By Anwar Iqbal
Isaf confirmed that the helicopters struck at the Haqqani Network fighters in Pakistan on Sunday.
WASHINGTON: US attack helicopters have killed more than 30 people inside Pakistan, diplomatic sources told Dawn on Sunday.
US military sources say that all 30 – killed during a hot pursuit on Friday – were Haqqani Network fighters.
The militants, the sources said, had attacked Combat Outpost Narizah, an Afghan base eight miles from the Pakistani border in Tani district of Khost.
US forces repelled the attack and pursued the militants to their post just across the border in North Waziristan.
“An air weapons team in the area observed the enemy fire, and following Inter-national Security Assistance Force rules of engagement, crossed into the area of enemy fire,” the International Security Assistance Force stated in a press release.
“The Isaf aircraft then engaged, killing more than 30 insurgents.”
Isaf confirmed that the helicopters struck at the Haqqani Network fighters in Pakistan.
The attack helicopters launched their attack “after following the proper rules of engagement under inherent right of self-defence,” Master Sergeant Matthew Summers, a public affairs official, told reporters.
On Saturday, Isaf launched a second attack against the Haqqani Network, after taking fire in the border area. “Several additional insurgents” were killed in that attack.
The assault on Combat Outpost Narizah is the sixth against outposts in eastern Afghanistan since the end of August.
The US claims that the Haqqani Network is based near Miramshah in North Waziristan, and has close ties to Al Qaeda and other Pakistani and Central Asian militant groups.
US officials say that Isaf forces are permitted to pursue Taliban forces across the border if they are engaged in fighting or are under attack.
They said that US and Pakistani military commanders have agreed to a set of rules for hot pursuit, which says that US forces must be engaged with the Taliban or Al Qaeda as they cross into Pakistan.
US forces, however, not penetrate more than six miles into Pakistani territory.
But they can go deeper inside Pakistan if they identify the location of Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahri, or Mullah Omar.
Pakistan denies having such an agreement while US officials refuse to offer on the record comments on this issue.
It is pure perfection.
“US military sources”, aka soulless, murdering psychopaths killed “Haqqani Network fighters”, aka, anything that moved.
It’s a good thing for people to wake up and be aware of the fact that these US, British, Dutch, whatever, doucheb@gs have been let loose on the world; the middle east specifically, for now. I cannot believe that other so-called governments are not aware of this blatant, illegal psychopathy. I hope these cretins pay dearly for their transgressions; they never fight on a level playing field.
If Pak Army was not behind Taliban and was actually taking action against them controlling that part of Pakistan for which Pakistan received over $ 10 billion in US Charity, would there be any Taliban there to attack US Troops?
Good thing USA has not attacked whole Pakistan for violating the agreement that Pres. Musharraf had made with USA and only Taliban are being attacked.
Try to play this kind of game with India and watch what happens within a week. Pak Army has taken too much advantage of a lot more civilized USA and does not want to stop.
FAHD wrote: “I saw us then sharing a street with an area bully (U.S) having the nasty habit of taking ‘bhatta’ (loot) from every house that had some or to humble others into submission for all the wrong reasons”.
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TURKMAN: You must be kidding. USA was collecting BHuTTa, not our Police?
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FAHD wrote: “After watching the CNN bring Osama bin Laden to world news back in 1997, I knew what I had long suspected was matter of time, that the U.S was aiming for Afghanistan and that Afghan war was coming back to us (bombs and intrusions)”.
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TURKMAN: You must be a Psychic then. Could you tell us, why Osama had to be in the news by causing Terrorist Acts? How could have USA attacked Taliban if they had handed over Osama to Pakistan to stand trial in a 3rd Moslim Country?
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FAHD wrote: “It seemed to go well till President Musharraf made some basic governance and management blunders for all of us to get back into the IMF’s prickly embrace again, courtesy democracy’s revenge”.
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TURKMAN: Excuse me but how could have Beggar of IMF Loans since 1955, Pakistan survived with IMF Loans? If she can, why don’t you kick IMF out, Beggars?
