US to hit militant safe havens in Pakistan

[BATMAN]

Mukhtar’s stand on US raid raises eyebrows

By Rahimullah Yusufzai
9/6/2008
PESHAWAR: Unlike other defence ministers in the world who consider it their duty to defend their frontiers and people, Pakistan’s Minister of Defence Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar seems to have taken it upon himself to justify the US forces’ raids in Pakistani territory.

“No one carries out shelling without any reason after coming from far away,” the defence minister told reporters in Lahore. This is how he was quoted by sections of the Pakistani and foreign media. By arguing that there must be a reason for the cross-border raid in the early hours Wednesday, it was obvious that he was justifying the US attack on a Pakistani border village in South Waziristan that killed 15 civilians and injured another two. Among the dead were five women and three children.

In fact, the country’s defence minister wasn’t even aware that US aircraft didn’t carry out shelling on the Pakistani village as he made it out to be. Instead, up to four choppers, two Chinooks and two Cobra gunship helicopters, violated Pakistan’s airspace and landed near Musa Neeka village not far from the Pakistani border town of Angoor Adda. The troops brought by the helicopters then stormed three houses of innocent Pakistani tribesmen in Zololay hamlet and shot dead at least 15 of them. Ahmad Mukhtar, either deliberately or due to ignorance, made no mention of the US ground forces that raided the Pakistani village and committed an aggression that the defence minister and the country’s armed forces should have repelled. Otherwise, how does he qualify to be Pakistan’s defence minister if he cannot make an effort to defend the country’s borders and citizens?

This is the second time that the Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar has given statement that tends to justify cross-border raids by US forces in Pakistan’s tribal areas. But this one was insensitive to say the least because there was no report of any attempted infiltration of militants from the Pakistan side into Afghanistan that could have provoked the US military to retaliate. Besides, there was no evidence that the US troops had entered Pakistani territory in “hot pursuit”. All those killed were civilians and among the dead were women and children, who cannot be called al-Qaeda or Taliban militants by any stretch of imagination.

Subsequently, one heard on private TV channels that the defence minister had said he would issue a statement after completion of investigations into the South Waziristan incident. But by then the damage had been done as his initial reaction conveyed by him to reporters in Lahore had been widely reported and quoted.

This is undoubtedly a huge escalation in the hostilities on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. As defence minister, Ahmad Mukhtar should be worrying about the consequences of such acts of aggression and planning measures to reassure Pakistanis unfortunate enough to be living in these tribal borderlands. For five hours Wednesday, the aggrieved tribesmen kept the bodies of the 15 slain Pakistanis on the road linking Musa Neeka with Angoor Adda and Wana but no government official or army officer came there to listen to their grievances, condole with them the deaths of their near and dear ones and give them assurance that such acts of aggression by outside powers would be resisted in future. Pakistan Army and the paramilitary Frontier Corps have their bases in the area but no soldier moved from his entrenched position to come to the assistance of Pakistani villagers under attack from troops who had illegally crossed over from Afghanistan.

As defence minister, Ahmad Mukhtar should visit Musa Neeka and Angoor Adda, offer condolences to the grieving families and check and upgrade Pakistan’s defences at the border. He probably has never been to these parts and it would be a good opportunity for Pakistan’s defence minister to check out how life goes in an area that is frequently in the news and under attack from US, Nato and Afghan forces. He should also take along with him Rahman Malik, the prime minister’s adviser on interior affairs, who too is increasingly dealing with tribal areas and the “war on terror”.

The latter, who apparently doesn’t know the international repercussions of his recent statement about a missed opportunity of getting al-Qaeda deputy leader Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri in Pakistan’s Mohmand Agency, needs to know the tribal region better because the problems there aren’t going to be resolved any time soon. With regard to his statement about sighting of Zawahiri or his wife in Mohmand Agency, it is pertinent to mention that the Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the same day that there was no evidence that Zawahiri or Osama bin Laden were hiding in Pakistan.

