NATO attack threatens war on terror: Pakistan

Islamabad: Pakistan, enraged by a NATO cross-border attack that killed 24 soldiers, could end support for the US-led war on militancy if its sovereignty is violated again, the Foreign Minister said, warning "enough is enough." 

The South Asian nation has already shown its anger over the weekend strike by pulling out of an international conference in Germany next week on Afghanistan, depriving the talks of a central player in efforts to bring peace to its neighbour.


 "Enough is enough. The government will not tolerate any incident of spilling even a single drop of any civilian or soldier's blood," The News newspaper on Thursday quoted Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar as telling a Senate committee on foreign affairs. 

"Pakistan's role in the war on terror must not be overlooked," Khar said, suggesting Pakistan could end its support for the US war on militancy. Despite opposition at home, Islamabad backed Washington after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. 

The US embassy released a video statement on YouTube by Ambassador Cameron Munter in which he expressed regret for the attack. 

"I would like to extend my most sincere condolences to the people and government of Pakistan, and especially to Pakistan's men and women in uniform, for the tragic incident that took place on Nov 26 in Mohmand Agency," he said, standing in front of US and Pakistani flags. 

"We regret it very much," he added in Urdu. 

He said the United States took the attack "very seriously" and pledged a "a full, in-depth investigation." 

"Pakistan and the US have stood together for over 60 years," he said. "We have weathered previous crises together. I'm certain we will weather this one too, and emerge, together, as stronger partners." 

But events seemed to be working against lowering tensions. Two Pakistani men were killed in Afghanistan early on Thursday and Pakistani border guards said NATO may have been responsible. 

The officials said the two men, who were from the town of Chagai in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan, were gathering wood 30 km (18.6 miles) inside Afghanistan. They said NATO helicopters fired on their vehicle. 

"I can confirm that the bodies of two residents of Chagai have arrived from Afghanistan," said Chagai Assistant Commissioner Tufail Baloch. "But I do not have any information on how they were killed. It happened on Afghan soil so we don't have many details yet." 

NATO officials had no immediate comment. 

NATO helicopters and fighter jets attacked two military border posts in northwest Pakistan on Saturday in the worst incident of its kind since 2001. 

The top US military officer denied allegations by a senior Pakistani army official that the NATO attack was a deliberate act of aggression. 

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news agency Reuters in an interview: "The one thing I will say publicly and categorically is that this was not a deliberate attack. 

The incident has given the Army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its history and sets security and foreign policy, some breathing room after facing strong criticism from both the Pakistani public and the United States after Osama bin Laden was killed in a secret raid by US special forces in May. 

The al Qaeda leader had apparently been living in a Pakistani garrison town for years. 

Pakistanis criticised the military for failing to protect their sovereignty and US officials wondered whether some members of military intelligence had sheltered him. Pakistan's government and military said they had no idea bin Laden was in the country. 

Protests have taken place in several cities every day since the NATO strike along the poorly-defined border, where militants often plan and stage attacks. 

Pakistan military sources said Islamabad had cancelled a visit by a 15-member delegation, led by the Director General of the Joint Staff, Lieutenant-General Mohammad Asif, to the United States that was to have taken place this week. 

In an apparently unrelated attack, a bomb blew out a wall of a government official's office in Peshawar, the last big city on the route to Afghanistan, early on Thursday, police said. There were no reports of casualties. 

Also in the eastern Afghan province of Logar, unknown gunmen abducted seven Pakistani engineers in Pul-e Alam, said provincial police chief Gulam Sakhi Rogh Lewanai. 

The United States has long wanted Pakistan, whose military and economy depend heavily on billions of dollars in American aid, to crack down on militant groups that cross its unruly border to attack Western forces in Afghanistan. 

More recently, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked Pakistan to bring all militant groups to the negotiating table in order to stabilize Afghanistan. 

The NATO attack makes Pakistani cooperation less likely. 

NATO hopes an investigation it promised will defuse the crisis and that confidence-building measures can repair ties. 

Critics say Pakistan has created a deadly regional mess by supporting militants like the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network to act as proxies in Afghanistan and other groups to fight Indian forces in the disputed Kashmir region. 

