Pakistan Fires at U.S. Helicopters on Afghan Border (Update3)
By Patrick Donahue
Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan fired warning shots on two U.S. helicopters that it said crossed into the country's airspace from Afghanistan, two weeks after the nation's army chief said cross-border incursions wouldn't be tolerated.
The Pentagon and NATO denied the aircraft flew into Pakistan. NATO, which has soldiers in neighboring Afghanistan fighting supporters of the Taliban, said the helicopters received ``small-arms fire'' from a military border checkpoint. Pakistan's president said the shots were warning ``flares.''
``They're just to make sure that they know they crossed the border line,'' Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari told reporters today before talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in New York. ``Sometimes the border is so mixed that they don't realize that they crossed the border.''
Pakistan's military has blamed Afghan-based coalition forces led by the U.S. for a Sept. 3 attack that killed seven civilians in the South Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
The U.S. is pressing Pakistan's new government to be more aggressive in its war against terrorism, saying the South Asian nation isn't doing enough to combat militancy in its tribal region, where Taliban and al-Qaeda are regrouping.
Immediate Contact
The helicopters in today's incident didn't return the fire and ``immediately'' contacted Pakistani authorities, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today in Washington. NATO said the shots came from a Pakistan checkpoint along the border near the Tanai district in Afghanistan's eastern Khowst province during ``routine operations'' in Afghanistan.
``At no time'' did helicopters from NATO's International Security Assistance Force cross into Pakistan's airspace, NATO said in a press release from Kabul. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization heads the ISAF in Afghanistan.
The helicopters were escorting U.S. and Afghan ground troops and were flying about a mile inside the Afghan border, the Associated Press reported, citing an unidentified U.S. military official. U.S. and Pakistani troops exchanged gunfire during the incident, which began when Pakistan forces shot at the aircraft, the official told AP. No casualties were reported, AP said.
Pakistan's military gave a different account, saying two helicopters entered its airspace from Afghanistan at 3:30 p.m. local time and were ``well within'' its territory above North Waziristan when security forces fired ``anticipatory warning shots.'' The aircraft returned fire and turned back, the military said in an e-mailed statement from its headquarters in Rawalpindi.
`Unfortunate Incident'
``This was an unfortunate incident but just goes to demonstrate the importance of coordination along the border'' of NATO, U.S. and Pakistani military movements, Whitman said. The Pakistani military said it was in contact with ISAF counterparts.
The incident could add to tension between the West and Pakistan, which has blamed U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan for conducting cross-border raids. Pakistan's president declared this month that such actions are a violation of sovereignty and would no longer be tolerated.
Pakistan's military on Sept. 16 ordered army units to halt cross-border incursions, after the army chief said six days earlier that its territory would be defended ``at all cost.'' Yesterday the military said a U.S. spy plane malfunctioned and crashed in the tribal region of South Waziristan while flying over the border area.
Presidential Permission
Afghan and NATO forces have struggled to stem the flow of fighters and weapons crossing the mountainous 2,430-kilometer (1,510-mile) border to fuel the Taliban-led insurgency aimed at toppling Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington this week that the Pentagon has presidential permission to strike Taliban and al-Qaeda targets in Pakistan. He said the United Nations charter gives a nation the right of self-defense when a foreign government is unable or unwilling to deal with terrorism inside its borders.
Zardari met two days ago with President George W. Bush in New York, where the two leaders attended the UN General Assembly.
``Your words have been very strong about Pakistan's sovereign right and sovereign duty to protect your country and the United States wants to help,'' Bush said before the meeting.
Pakistan has ``problems'' it is working to resolve, Zardari said. ``We should come together in this hard time and we will share the burden and responsibility with the world.''
By Patrick Donahue
Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan fired warning shots on two U.S. helicopters that it said crossed into the country's airspace from Afghanistan, two weeks after the nation's army chief said cross-border incursions wouldn't be tolerated.
The Pentagon and NATO denied the aircraft flew into Pakistan. NATO, which has soldiers in neighboring Afghanistan fighting supporters of the Taliban, said the helicopters received ``small-arms fire'' from a military border checkpoint. Pakistan's president said the shots were warning ``flares.''
``They're just to make sure that they know they crossed the border line,'' Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari told reporters today before talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in New York. ``Sometimes the border is so mixed that they don't realize that they crossed the border.''
Pakistan's military has blamed Afghan-based coalition forces led by the U.S. for a Sept. 3 attack that killed seven civilians in the South Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
The U.S. is pressing Pakistan's new government to be more aggressive in its war against terrorism, saying the South Asian nation isn't doing enough to combat militancy in its tribal region, where Taliban and al-Qaeda are regrouping.
Immediate Contact
The helicopters in today's incident didn't return the fire and ``immediately'' contacted Pakistani authorities, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today in Washington. NATO said the shots came from a Pakistan checkpoint along the border near the Tanai district in Afghanistan's eastern Khowst province during ``routine operations'' in Afghanistan.
``At no time'' did helicopters from NATO's International Security Assistance Force cross into Pakistan's airspace, NATO said in a press release from Kabul. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization heads the ISAF in Afghanistan.
The helicopters were escorting U.S. and Afghan ground troops and were flying about a mile inside the Afghan border, the Associated Press reported, citing an unidentified U.S. military official. U.S. and Pakistani troops exchanged gunfire during the incident, which began when Pakistan forces shot at the aircraft, the official told AP. No casualties were reported, AP said.
Pakistan's military gave a different account, saying two helicopters entered its airspace from Afghanistan at 3:30 p.m. local time and were ``well within'' its territory above North Waziristan when security forces fired ``anticipatory warning shots.'' The aircraft returned fire and turned back, the military said in an e-mailed statement from its headquarters in Rawalpindi.
`Unfortunate Incident'
``This was an unfortunate incident but just goes to demonstrate the importance of coordination along the border'' of NATO, U.S. and Pakistani military movements, Whitman said. The Pakistani military said it was in contact with ISAF counterparts.
The incident could add to tension between the West and Pakistan, which has blamed U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan for conducting cross-border raids. Pakistan's president declared this month that such actions are a violation of sovereignty and would no longer be tolerated.
Pakistan's military on Sept. 16 ordered army units to halt cross-border incursions, after the army chief said six days earlier that its territory would be defended ``at all cost.'' Yesterday the military said a U.S. spy plane malfunctioned and crashed in the tribal region of South Waziristan while flying over the border area.
Presidential Permission
Afghan and NATO forces have struggled to stem the flow of fighters and weapons crossing the mountainous 2,430-kilometer (1,510-mile) border to fuel the Taliban-led insurgency aimed at toppling Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington this week that the Pentagon has presidential permission to strike Taliban and al-Qaeda targets in Pakistan. He said the United Nations charter gives a nation the right of self-defense when a foreign government is unable or unwilling to deal with terrorism inside its borders.
Zardari met two days ago with President George W. Bush in New York, where the two leaders attended the UN General Assembly.
``Your words have been very strong about Pakistan's sovereign right and sovereign duty to protect your country and the United States wants to help,'' Bush said before the meeting.
Pakistan has ``problems'' it is working to resolve, Zardari said. ``We should come together in this hard time and we will share the burden and responsibility with the world.''
ya, didn't you hear?
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