AMERICA STOPS IT'S HONEYMOON WITH PAKISTAN
The Pakistani military are under orders to take down any UAV they locate in the country’s air space. So far, the only drones making incursions into Pakistani skies have been US Predators used to attack Taliban insurgents.
Pakistan has closed a key Afghan border crossing to NATO supplies after the US-led coalition's helicopters allegedly fired on a checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, killing 24 soldiers and wounding around fourteen.
Pakistan’s state TV quoted the military as saying the helicopter attack occurred on Friday night in the Mohmand tribal area near the Afghan border.
A customs official has confirmed that he received a verbal order to stop all NATO supplies from moving across the border through the Torkham crossing, reports the Associated Press.
The Alliance’s officials in Kabul said they were aware and are investigating the incident.
Top NATO and US commander in Afghanistan Gen. John Allen issued a statement Saturday offering condolences to any members of the Pakistan security forces who might have been killed or injured. According to Reuters, later in the day a NATO spokesman confirmed Pakistani soldiers had died in the cross-border incident, but provided no details on the number of casualties.
However NATO has not officially claimed any responsibility so far.
Reuters reported that Pakistan's foreign office had called the NATO/ISAF raid “a flagrant violation of sovereignty.”
"The Pakistani government cannot tolerate such actions against its army. God willing, we will take up this issue at the relevant forum. We will not only protest, but we will prove through certain actions that the Pakistani government cannot tolerate such kind of actions," AP quotes Pakistani Information Minister Firdous Aashiq Awan as saying.
Last year, US helicopters accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers near the border, prompting Pakistan to temporarily close its frontier to supplies being shipped through the country to NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Ahmed Quraishi from the lobbying group the PakNationalists forum told RT that public outrage will force Pakistan's government to react decisively.
“The Pakistani government and
military are in a very difficult position. [They] will have to do
something that would pacify not just public opinion, but also the
soldiers and the officers of the Pakistani army,” he told RT. “The
feelings against what the United States [are] doing in Afghanistan, the
way the Pakistani interests are being ignored… there is a whole list of
grievances and this is just the latest.”
The Pakistani military are under orders to take down any UAV they locate in the country’s air space. So far, the only drones making incursions into Pakistani skies have been US Predators used to attack Taliban insurgents.
Pakistan has closed a key Afghan border crossing to NATO supplies after the US-led coalition's helicopters allegedly fired on a checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, killing 24 soldiers and wounding around fourteen.
Pakistan’s state TV quoted the military as saying the helicopter attack occurred on Friday night in the Mohmand tribal area near the Afghan border.
A customs official has confirmed that he received a verbal order to stop all NATO supplies from moving across the border through the Torkham crossing, reports the Associated Press.
The Alliance’s officials in Kabul said they were aware and are investigating the incident.
Top NATO and US commander in Afghanistan Gen. John Allen issued a statement Saturday offering condolences to any members of the Pakistan security forces who might have been killed or injured. According to Reuters, later in the day a NATO spokesman confirmed Pakistani soldiers had died in the cross-border incident, but provided no details on the number of casualties.
However NATO has not officially claimed any responsibility so far.
Reuters reported that Pakistan's foreign office had called the NATO/ISAF raid “a flagrant violation of sovereignty.”
"The Pakistani government cannot tolerate such actions against its army. God willing, we will take up this issue at the relevant forum. We will not only protest, but we will prove through certain actions that the Pakistani government cannot tolerate such kind of actions," AP quotes Pakistani Information Minister Firdous Aashiq Awan as saying.
Last year, US helicopters accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers near the border, prompting Pakistan to temporarily close its frontier to supplies being shipped through the country to NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Ahmed Quraishi from the lobbying group the PakNationalists forum told RT that public outrage will force Pakistan's government to react decisively.
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