Pakistan says it has paid the highest price in the war on militancy. Thousands of soldiers and police have been killed. 

"The sacrifices rendered by Pakistan in the war on terror are more than any other country," Khar was quoted as saying. "But that does not mean we will compromise on our sovereignty." 

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TN moves SC on Mullaperiyar dam

He said he would once again take up the matter with the PM and added that he would write to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa as well, explaining Kerala's position on the Mullaperiyar dam. 
New Delhi: In what may further intensify the political battle between Kerala and Tamil Nadu on the Mullaperiyar dam issue, the Jayalalithaa government on Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking its urgent intervention over the dispute. 

As per reports, the Tamil Nadu government has moved a petition before the apex court requesting it to restrain Kerala from further blowing the issue for its vested interest. 

The Tamil Nadu government alleged that the political establishment in Kerala was using its influence to create panic among the residence of Tamil Nadu and the areas surrounding the disputed dam. 

It said that the false propaganda by the Kerala government was creating more confusion amongst the people and further complicating the issue. 

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today arrived in the national capital to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The dam in Kerala's Idukki district supplies water to Tamil Nadu. 

Manmohan Singh is understood to have assured that a meeting of CMs of Tamil Nadu and Kerala would be arranged soon to discuss the contentious issue. 

Tamil Nadu wants the dam's storage capacity to be increased by raising the dam height - from 136 feet (41.5 m) to 142 feet (43 m) to meet the growing irrigation needs of the state. 

Kerala, on the other hand, wants a new dam as it fears that a strong earthquake might damage the existing dam. 

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Pakistan Tells U.S. to 'Vacate' Air Base as Border Strike Inflames Tensions


Pakistan's government has ordered the U.S. to "vacate" an air base used for suspected drone attacks, in retaliation for a NATO strike that allegedly killed two-dozen Pakistani soldiers, Fox News has confirmed. 
The demand marked the latest reprisal out of Pakistan, as the U.S. and NATO allies scramble to investigate the incident. Islamabad had already ordered the country's border crossings into Afghanistan closed, blocking off NATO supply lines, after the strike. The government issued the air base demand, and pledged a "complete review" of its relationship with the U.S. and NATO, following an emergency military meeting chaired by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani


