Border forces given green light to 'open fire'
Wednesday, 17 Sep, 2008 | 03:52 AM PKT |
ISLAMABAD: The military has ordered its forces to open fire if U.S. troops launch another air or ground raid across the Afghan border, an army spokesman told Dawn on Tuesday.
The military told field commanders to prevent any similar raids, after U.S. helicopters ferried troops into a militant stronghold in the South Waziristan tribal region, Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas was quoted as saying by The Associated Press (AP).
“The orders are clear,” Abbas said in an interview. “In case it happens again in this form, that there is a very significant detection, which is very definite, no ambiguity, across the border, on ground or in the air: open fire.”
When talking to Dawn however, Gen Abbas downplayed the comment saying that this was not something new. “Our policy is that we reserve the right to defend our soldiers and people against any incursion from across the border”, he remarked.
He said he had been quoted out of context by AP, but that the statement credited to him was close to what he meant.
He said he was asked how Pakistan would defend itself in the case of a cross-border raid, and the answer had been: by engaging with those who violate the territorial sovereignty of the country. He said the engagement would mean opening fire when a similar raid was carried out.
The orders, which come in response to a highly unusual Sept. 3 ground attack by U.S. commandos, are certain to heighten tensions between Washington and a key ally against terrorism, according to the AP report.
Although the ground attack was rare, there have been repeated reports of U.S. drone aircraft striking militant targets, most recently on Sept. 12.
Abbas said that Pakistan's military had asked for an explanation but received only a “half-page” of “very vague” information that failed to identify the intended target.
Pakistani officials have said the raid killed about 15 people, and Abbas said they all appeared to be civilians."These were truck drivers, local traders and their families,” he said.
The spokesman also played down suggestions that the instructions had been put into practice before dawn on Monday, when U.S. helicopters reportedly landed near Angoor Ada only to fly away after troops fired warning shots.
Abbas insisted no foreign troops had crossed the border and that “trigger-happy tribesmen” had fired the shots. Pakistani troops based nearby fired flares to see what was going on, he said. The U.S. military in Afghanistan said none of its troops were involved.
Pakistani officials warn that stepped-up cross-border raids will accomplish little while fueling violent religious extremism in nuclear-armed Pakistan. Some complain that the country is a scapegoat for the failure to stabilize Afghanistan.
Pakistan's civilian leaders, who have taken a hard line against Islamic militants since forcing Pervez Musharraf to resign as president last month, have insisted that Pakistan must resolve the dispute with Washington through diplomatic channels.
U.S. military commanders accuse Islamabad of doing too little to prevent the Taliban and other militant groups from recruiting, training and resupplying in Pakistan's wild tribal belt.
Pakistan acknowledges the presence of al-Qaida fugitives and its difficulties in preventing militants from seeping through the mountainous border into Afghanistan.
However, it insists it is doing what it can and paying a heavy price, pointing to its deployment of more then 100,000 troops in its increasingly restive northwest and a wave of suicide bombings across the country.
After talks Tuesday with British officials in London, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said he did not “think there will be any more” cross-border raids by the U.S. He declined to comment on the order to use lethal force against American troops.