Owais Ahmad Ghani, Governor of NWFP, spoke for most Pakistanis when he strongly condemned the act of aggression by the US forces in South Waziristan and termed it outrageous. Obviously, he felt the pain of the families that lost their dear and near ones in the unprovoked nighttime raid and chose to highlight their plight. It is rare to hear such words from our ruling elite, whether civil or military, these days. He may be replaced as Governor in the coming days but Owais Ahmad Ghani would be remembered as someone who didn’t mince words and was the first one among government functionaries to forcefully condemn the invasion of a Pakistani border village by the American troops.

 

[BATMAN]

I personally believe that the incident of firing at Gillani's motor car on same day was nothing more than a drama and was an act to share the local press focus.
I also believe that the incident of women killed in Baluchistan was an attempt to dilute western opinion on this humanity crime.
The Baluchistan incident had been widely reported world over in various different languages and on every local FM channel in all over Europe. more than ususal and this was already raising alarm bells in my head.

Mark my words every such future incident will be followed by an awful incident catching the press attention and demonizing Pakistan world over.

Musharraf was the last hurdle and he had been removed from the scene. Many such proposals had been rejected by him in past.

Frankly speaking, any such future endeavors going unchecked would put a question mark on Army’s role. I believe army's prime objective is to protect it's people from foreign troops!

Historically, while invading Iraq and Afghanistan US had not used its own soldiers in frontline instead it was local militias going in front and US lead the aerial bombing.
What if indian commandoes were leading this mission. They would be more than happy to start civil war in Pakistan.

From the design it appears that Pakistan govt. was taken in confidence before this operation but the exact target and outcome was not known.

 

[batmannow]

Politics are not unfamiliar with the word dirty. So Zardari will get it cause he is playing his cards with USA. He wil give them ISI, nuclear assets in return for presidency (so no longer corruption cased)... There is nothing more then that. They guy married influencal dumb girl to get upstream and now he will do anything to get on top ov everyone just by being a corrupt thief... This can only happen in Pakistan.

The only thing I can predict that sooner then we think a bullet will be fired that will end someones carrier. The USA is playing a big gamble and it will end cause I doubt that Mc Cain or Obama will the link with Zardari... I am very disappointed with Bush. It reminds me of asking the US to check Irac while they were amnipulating everything in the background. Now they were removing Musharraf and opening telling that they were not taking active standpoint but it was up to the people of Pakistan... Don't tell me that mr10% represents democracy... What a shame.

thats the real situation today in pakistan, explained by one the best thinkers on this fourm. but one point should been cleared till now, which is that ,yes BB was a influential dumb highclass gril(who was obssesd with the political life and the death of her father) BB also was in the veiw to have an underhand husband???
So the things are clearer than ever, we have to expect more of these sort of attacks in the near future, i guss our hounrable COAS is waiting to have a new supreme commander , who can do the dirty job?

 

[BATMAN]

^^Its true this is the first govt. of its kind who is warning US people openly in press conferences tha people in Pakistan are planning to attack US?
If it is an intelligence than why not conveyed to US authorities in person?
Rehman Malik and Zardari are leading this propaganda and next one is Hussain Haqqani followed by media people.
BTW, BB was a phsyco case.

 

[BATMAN]

Pakistan reserves right to retaliate in future: Gen Tariq

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan reserves the right to appropriately retaliate against unilateral attacks by coalition forces from Afghanistan, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Tariq Majid said on Friday. “Pakistan reserves the right to appropriately retaliate in future,” General Tariq told German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung who called on him at the Joint Staff Headquarters. Condemning the attack by US forces at Angoor Ada, the CJCSC said such cross-border strikes would alienate locals. General Tariq said that Afghanistan was levelling allegations against Pakistan to cover its failures.

