Pakistan denies opening fire before deadly border incident

[News_Editor]

Pakistan denies opening fire before deadly border incident

2011-11-29 05:26:24 GMT+7 (ICT)

ISLAMABAD (BNO NEWS) -- The Pakistani government on Monday denied press reports alleging that its forces were the first to open fire on Saturday before NATO aircraft bombed their border posts, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers.

The incident happened on early Saturday morning when NATO helicopters and fighter aircraft crossed the border from Afghanistan and carried out several airstrikes in the Mohmand Agency of Pakistan's tribal areas, killing 24 Pakistani troops and injuring 13 others. NATO and U.S. officials claim they were returning fire after being fired upon from across the border.

But Major General Athar Abbas, Director General of the Pakistani military's Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), insisted that no one in Pakistan was firing at NATO forces in Afghanistan. "NATO forces should present proof if they were claiming that firing was started from the Pakistani side," he told local television. "No fire was opened from our side and we responded only after the martyrdom of our soldiers."

Abbas emphasized that NATO-led forces suffered no casualties and that the multinational alliance cannot claim they were pursuing terrorists because the area where the incident took place had previously been cleared by the Pakistani military. He said more than 70 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the struggle to clear the area, and that a large number of military posts have been established to control the region.

The military official also claimed that Pakistan had previously provided NATO forces with maps showing all military posts along the border area. He said the Pakistani military informed the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) whenever a new post was established.

It was not possible to verify Pakistan's claims as NATO forces have released few details about the deadly incident which further crippled the already fragile relationship between the United States and Pakistan, which has been accused of helping terrorists. U.S.-Pakistani relationships also deteriorated earlier this year after the U.S. launched a secret military operation inside Pakistan to kill al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Sunday expressed 'the deep sense of rage' felt across the country over the incident and told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that it demonstrates "complete disregard for international law and human life, and is in stark violation of Pakistani sovereignty." The minister said the deadly incident negates the progress made by the two countries on improving relations.

Khar also informed Clinton about the government's decision to 'permanently' stop NATO's vital supply routes into Afghanistan and that the United States should vacate the Shamsi military base in Pakistan's Balochistan province within 15 days. The base is used by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to carry out controversial drone strikes against militants in Pakistan.

Also on Sunday, thousands of people took to the streets of Karachi and other Pakistani cities to show their anger over the border incident. Protesters shouted 'Down with America' and burned American flags as they waved Pakistani flags.

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