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FAHD wrote: “The loans put on us donor/lender restrictions, price hike and continue to precipitate a probably planned economic and social collapse of Pakistan meant to grab hold of our nuclear weapons and reduce our military capability which the PPP certainly helped”.
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TURKMAN: Even your own Dad would not let you do, what Pakistani Leadership has been doing with his money or Loans for decades.What else should IMF do to reform Pak Monitory and Financial system? More than $ 50 in Aid Charity since 1953, more than $ 50 billion also in Loans of which Pakistan has not paid back a Penny. Pakistanis themselves steal Electricity instead of paying the whole Electric Bill. What should IMF do for you corrupt people and Pakistan to straighten your act out? You see, IMF is not Allah that you can go on committing Sins forever without facing any retaliation from Him.
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FAHD wrote: “The Pakistan Military will find its extremely hard to do their primary job of defending Pakistan frontiers effectively due to lack of defense budgeting and or overall economic situation, look after our nukes, prevent internal disorder or fighting terror. Technically our economic surrender seems in place even now already”.
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TURKMAN: And when has Pak Military not found defending Pak Border extremely hard? Who is attacking Pak Border unless Pak Army commits a mischief like sneaking in to India (1965), slaughtering Pakistani (1971), derailing Nawaz Sharif’s talks with India through invading Kargil (1998), attacking Indian Assembly (2002), to derail Zardari negotiations with India causing Mumbai Attacks (2007). Bangladesh has 1/6th of Army that Pakistan has. How come India has never attacked her? I am not reading rest of your B.S.
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MARCTAR wrote: “Make no mistake, the American Government is a friend to no one, not even the American People”.
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TURKMAN: Then, how come USA has saved existence of Pakistan 4 times already? 1965, 1971 (West Pakistan), 1998 and 2003. How come USA has given more charity of Aid and Loans to Pakistan than any other country? How come half of the Charity came for Floods is from USA? How come 3 million Pakis have gotton Visas for USA so far? How come most of Paki Families in USA are getting one or another kind of Charity from USA?
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MARCTAR wrote: “Greed above all else is the driving force (of USA).
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TURKMAN: What has USA with $ 14 trillion GDP stolen from Iraq, Afghanistan, Beggar Pakistan, Korea, Japan, Germany, Italy, Bosnia, Kosovo or wherever US Army is still deployed? What had USA stolen from Philippines that she had bought from King of Spain in 1898 and freed in 1930’s?
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MARCTAR wrote: “Most of the world knows that Al Quada is an USer creation, that they deliberately created these cells to use as patsys, for such things as 9/11, 7/7 and Bali”.
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TURKMAN: Why are you lying? Don’t you know, lying is a Basic Sin in Islam? This is it. I am not going to read any more of B.S.
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just shoot them back and if they run, run after them till they are brought to justice.
Back in 1994 then as a young army captain, I’d often talk to my friends about the US threat facing Pakistan, that we were certain to see that clash and that we needed economic and military prowess to be prepared. I saw us then sharing a street with an area bully (U.S) having the nasty habit of taking ‘bhatta’ (loot) from every house that had some or to humble others into submission for all the wrong reasons. You didn’t have to be a General to appreciate the situation. After watching the CNN bring Osama bin Laden to world news back in 1997, I knew what I had long suspected was matter of time, that the U.S was aiming for Afghanistan and that Afghan war was coming back to us (bombs and intrusions). Just few years down, the US did threaten us into extinction and occupied Afghanistan. Thanks to the prudent decision of the then Musharraf government, we renamed as the ‘front line state’ on war on terror and evaded clash. The Musharraf government used the opportunity to buy time into improving governance and bettering the economy steadily, which according to a BBC news items then, was growing faster than neighboring India’s. With better economic indicators the then government went quickly to strengthening the military’s conventional and unconventional capability to be prepared to handle future ‘bomb you into stone age’ threats or if the neighbor got too carried away with 911 type brinkmanship with Pakistan. It seemed to go well till President Musharraf made some basic governance and management blunders for all of us to get back into the IMF’s prickly embrace again, courtesy democracy’s revenge.