He seems next in line to retire or resign.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Task Force Black:

Common sense would dictate that going after a handful of fighters, on spurious intelligence, is not worth inflaming anti-US and pro Taliban sentiment in a nation already extremely distrustful of the US .

Common sense would dictate understanding that following this course of action would topple those pro-WoT, moderate political parties that have with difficulty managed to cobble together a coalition government in Pakistan, facing severe challenges on several fronts.

Common sense would dictate that given the increasing cooperation shown by this government, and the support being slowly garnered domestically against the militants, NATO would not act, for a handful of militants (or even leaders) in a manner that distracts everyones attention from the domestic war against terror that needs to be fought, long term, and diverts rage against the US/NATO.

Common sense would dictate none of this - it would advocate a sustained long term strategy that keeps in mind the sensitivities of the local populations and governments of the region and seeks to increase that cooperation long term, and create sympathy amongst the local population for the WoT efforts.

But then common sense isn't really what we have seen from either the Bush administration or the majority of the US defense establishment.

I would rather not understand NATO's 'exemplary patience' - this war is not being fought in the suburbs of Chicago, Toronto or London - it is being fought in our backyard, and it is innocent Pakistani civilians - women and children - who are being killed, by both militants and foreign forces.

Perhaps it doesn't jar your conscience as much because it isn't a fair skinned, blue eyed blond child being massacred - but it jars our conscience and it incites our rage - so spare me your platitudes of 'exemplary restraint'.

 

[Owais]

Obama wants more crackdowns against Taliban in Pakistan
Updated at: 0414 PST, Saturday, September 06, 2008

Obama wants more crackdowns against Taliban in Pakistan WASHINGTON: US presidential candidate Barack Obama said that without Pakistani security forces’ cooperation and more crackdowns against militants it is highly imperative or not possible to win war of terror in Afghanistan against Taliban.

In an interview to a US channel, Barach Obama said that US is providing military aid to Pakistan without any check and Pakistan is using this aid to enhance its military abilities against its war with India.

To a question he replied that Pakistan use American military aid to build up its arsenal against its preparation in war with India rather in war on terror. He also said that we have to create more pressure on Pakistan against its operation on militants.

He said that it is not important what we have done but now we have to focus more on Afghanistan and it’s needed to build pressure on Pakistan.

Replying negatively to the question about sending armed forces inside Pakistan he said that to overcome terrorism menace we would provide more military aid to Pakistan and would help to establish true form of democracy in Pakistan.

Barack Obama claimed that US government had wasted military aid of 10 billion dollars of aid during Musharraf’s regime without checking if the provided aid was used accordingly or not.

He also emphasized that if we would have Osama bin laden within our reach we would definitely attack him.

Obama wants more crackdowns against Taliban in Pakistan - GEO.tv

 

[batmannow]

Pakistan reserves right to retaliate in future: Gen Tariq


He seems next in line to retire or resign.

Dear BATMAN sir,
I am agreed 1000% to your view of the matter. maybe he, is affected by virus called MUSHAREX, OR ZIAREX. surly people in USA s admin , would not be looking GEN.TARIQ in unifrom any more.

DAWN.COM
Suspected US drone attack kills three children
Friday, 05 Sep, 2008 | 22:00 PKT

MIRANSHAH: At least three children were killed on Friday when missiles fired by an unmanned aircraft hit a house in a Pakistani tribal border area, officials said.
'Three children and two women have been killed in the missile strike which destroyed two village homes,' another official said, adding that one woman was injured.
'We suspect that the missiles were fired by forces across the border,' the official said. This was the third strike in as many days in the area and blamed on Afghanistan-based international forces.
‘Two drones were flying in the area. They fired three missiles,’ said a witness in the region, near the Afghan border.
The strike on Friday hit the house of a tribesman in North Waziristan's Goorweck Baipali village, 30 kilometres west of the region's main town of Miranshah, an unnamed security official said.
At least five militants were killed on Thursday when a missile fired from a pilotless plane hit a house in the North Waziristan village of Mohammad Khel, officials said.
The missile strikes targeting militants in Pakistan in recent weeks have been blamed on US-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan.
The White House declined to comment directly on the claim of US involvement from across the border in Afghanistan in recent days.
'We respect their sovereignty and we support their new civilian government,' spokeswoman Dana Perino said of Pakistan, adding that US President George W. Bush 'grieves any time there is a loss of innocent life.'

