Pakistan blocks key route after NATO hits
Source: Agencies |
October 1, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
PAKISTAN blocked a vital supply route for United States and NATO troops in Afghanistan yesterday in apparent retaliation for an alleged cross-border helicopter strike by the coalition that killed three Pakistani frontier troops.
A permanent stoppage of supply trucks would place massive strains on the relationship between Pakistan and the US, and hurt the Afghan war effort.
By mid-morning, a line of around 100 NATO vehicles was waiting to cross the border into Afghanistan, officials said.
"We will have to see whether we are allies or enemies," Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said of the border incident, without mentioning the blockade.
Over the weekend, NATO helicopters fired on targets in Pakistan at least two times, killing several suspected insurgents they had pursued over the border from Afghanistan.
Pakistan's government protested against the attacks, which came in a month during which there had been an unprecedented number of US drone missile strikes in the northwest, inflaming already pervasive anti-American sentiment among Pakistanis.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told visiting CIA director Leon Panetta in Islamabad that Pakistan was "profoundly concerned" about the missile strikes and helicopter incursions.
"Pakistan, being a front-line ally in the war against terror, expects its partners to respect its territorial sovereignty," he said.
Pakistani security officials said yesterday's deadly airstrike took place on a checkpoint in the Upper Kurram region.
The dead men were from a paramilitary force tasked with safeguarding the border. Their bodies were taken to Parachinar, the region's largest town, one official said. Three troops were also wounded.
Several hours later, officials reported another rocket strike by NATO helicopters about 15km from the first one. There were no injuries.
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.
A permanent stoppage of supply trucks would place massive strains on the relationship between Pakistan and the US, and hurt the Afghan war effort.
By mid-morning, a line of around 100 NATO vehicles was waiting to cross the border into Afghanistan, officials said.
"We will have to see whether we are allies or enemies," Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said of the border incident, without mentioning the blockade.
Over the weekend, NATO helicopters fired on targets in Pakistan at least two times, killing several suspected insurgents they had pursued over the border from Afghanistan.
Pakistan's government protested against the attacks, which came in a month during which there had been an unprecedented number of US drone missile strikes in the northwest, inflaming already pervasive anti-American sentiment among Pakistanis.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told visiting CIA director Leon Panetta in Islamabad that Pakistan was "profoundly concerned" about the missile strikes and helicopter incursions.
"Pakistan, being a front-line ally in the war against terror, expects its partners to respect its territorial sovereignty," he said.
Pakistani security officials said yesterday's deadly airstrike took place on a checkpoint in the Upper Kurram region.
The dead men were from a paramilitary force tasked with safeguarding the border. Their bodies were taken to Parachinar, the region's largest town, one official said. Three troops were also wounded.
Several hours later, officials reported another rocket strike by NATO helicopters about 15km from the first one. There were no injuries.
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.
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