For the previous two years, I have imagined this; that our economy will plummet into a path normally reserved for falling bricks in face of compelling defense needs which lately meant supporting a huge, enhanced and expanded conventional and unconventional military on multi fronts, a war on terror, falling productivity, diminishing national and international opportunities for a huge populace, conventional nonscientific inside-box approach to economic development by the mighty bank oriented finance managers of Pakistan and failing corporate culture. When the big talk finance managers couldn’t manage it, carrying a begging bowl and shamelessly asking for money the world over to prevent collapse was the only answer the PPP knew. The loans put on us donor/lender restrictions, price hike and continue to precipitate a probably planned economic and social collapse of Pakistan meant to grab hold of our nuclear weapons and reduce our military capability which the PPP certainly helped. The floods only made it worse and now for certain we are living off of foreign loans, blaming this or that for our own miserable character morass. Give or take 2 years from now, if things remain like they have, even the military or Saudi money will not be able to stop what I feel is now a clock ticking. Loan dependency and lack of imaginative governance would have done their trick by then. Out of control living will do the rest, or shall I say ‘unrest’. There’s a good chance the people will explode once PPP stops its music and military takeovers fall out of grace with miseried Pakistanis tired of watching the elite and the ones in charge of thriving upon the rights of their children. The Pakistan Military will find its extremely hard to do their primary job of defending Pakistan frontiers effectively due to lack of defense budgeting and or overall economic situation, look after our nukes, prevent internal disorder or fighting terror. Technically our economic surrender seems in place even now already.
Seeing a planned opportunity come about finally in the Pakistan Military’s diminished and limited war capability, the limited war ‘Cold Start Doctrine’ might not be totally out of place then, brought in perfectly well by our own internal incompetence; what next. It’s not pretty let’s say that. The news about the UN wanting Pakistan to stop or deal into halting nuclear program’ was just what I was waiting to hear. Things like that coming out of news say a lot. Watching a little CNN report on atrocities of Saddam Hussein back in early 2002 was enough to make the certain conclusion that the U.S had planned to occupy Iraq. In 2003 it happened.
This economic failing is now a clear and present threat to the national security of Pakistan and must be viewed like so by all of us, military included. It’s begging to be taken extremely seriously. they say Pakistan is the mother of all military quagmires, everyone, the whole world must keep away from because while they feel Pakistan might kneel, the result could be very devastating.
There’s a way out, a truly dynamic, exciting and promising way out of our economic mess that’d make us proud, our children safe and bringing out of a scientific culture. Hell I am not incharge, whats the use talking it. in any case i think we are run out of time.
The ever increasing pressure that the USers are doing to Pakistan shows that they are trying to draw Pakistan into a conflict. After the devistating floods this summer the attacks continued and seemed to have escalated. Make no mistake, the American Government is a friend to no one, not even the American People. This war machine is owned and operated by corporate forces. Greed above all else is the driving force. Most of the world knows that Al Quada is an USer creation, that they deliberately created these cells to use as patsys, for such things as 9/11, 7/7 and Bali. The best thing Pakistan could do is break any ties to the USers, even their blood and drug money. Why would a people want ties to a group that wants to break their necks? They are in league with Israel, need I say more? When will the officail announcement of bin Laden’s death be made? Sure the Users need their boogie man to scare their people, but for Christ’s Sake, he is dead. The bogus war on terror is but a war of terror for those that stand up to the corporate criminals of the American police state. They are broke, in debt that they have pawned off for ten generations to pay off, desperate and irrational. I pray for the great people of Pakistan. These tribulations are great, God is challenging you, but I know that you will meet these challenges and come together.
there is no tiny respect for pakistani western borders, before afghan forces have fired some rockets … nato forces has also dishonor our borders on several occassions, drone attacks are now became routine … where is our govt. :@
unfortunately Pakistan can not / will not stand up to USA / Nato Forces since the middle and ruling / commerce classes are the stooges of the West