'I have no comment on reports of anything in Pakistan. As I said yesterday, however, we are in constant communication with the Pakistanis,' said Perino, who on Thursday had underlined the need to improve counter-terrorism cooperation with Islamabad.

'We are bound and determined to work with them to fight the extremists who threaten all of us,' the spokeswoman said.
Military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said they were checking reports of the attack.
'Pakistani forces did not carry out any activity in the area,' Abbas said.
A tribesman in Miranshah said the village criss-crossed the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.'Half of the village is in Pakistan and the other half is in Afghanistan,' Aqleem Khan said.
Friday's incident followed a separate attack late Thursday when at least five militants were killed when a missile fired from an unmanned plane hit a house in the North Waziristan village of Mohammad Khel, officials said.
Around 3,000 Pakistani tribesmen chanted 'Allahu akbar' and 'death to America' in South Waziristan's Wana district after Friday prayers to protest at Wednesday's claimed US-led raid, which involved helicopter gunships and ground troops.
Both the US-led coalition and the separate NATO-led security force operating in Afghanistan have said they have no knowledge of that incident.


I guss , its the time for COAS to rethink his coopreation with the USA.

 

[Task Force Black]

In your view, nationalism and pride is being placed before common sense.

It is this common sense which makes us angry over the killing of innocent civilians. Killing of women and children does not suit professional soldiers. Why NATO is not able to distinguish civilian from others?? I think a pair of eyes is all that is required to identify women and children......

and what do u think....the Rules of Engagement set with GoP should not be respected??? You must be confident that you can win (rather continue) the war without the support of Pakistan.....

What in your view is the reason that NATO has not been successful in gaining a clear victory in Afghanistan since 2001...????

Taliban dont have air force, they obviously dont have Navy, no gunship helicopter, no regular armored force.....just irregular foot soldiers and still they are out of control..........all the satellites, drones, bombers, fighter jets, gunship helicopters, tanks etc seem not to work effectively against them.

and I think in case of full scale operations against tribal belt......this time again, the leadership and armed forces of Pakistan are in an imbroglio of saying YES or NO............just like "Are you with us???" at the start of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001.

That time Musharraf said a big YES and according to Gen Hamid Gul, Musharraf crafted a baseless story that Armitage has threatened him of bombing to the stone age. Hamid Gul insists that no such warning was given.
However, for a political govt, it would not be easy to go against the will of public and support a full flegded operation.

A week ago 5 women were buried alive in Pakistan. A few days ago this was downgraded to 2 women, killed and buried with massive head trauma, allegedly by their own brothers, for honour. This belies the nature of reporting from the regions.

It is is not the international community who plant bombs inside girls schools inside Pakistan because thier parents wish to exercise their female childs inalienable human right to have an education.

NATO battles the Tailban.

 

[Task Force Black]

Task Force Black:

Common sense would dictate that going after a handful of fighters, on spurious intelligence, is not worth inflaming anti-US and pro Taliban sentiment in a nation already extremely distrustful of the US .

Common sense would dictate understanding that following this course of action would topple those pro-WoT, moderate political parties that have with difficulty managed to cobble together a coalition government in Pakistan, facing severe challenges on several fronts.

Common sense would dictate that given the increasing cooperation shown by this government, and the support being slowly garnered domestically against the militants, NATO would not act, for a handful of militants (or even leaders) in a manner that distracts everyones attention from the domestic war against terror that needs to be fought, long term, and diverts rage against the US/NATO.

