ISLAMABAD Pakistan government has ordered a review of all arrangements with the United States and NATO, including diplomatic, political, military and intelligence activities, following a deadly cross-border strike on Pakistani checkposts.
An extraordinary meeting of Defence Committee of Cabinet (DCC) held Saturday night at Prime Minister's House decided to immediately close the NATO/ISAF logistics supply lines and asked the US to vacate the Shamsi air base within fortnight.
The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and attended by federal ministers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Services Chiefs and members of the committee. It upheld the closure of the Afghan border to NATO supply trucks, implemented earlier Saturday, and demanded that the United States vacate the remote desert air base, which is reportedly used as a hub for covert CIA drone strikes on Pakistan's border areas with Afghanistan.
"(In accordance with the resolution of the Joint Session of the Parliament of 14 May 2011) the DCC decided that the government will revisit and undertake a complete review of all programmes, activities and cooperative arrangements with US/NATO/ISAF, including diplomatic, political, military and intelligence," said the prime minister's office. "The DCC decided to close with immediate effect the NATO/ISAF logistics supply lines. The DCC also decided to ask the US to vacate the Shamsi air base within 15 days."
Also on Saturday, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani conveyed to the Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on 'hotline' that Pakistan Army stops its cooperation with the US-led NATO and its allied forces in protest over this incident, according to intelligence sources. Reportedly, the Pak-US intelligence information exchange saw a complete halt hours after the attack.
In June also, Pakistan told the US to leave Shamsi base, as Islamabad sought to limit US activities after a clandestine American raid killed Osama bin Laden on May 2 near the capital Islamabad. The US embassy has previously said there were no US military personnel at Shamsi. CNN reported in April that US military personnel had left the base.
Washington has not publicly acknowledged operations at the base, but images said to be of US Predator drones at Shamsi have been published by Google Earth in the past. The airstrip is in Balochistan province. Pakistan had reportedly given the US military logistical support at several bases after joining the US-led war on terror in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The DCC in its meeting also reiterated the resolve of the Pakistani people and armed forces to safeguard Pakistan's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity at all costs, noting that the political and military leadership of the country was on same page to come up with strong message to the US and NATO on this sheer violation of country's sovereignty.
It was further decided in the meeting that the prime minister would take the parliament into confidence on the whole range of measures regarding matters relating to Pakistan's future cooperation with US/NATO/ISAF, in the near future.
The committee strongly condemned the attack by NATO/ISAF aircrafts on Pakistani border posts, which resulted in the loss of precious lives of officers and men of Pakistan Army and injuries to several. It expressed heartfelt sympathies and condolences to families of the brave soldiers who fought valiantly and embraced Shahadat, and also prayed for the early recovery of those injured.
The DCC noted that strong protests had been lodged with the US and at NATO Headquarters in Brussels conveying in the strongest possible terms Pakistan's condemnation of these attacks, which constituted breach of sovereignty, were violative of international law and had gravely dented the fundamental basis of Pakistan's cooperation with NATO/ISAF against militancy and terror.
The DCC noted that NATO/ISAF attacks were also violative of their mandate, which was confined to Afghanistan. Pakistan had clearly conveyed to US/NATO/ISAF its red lines, which constituted an integral element of Pakistan's cooperation that was based on a partnership approach. The attack on Pakistan Army border posts is totally unacceptable and warrants an effective national response, the DCC added.
Earlier in the day, the NATO supplies were suspended in reaction of the attack.
The local political administration of Khyber Agency stopped the NATO trucks and fuel tankers bound for Afghanistan at Takhtabaig checkpost neat Jamrud town hours after the raid, official sources informed.
The NATO supply vehicles were also stopped at Torkham border and custom officials stopped clearing them, official sources said. As a result hundreds of NATO supply vehicles got stuck on Pak-Afghan road from Jamrud to Torkham. The border crossing at Chaman in Balochistan was also closed, Frontier Corps officials said. Sources said around 150 to 200 Nato trucks have been sent back to Karachi and Quetta after their entry into Afghanistan was blocked by the Pakistani authorities.
Some officials in political administration of Mohmand told on condition of anonymity that supply was cut till further order on the directions of high ups from Islamabad and scores of trailers and tankers carrying NATO assignments were sent back to Peshawar. But other officials said the supplies had been stopped for security reasons. Political Agent Mohmand Agency Amjad Ali Khan said the entry and exit points of the Mohmand Agency are sealed in order to avoid any untoward incident. He said that security agencies, paramilitary forces and tribesmen were trying to bring the security situation under 'control' on account of protests launched by some ethnic tribes against the NATO attack.
The sub-tribes of Mehsud and Wazir clans including Burki, Manzai, Utmanzai, Marwat, Wali Khel and Ahmad Zai as well as Orazkai, Shinwari, Afridi and Mohmand tribes staged protests in Ghalanai the headquarters of Mohmand Agency. Influential tribal chieftain Malik Subaidar Safi led these protests. Talking to The Nation, Safi demanded of Nato and the US an unconditional apology, financial compensation for the killed and injured Pakistani soldiers, payment for damages done to the military checkposts and the US assurances that they would never launch this kind of rampage again.
Strongly condemning the NATO attack, Mohmand Political Agent Amjad Ali Khan said that this would have far-reaching consequences. "This is suicidal for Pak-US cooperation. Our support is what they (US, NATO) need. If we back off, it would lead them to disaster," he told this scribe.
Secretary Law and Order in Fata Captain (r) Tariq Hayat Khan said Nato supplies would not be resumed unless the elements responsible for Friday's "cruel attack are taken to task". "This kind of misadventure is simply unacceptable. Blockade of Nato supplies would be disastrous for them but they have to bear the brunt for what they did," he said by phone from Peshawar.
Pakistan is a vital land route for 49 percent of NATO's supplies to its troops in Afghanistan, a NATO spokesman said. Last year also the supply was suspended for ten days in response to NATO attack at Pak forces? positions in Kurram Agency in which two soldiers were killed.
The United States has long suspected Pakistan of continuing to secretly supporting Taliban militant groups in a bid to secure influence in Afghanistan after most NATO troops leave in 2014. Saturday's incident will give Pakistan the argument that NATO is now attacking it directly.
"I think we should go to the UN Security Council against this," said retired Brigadier Mahmood Shah, former chief of security in the tribal areas. "So far, Pakistan is being blamed for all that is happening in Afghanistan, and Pakistan's point of view has not been shown in the international media."
He called the attack unprovoked and said Pakistan should respond by shooting down NATO aircraft and keeping the supply lines closed. "Those who say that Pakistan cannot afford a war with the US and NATO, I think we should realise that US and NATO also cannot afford a war with Pakistan."
Other analysts, including Rustam Shah Mohmand, a former ambassador to Afghanistan, said Pakistan would protest and close the supply lines for some time, but that ultimately ?things will get back to normal?.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/today-headlines/~3/pAO70CSBGI8/No-more-help-in-terror-war
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