Pakistan's Defense Committee condemned the attack in a written statement, saying the strike was "violative of international law and had gravely dented the fundamental basis of Pakistan's cooperation" with NATO against terrorists. 
"The attack on Pakistan Army border posts is totally unacceptable and warrants an effective national response," the statement said. 
The government urged the U.S. to leave the Shamsi Air Base within 15 days. The U.S. is suspected of using the facility in the past to launch armed drones and observation aircraft. Pakistan made a similar demand over the summer, though officials reportedly claimed the CIA had already suspended its use of the base as a staging ground for armed drones months earlier. 
"Senior U.S. civilian and military officials have been in touch with their Pakistani counterparts from Islamabad, Kabul and Washington to express our condolences, our desire to work together to determine what took place, and our commitment to the U.S.-Pakistan partnership which advances our shared interests, including fighting terrorism in the region," the White House said in a statement Saturday. 
Still, the tone of the Pakistani government's statement Saturday underscored the depth of the potential fallout after Pakistan accused NATO aircraft of firing on two army checkpoints and killing 24 soldiers. The incident early Saturday quickly exacerbated tensions between the two countries and threatened to escalate into a standoff more severe than one last year after a similar but less deadly strike. 
Last year, Pakistan closed the Torkham border crossing to NATO supplies for 10 days after U.S. helicopters accidentally killed two Pakistanis. On Saturday, Pakistan went further, closing both of the country's border crossings into landlocked Afghanistan. 
A short stoppage may have little effect on the war effort, but could have deadly consequences. During last year's dispute, militants took advantage of the impasse to launch attacks against stranded or rerouted trucks carrying NATO supplies. 
With 24 dead in the pre-dawn incident Saturday, U.S. officials expressed regret and vowed to launch an investigation. If confirmed, it would be the deadliest friendly fire incident by NATO against Pakistani troops since the Afghan war began a decade ago.
"This incident has my highest personal attention and my commitment to thoroughly investigate it to determine the facts," said Gen. John Allen, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. 
"My most sincere and personal heartfelt condolences go out to the families and loved ones of any members of Pakistan Security Forces who may have been killed or injured." 
A statement said NATO leadership remains "committed" to improving security ties with Pakistan. 
In a statement by the Department of Defense and Department of State Secretaries Clinton and Panetta  said they hae both been monitoring the reports of the cross-border incident and offered their condolences. 
They also offered their full support of NATO's intention to investigate immediately. 
The statement also said that Secretary Clinton, Gen. Dempsey and Gen. Allen each called their Pakistani counterparts and that Ambassador Munter met with Pakistani government officials in Islamabad. 
The statement stressed that the U.S. diplomatic and military leaders made clear the importance of the U.S.-Pakistani partnership, "which serves the mutual interests of our people."
The leaders  "pledged to remain in close contact with their Pakistani counterparts going forward as we work through this challenging time."
Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, told Fox News that the air support was called in by ground forces near the border consisting of Afghan and coalition troops. Jacobson said the air support "highly likely caused the Pakistani casualties," and said it is in everybody's interest to quickly investigate the incident. 
"This is an incident that obviously has implications that reach far beyond the military side, so an investigation was started straight away," he told Fox News on Saturday. He said insurgents are the only ones who would benefit from a potential conflict. 
U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter also acknowledged the claims that Pakistani soldiers had been killed. 
"I regret the loss of life of any Pakistani servicemen, and pledge that the United States will work closely with Pakistan to investigate this incident," Munter said.
U.S.-Pakistani relations have lurched from one diplomatic standoff to the next since the U.S. raid that killed Usama bin Laden in May in a Pakistani military town. 
Before retiring, outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen in September publicly accused elements of Pakistan's spy agency of helping the militant Haqqani network in attacks against the U.S. and its allies. 
Most recently, the Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. resigned amid claims he engineered a memo to Washington asking for its help in reining in the military in exchange for a raft of pro-American policies. He has denied any connection to the memo, but was replaced earlier this week by democracy activist Sherry Rehman. 
The latest incident triggered a new round of problems between the two countries. 
Gilani told reporters he summoned Munter to protest the alleged NATO attack, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. It said the attack was a "grave infringement of Pakistan's sovereignty" and could have serious repercussions on Islamabad's cooperation with NATO. Pakistan has also lodged protests in Washington and NATO headquarters in Brussels, it said. 
A Pakistani customs official told The Associated Press that he received verbal orders Saturday to stop all NATO supplies from crossing the border through Torkham in either direction. The operator of a terminal at the border where NATO trucks park before they cross confirmed the closure.
Saeed Ahmad, a spokesman for security forces at the other crossing in Chaman in southwest Pakistan, said that his crossing was also blocked following orders "from higher-ups." 
The U.S., Pakistani, and Afghan militaries have long wrestled with the technical difficulties of patrolling a border that in many places is disputed or poorly marked.
Saturday's incident took place a day after a meeting between NATO's Gen. Allen and Pakistan army chief Gen. Kayani in Islamabad to discuss border operations. 
The checkpoints that were attacked had been recently set up and were intended to stop Pakistani Taliban militants holed up in Afghanistan from crossing the border and staging attacks, said two local government administrators. 
The Pakistani military has blamed Pakistani Taliban militants and their allies for killing dozens of security forces in such cross-border attacks since the summer. Pakistan has criticized Afghan and foreign forces for not doing enough to stop the attacks, which it says have originated from the eastern Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan. The U.S. has largely pulled out of these provinces, leaving the militants in effective control of many areas along the border. 
The U.S. helicopter attack that killed two Pakistani soldiers on Sept. 30 of last year took place south of Mohmand in the Kurram tribal area. A joint U.S.-Pakistan investigation found that Pakistani soldiers fired at the two U.S. helicopters prior to the attack, a move the investigation team said was likely meant to notify the aircraft of their presence after they passed into Pakistani airspace several times. 
Senior U.S. diplomatic and military officials eventually apologized for the attack, saying it could have been prevented with greater coordination between the U.S. and Pakistan. Pakistan responded by reopening the border crossing. 

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