Common sense would dictate none of this - it would advocate a sustained long term strategy that keeps in mind the sensitivities of the local populations and governments of the region and seeks to increase that cooperation long term, and create sympathy amongst the local population for the WoT efforts.

But then common sense isn't really what we have seen from either the Bush administration or the majority of the US defense establishment.

I would rather not understand NATO's 'exemplary patience' - this war is not being fought in the suburbs of Chicago, Toronto or London - it is being fought in our backyard, and it is innocent Pakistani civilians - women and children - who are being killed, by both militants and foreign forces.

Perhaps it doesn't jar your conscience as much because it isn't a fair skinned, blue eyed blond child being massacred - but it jars our conscience and it incites our rage - so spare me your platitudes of 'exemplary restraint'.

None the less it is a simple platitude given freely, and you can spare yourself while others act for a betterment of the situation.

Day in day out, NATO and PA, and our growing FC, and ANA act. May they go forward together, for the alternative is the playground of simple idiocy. All those who would wish to lay down their arms at this combined nations feet, at those who would do them no harm, will do so with honour intact and serve all the peoples at their best.

 

[muse]

Task Force

I think you are not following the line of criticism; the argument is not that we ought to do nothing or capitulate to obscuritanists and terror groups, rather the argument is that we ought to do a smarter job of confronting this menace.

It's a misreading of Afghan history and the culture of strategic thinkers in the Pakistan security establishment to imagine that these welcome any whose credentials they have suspicions about; and lets be fair, NATO/coalition forces want the world to believe that they can successfully perform surgery with bombs, it defeats the mission of building trust to be seen as part of the solution and that solution is also political, which is not the same as accepting Taliban. It is a misrepresentation to suggest that the choices are occupation or terror.

In Pakistan the situation is even more complex and public opinion in Pakistan is reflective of the deep and serious misunderstanding of Islam.


Below is a AP piece and is instructive:


AP IMPACT: Afghans fed up with government, US By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 5, 7:10 PM ET

GHANI KHIEL, Afghanistan - The bearded, turbaned men gather beneath a large, leafy tree in rural eastern Nangarhar province. When Malik Mohammed speaks on their behalf, his voice is soft but his words are harsh. Mohammed makes it clear that the tribal chiefs have lost all faith in both their own government and the foreign soldiers in their country.

Such disillusionment is widespread in Afghanistan, feeding an insurgency that has killed 195 foreign soldiers so far this year, 105 of them Americans.

"This is our land. We are afraid to send our sons out the door for fear the American troops will pick them up," says Mohammed, who was chosen by the others to represent them. "Daily we have headaches from the troops. We are fed up. Our government is weak and corrupt and the American soldiers have learned nothing."

A strong sense of frustration echoed through dozens of interviews by The Associated Press with Afghan villagers, police, government officials, tribal elders and Taliban who left and rejoined the religious movement. The interviews ranged from the capital, Kabul, to the rural regions near the border with Pakistan.

The overwhelming result: Ordinary Afghans are deeply bitter about American and NATO forces because of errant bombs, heavy-handed searches and seizures and a sense that the foreigners do not understand their culture. They are equally fed up with what they see as seven years of corruption and incompetence in a U.S.-backed government that has largely failed to deliver on development.

Even with more foreign troops, Afghanistan is now less secure.

"It certainly is a mess. Security is the worst that it has been for years. Corruption is out of control. It impacts every single Afghan," says Doug Wankel, a burly 62-year-old American who coordinated Washington's anti-drug policy in Afghanistan from 2004 until 2007 and is now back as a security consultant. "What people have to understand is that what ordinary Afghans think really does matter."

The fear and fury is evident among the neighbors at Akhtar Mohammed's walled home deep within Nangarhar province, reached by a dirt road along a dirty brown canal. A dozen men lie on traditional rope beds beneath a thatched roof. Some wear the full-bodied beard of the devout, with a clean-shaven upper lip. Others have dyed their gray beards a flaming orange with henna to show that they have made the pilgrimage to the holy site of Mecca.

