ISAF, NATO attacks not unplanned: DGMO

By
fraaz
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6
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Director General Military Operations Maj Gen Ishfaq Nadeem, terming the NATO incursion on military check-posts in Mohmand Agency an unprovoked act of blatant aggression, said that coordination procedure had been violated.
“The positions of the posts were already conveyed to the ISAF through map references and it was impossible that they did not know these were our posts,” he told journalists, defense analysts and televisions anchors during a closed briefing at GHQ.
The DGMO said that there were four border communication centres coordinating operations against militants and added that ISAF had violated all standard operations procedures during their November 26 attack. The area attacked had already been cleared of militants by Pakistani forces and there was no cross-border movement of terrorists from Pakistan, he added.
Nadeem said this was the fourth NATO attack on Pakistan, saying Pakistani soldiers had been fired upon in 2008, 2010 and 2011, killing 14 and injuring 13 troops. “No information regarding inquiry of these attacks was shared or provided to us despite our repeated requests,” he said.
The DGMO said that two to three helicopters appeared over Volcano check post after midnight on November 26, without any prior warning. Boulder check post was retaliated by firing on the helicopters, he said. According to the army official, all channels of coordination had been immediately activated. “We informed them of the attack. But the helicopters reappeared and engaged the Boulder post [as well as the Volcano post].”
The two attacks left 24 soldiers, including two officers, dead and 15 injured, he confirmed. Responding to a question, he said the Pakistan Army was deployed in the region to fight militants, not ISAF and NATO forces. To another question, he said the government had responded adequately, especially noting the eviction of the Shamsi airbase and the Cabinet Committee on Defense meeting.
According to Nadeem, the Pakistan Air Force had not been deployed because the situation on the ground had not become clear until morning. Similarly, he added, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, and Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar had been informed in the morning after taking stock of the situation in the morning.

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6 COMMENTS

  1. I am extremely annoyed. I mean there is no excuse for NATO to do what they have done especially when clear standard operating procedure (SOPs) existed. As said earlier this amounts to unlawful killings and there has to be a remedy for this.

    I have already left comments for Brigadier General Stephen Clark to take on board our feelings on this matter.

    It is a must for every Pakistani whether inside Pakistan or any where in the world to write and make his or her feelings known.
    http://www.pakistantoday.mbt.pk/2011/11/us-genera…

  3. Its best time to get rid of this so called WAR AGAINST TERRORISM. USA is here for her own interests and don't care about Pakistan or Afghanistan. they are fighting to save USA not the world. excuse is the simplest solution they have. after killing millions and destroying the whole nation in Iraq they simply said SORRY our agencies provided us wrong lead. and they are now used to this thing. daily killing innocents in Afghanistan and Pakistan and in the same time supporting Alqaida in Lebia. trying to have some peace accord with talibans. but for us War is the only solution. Now atleast now we should look ourselves.

    • Very true. But, like a drug addict, Pakistan has been too dependent on American aid. Some of the money is ending up in pockets of powerful people. They might put up a tamasha for public consumption. Nothing, meaningful, however is going to be done to change the staus quo.

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