Once again NATO helicopters have attacked Pakistani soldiers, killing about 25 and injuring many others this time in a pre-dawn attack on a Pakistani checkpost on the Pak-Afghan border on Saturday morning without any reason and provocation. The attack has shocked the entire nation, sending it in an atmosphere of mourning on the weekend. In response, showing a strong reaction to this blatant act of terrorism by NATO forces, the Pakistani government has cut off all supplies to NATO and asked the US government to vacate the Shamsi Airbase. The government also announced that it would review its cooperation with NATO and the US. Saturday’s attack was not the first incident of its kind in which the sovereignty of Pakistan’s territory was breached by friends-cum-foes in the guise of NATO and US forces in Afghanistan, as they have already set several precedents of trespassing the country’s territory and carrying out attacks on our security forces who are safeguarding the border with Afghanistan.
Had the government or army taken any tough stance in the face of previous misadventures on the part of NATO, could their forces have dared to kill over two dozen of our soldiers on Saturday? Defence and political analysts and observers are of the opinion that Pakistan must shoot down any helicopter or drone that enters our territory. Once the security forces show courage and bravery by shooting down NATO or US helicopters and drones, the decision-makers of NATO and the US would think many a times before venturing to carry out any further misadventure on the Pakistani soil. It is worth noting that only a few months back, US officials exerted maximum pressure on the government and the army, even using threatening tones, to pitch, once again, Pakistani forces against the terrorists in North Waziristan, who were once allies/mujahideen for the US in the Afghan-Russia war.
The US officials, however, calmed down when the Pakistani government and the army outright rejected to further serve the vested interests of the US, which is why US officials are now issuing soft statements and requests for Pakistan to conduct another major operation against the Taliban in North Waziristan.
It is no more a secret that Pakistan has been the major victim of the so-called war on terror as this nasty proxy war has gone on to claim more than 35,000 lives of civilians and over 5,000 lives of army personnel.
Meanwhile, the so-called war on terror agenda of the US has inflicted over and above $80 billion worth losses to the economy of Pakistan, while the country in return got just pennies and few millions of dollars. This is the war on terror that has also widened the budgetary deficit of Pakistan in the past few years as the government has been spending money from its own resources/budget with the hope that the US would refund the cost of war on terror.
However, instead of extending financial support to Pakistan, the US has only been sending strong messages, warnings and threats to keep Pakistan’s military engaged against Taliban without any cause and justification.