They live barely an hour's drive from an errant bombing last month that hit a wedding party and killed about 50 people. Khiel Shah says his home was raided two months earlier, and troops killed his nephew, a high school student.

An old man sits by moaning, "No, no, they weren't Taliban. They were going to the bathroom. They weren't even carrying guns."

Villagers want to know why people who give false information are not arrested, and they say American soldiers still can't sift the good intelligence from the bad.

"But now this is seven years. I am hopeless. They haven't learned until now," says Akhtar Mohammed.

NATO's top Gen. David D. McKiernan blames civilian deaths on insurgents who hide among the population. But the problem could also be one of strategy, says Robert Oakley, a former U.S. ambassador and National Security Council staff member.

"There is a contradiction between wanting to minimize Afghan civilian casualties and minimizing U.S. military casualties," he says. "For the former, we should go on the ground. For the latter, go in from the air."

An air strike in Herat province about two weeks ago killed dozens of people. A U.S. investigation concluded that most were Taliban, but the Afghan government and the United Nations say up to 90 civilians died, including children.

Villagers say the U.S. does not understand how complex alliances, violence and even drugs play out in their culture. The eyes of elderly Malik Bakhtiar well with tears as he recalls his brother's arrest by U.S. troops for apparently running a drug laboratory in his home. In certain regions of Afghanistan, people grow opium for their livelihood.

"They don't understand us," Bakhtiar says. "Every house has a gun. Every house has opium."

Inside the walled compound of the Independent Human Rights Commission in Kabul, workers are knee-deep in statistics that measure the dissatisfaction of Afghans. An army of workers crisscrossed 33 of the country's 34 provinces and took the opinions of 15,200 people, mostly in rural areas. The survey has not been released, but Ahmad Nader Nadery, the commissioner, gave The AP a preview.

The survey, done annually for the past three years, shows a steady deterioration in the social and economic stability of Afghans, Nadery says. Average debt last year was $1,000 and is now 20 percent higher. And up to 73 percent of Afghans say they cannot go to the government for help unless they have money or power.

"Elders say when they go to government officials, they face humiliation," Nadery says in his cramped ground floor office.

Najib, a policeman who asks not to be identified beyond his first name for fear of losing his job, reflects the general anger.

Since he joined Afghanistan's police force in 2001, he has been mistakenly bombed by a U.S. airplane that killed seven of his colleagues. He has paid bribes to government officials, he says, and taken bribes to balance his books. He recalls watching a friend buy a police job for $2,000, and notes that posts with better opportunities for bribery are available for upward of $10,000.

Corruption has made it easier for the Taliban to infiltrate police ranks and carry out lethal attacks, according to Najib.

"The president is crying, but nothing has changed," says Najib, who still walks with a limp from the U.S. bombing. "People are unhappy, and more and more it will become difficult for the Americans and good for the Taliban. These people (U.S. troops) are not making one mistake, but they are making one thousand mistakes and they are killing many people."

In an exclusive interview with the AP, President Hamid Karzai said the mistakes of troops are seriously undermining his government. But he also spoke candidly about what he described as his failure and gave a frank assessment of his track record, as he prepares to run for re-election next year. He said he had achieved some but not all of his goals for Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan does not have a properly functioning government yet," he said. "With regard to corruption, it's a deeper problem, it's an Afghan problem. It's the problem of an inefficient government machinery. ... It's a problem of so much money coming into Afghanistan, it's a problem of the international presence."

It is now so dangerous outside the capital that Afghans are afraid to travel hundreds of miles of newly-paved roads, and most international aid groups have forbidden their staff to do so altogether. Truck drivers who have no choice often say thieves and thieving police are a bigger worry than the Taliban.

