M A I N   N E W S

NATO attack a deliberate act of aggression: Pak army
Afzal Khan in Islamabad

Even as pressure mounted on Pakistan to attend the Bonn conference on the future of Afghanistan, Pakistan today turned down an offer for a joint inquiry into the attack by NATO gunships on two Pakistani posts. It also stuck to its decision to disallow supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan and to ask the US to vacate the air base in Pakistan.

Amidst reports that Pakistan has requested the UK to mediate between it and the United States, a spokesman of the Pakistan army ominously declared that though the final decision would be taken by the civilian government, the military was in the process of weighing various options.

Describing Saturday’s NATO attack on two Pakistani posts as an act of blatant aggression and refusing to accept an apology, the army today accused NATO of deliberately attacking the posts and killing 28 Pakistani soldiers “even after they were informed that the helicopter gunships were attacking Pakistani posts”.

The Director General of Military Operations ( DGMO) Major General Ishfaq Nadeem alleged that that just before the attack, a Pakistani officer was informed by an American sergeant that their special forces had received indirect fire from Gora Pai, located some 15 kilometres away from Volcano, one of the two posts manned by Pakistani troops. After seven minutes, a woman officer informed the same officer that the fire had, in fact, come from Volcano, which had been hit in retaliation.

The DGMO said the two posts were located at a place from where there has been no cross-border infiltration, though militant attacks from the other side had been continuing. The two check posts, he maintained, could not be mistaken for militant sanctuaries because the other side had been provided all available information about the number of Pakistani posts and their locations.

The posts were being manned by the experienced and battle-hardened 7-AK battalion which was equipped with both line and wireless communications equipment, but armed for dealing only with militant activity but not repelling an aerial assault. “The troops were geared for fighting terrorists and not border security,” he said.

The DGMO further said the Pakistan Army believed that Nato was monitoring the transmissions that night and knew they had hit Volcano checkpost. “A range of other options are being considered”. He said all options remained open to the government and the military though the final decision rests with the prime minister”.