Islamabad in rebuke to US after shoot-out Font Size:DecreaseIncreasePrint Page:Print Bruce Loudon, Islamabad | September 27, 2008
THE first major shoot-out on the tense border with Afghanistan between anti-terrorism allies Pakistan and the US plunged their relations to a new low last night as President Asif Ali Zardari told Washington: "Friends can't be intruders." In a dramatic escalation of the stand-off between the two nations over cross-border raids, conflicting accounts emerged of what military analysts regard as a serious encounter involving groundfire by Pakistani troops aimed at bringing down US helicopter gunships. The US forces - part of the NATO coalition force fighting in Afghanistan - fired back at Pakistani positions from their helicopter gunships as well as from the ground in what is the biggest exchange of its kind. "It is in the interests of both sides at this stage to try to play things down. But there can be no disguising the seriousness of this encounter, and what it means in terms of future co-operation. Things are going from bad to worse," a well-placed military source in Islamabad told The Weekend Australian last night. Official Pakistani military spokesmen said the shooting started when the US helicopter gunships were spotted flying deep inside Pakistani territory in North Waziristan, a hotbed of jihadi militancy that is a stronghold for militants operating in Pakistan as well as Afghanistan. What were said officially to be "warning shots" were fired to drive the US helicopters back towards the Afghan border. But sources say the firing was intense and was aimed at bringing down the choppers. As the aircraft retreated, they unleashed volleys of fire at the Pakistani positions, while US and NATO ground forces inside Afghanistan also opened up. In New York, where earlier this week, Mr Zardari unsuccessfully sought an assurance from President George W. Bush there would be no further violations of Pakistan's territorial integrity by US forces, the Pakistani President sought to play down the shoot-out, maintaining during a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the Pakistani troops deployed along the border had "fired flares" to indicate to the intruding aircraft they had strayed into Islamabad's territory. Later, in an emotion-charged speech at the UN General Assembly, Mr Zardari vowed to continue the fight against terrorists, but warned against allied incursions into Pakistan. "Just as we will not let Pakistan's territory to be used by terrorists for attacks against our people and our neighbours, we cannot allow our territory and our sovereignty to be violated by our friends," he said. The Pakistani military said the matter was "being resolved" in consultations between the army and the NATO forces in Afghanistan. A NATO statement said both sides were "working together to resolve the matter." US officials attempted to defuse the situation, insisting the helicopters had not crossed into Pakistan and claiming they had been shot at even though they were over Afghanistan. The clash adds a dangerous new dimension to an already fraught situation following repeated US violations of the Pakistani border and this week's bombing by militants of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhter claimed yesterday more than 950 militants so far had been killed by Pakistan's forces in the eight- week onslaught, which is the biggest seen in the conflict since 2001. But while the Government led by Mr Zardari claims the offensive demonstrates its capacity to deal effectively with the militants, there are signs it is provoking significant opposition and adding to the growing disaffection with the Government. For an army locked in a struggle against al-Qa'ida and the Taliban, the scenes widely reported in the Pakistani media earlier this week could hardly have been more alarming. Thousands of angry protesters took to the streets of Mingora, the main town of the strategic Swat valley, to the north of Islamabad, calling for an end to military operations against the militants, which they say are disrupting their lives. Additional reporting: agencies STORY TOOLS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