"An Afghan trucker put it succinctly: 'Forget the Taliban, our biggest problems are with the police,'" says Seth Jones, an analyst with the U.S.-based RAND Corporation and author of a report on the rise of Afghanistan's insurgency.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashery puts the corruption level at barely 20 percent of the force, and says efforts are being made to tackle it. But many Afghans think otherwise.

Kidnappings in Kabul are in the double digits this year, according to the attorney general's office, and Afghans suspect police involvement. Most are for ransom rather than because of politics.

In the meantime, the Taliban is advancing.

Moiabullah, a black-bearded Taliban from the troubled province of Ghazni, fled to Iran after the Taliban collapsed in 2001 but returned several months ago.

"People are fed up with this government," he says. "No one is working honestly. If you provide a good life, factory or jobs, of course no one will follow Mullah Omar (the Taliban leader)."

Out at the heavily fortified, sprawling U.S. military base at Bagram, north of Kabul, Brig. Gen. Mark Milley says the Taliban and al-Qaida are enemy number one, and corruption is enemy number two. But he claims the troops are inching forward in bringing security to the country.

"The western forces, international forces, Americans in particular are the most disciplined in our use of deadly force," says Milley, the deputy commanding general of operations. "We think we are succeeding."

Back at the tribal council, or shura, in Nangarhar, the eldest of the elders disagrees.

"It is a shame for them," says Abdul Samad, a tall, lanky man in his seventies with a silver beard on his gaunt face. "It was a good opportunity after the Taliban. But it is gone."

 

[muse]

If this is tactical, it's a mistake, if it's strategic, it's a useful first step



Pakistan stops NATO supplies

* Khyber Agency PA says Torkham Highway closed due to Taliban threats to trucks
* Says decision not a reaction to US attacks

By Iqbal Khattak

PESHAWAR: Pakistan stopped supplies to the United States and NATO forces in Afghanistan through its western Torkham border on Friday, citing security concerns.

A senior official said the measure followed increasing Taliban threats to trucks carrying the supplies.

“All Afghanistan-bound supplies for the International Security Assistance Force have been stopped as the [Torkham] highway is vulnerable,” Khyber Agency Political Agent Tariq Hayat told Daily Times, dismissing the impression that the decision is a reaction to continued United States attacks in Waziristan.

“This decision has nothing to do with the situation in Waziristan or the US attacks. This is purely a security issue and we want no untoward incident to take place as far as supplies for ISAF are concerned.” The international Torkham Highway was closed for “vulnerable vehicles”, he said referring to trucks carrying ISAF supplies, and the supplies would resume after the highway was cleared.

The political agent did not say how long the highway would take to be cleared, but added that other traffic would be allowed on the road.

A senior border official at Torkham, 58 kilometres west of Peshawar, said the closure of the highway would also affect the US forces, which get fuel, food and other military supplies through Torkham crossing points.

The coalition forces also get supplies through the Chaman border in Balochistan, but the bulk of the supplies goes through Torkham – a shorter route for Kabul where the US and NATO forces are based.

 

[Task Force Black]

Task Force

I think you are not following the line of criticism; the argument is not that we ought to do nothing or capitulate to obscuritanists and terror groups, rather the argument is that we ought to do a smarter job of confronting this menace.

Thank you for the considered reply. I assure you I am following the line of all closely, and apologies for paraphrasing this response for you.

I will return at a later date should circumstance dictate.

Task Force Black

 

[moha199]

I wish the LOIN of Pakistan Musharraff comes back and show it to the world that Pakistan should not be attacked again or we will 100% attack back. That was the only guy with the balls to tell the world " I dare anyone to enter our mountains, They will regret that day" . I wish he come back and show the world that Pakistan is not a piece of cake. Now Sharif doesnt say anything against USA nor Asif zardari didnt say anything, This country is in real problem. Our army should must enter the scene.

 

[moha199]

Watch this BrassTacks Think Tank - Official Website