job. Leading a country is not the job of a military bureaucracy and never fares well in the long term because:

1) At some point in time they need legitimacy and make deals with same corrupt politicians.

2)Due to lack of legitimacy they become vulnerable to interference by big powers with deep pockets. The same applies to unelected civilian dictators.

3)Any bureaucracy specially in the developing world has factional infighting, fair share of corrupt incompetent officers always worrying for promotion and cutting corners and inherently too cumbersome to be efficient.

4)The Military generals in power constantly has to worry about their sudden downfall and the possible consequence in that event. They have to constantly look over their shoulders which keeps them preoccupied with maintaining power rather than good governance.

And Last But NOT least​

5)Military men are human beings and NOT angels. Yes they risk their lives for the country but they also get heftily paid by the tax payer. So they also have the same inherent flaws all human beings have - greed, aspirations, fear, risk begin corruptible, makes mistakes etc etc.

Thus I come to my point that there is a higher propability of having strong leadership out of elected politicians rather than unelected institutions (if you do NOT have oil). That's NOT because elected politicians are angels BUT because they have vested interest in responding to people's aspirations and needs, since every once in a while they have to face the ballot Eg. Turkey, malaysia, Indoneshia, India, South Korea etc etc.

Even if your politicians are corrupt to the core, there is a need for civilian institution building and supremacy of elected civilian authorities over military ones. Over time you will have 1 or 2 decent leaders in a crowd of 10 and backed by stable institutions they can do the job more effeciently than a military men can. You do NOT have to embrace western democracy which is insidious in its own way. Western democracy is an absolute NO NO IMHO. But election is NOT democracy per se. Ensuring that people's representatives have power over state institutions is the way to go for devoloping muslim countries - A elected civilian leadership governing through strong, fair and stable civilian institutions within the framework of an Islamic constitution.

Btw I am NOT a pakistani so I humbly apologize if this post comes to you as rude. I am a well wisher of PAK and want to see my fellow PAK muslim brothers succeed and reach their full potential. I hope my PDF PAK friends who respect and admire the PAK military (justifiably so) do NOT take my post in the wrong way.