(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - December 6, 2011: Pakistan is pulling its troops out of at least two of the three centers meant to coordinate military activity across the Afghan border in apparent retaliation for NATO airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, U.S. military officials said.
The move will hamper U.S. efforts to liaise with Pakistani forces, increasing the risk that something could go wrong again, said the officials late Monday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The U.S. and Pakistan have offered different accounts of what led to the NATO attacks against two army posts along the Afghan border before dawn on Nov. 26, but the deadly incident seems to have been caused in part by communication breakdowns.
The soldiers' deaths have plunged the already strained U.S.-Pakistan relations to an all-time low, threatening Washington's attempts to get Pakistan to cooperate on the Afghan war despite billions of dollars in American aid.
Pakistan retaliated immediately by closing its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies, demanding the U.S. vacate an air base used by American drones and boycotting an international conference held Monday in Bonn, Germany, aimed at stabilizing Afghanistan.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that Pakistan wants to repair relations with the United States.
But the military's decision to abandon the border coordination centers shows it is still outraged over the incident, which it has called deliberate - an allegation denied by the U.S. The Pakistan army is considered the strongest organization in Pakistan and will likely determine the future course of ties with the U.S.
Pakistan may still have troops at the coordination center in Torkham in the country's northwest Khyber tribal area, but has pulled out of the other two along the border, said the U.S. officials.
The Pakistani military did not immediately respond to request for comment.
NATO attacks have killed Pakistani troops at least three different times along the porous and poorly defined border since 2008, but the incident on Nov. 26 in the Mohmand tribal area was by far the most deadly.
U.S. officials have said the incident occurred when a joint U.S. and Afghan patrol requested air support after coming under fire. The U.S. checked with the Pakistan military to see if there were friendly troops in the area and were told there were not, they said.
Pakistan has said the coordinates given by the Americans were wrong - an allegation denied by U.S. defense officials. Pakistani officials have also said the attack continued even after military authorities contacted one of the border coordination centers, possibly explaining Islamabad's decision to curtail its participation with them.
Gilani said Monday that negotiating new ties with the U.S. would ensure that the two countries "respected each other's red lines" regarding sovereignty and rules of engagement along the border.
"We really want to have good relations with the U.S. based on mutual respect and clearly defined parameters," he said in the interview at his residence in the eastern city of Lahore.
Despite Gilani's gentler rhetoric, the gulf between the two nations remains wide. U.S. officials have said the airstrikes have been the most serious blow to a relationship that has been battered by a series of crises this year, including the covert American raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town in May. Pakistan was outraged because it wasn't told about the operation beforehand.
The Obama administration wants continued engagement even as Pakistan's refusal to attack militant sanctuaries along the border over the last three years has fueled criticism in Congress the country is a duplicitous ally unworthy of American aid.
Many U.S. officials regard Pakistani cooperation as vital for peace talks with Afghan insurgent leaders to succeed because many of the leaders live in Pakistan and have ties to its security forces. The country, home to 180 million people, has nuclear weapons and a thriving Islamist militant insurgency of its own that is giving support to al-Qaida operatives. Containing that threat requires good intelligence cooperation for several years to come.
eTaiwan News - 57 minutes ago
The move will hamper US efforts to liaise with Pakistani forces, increasing the risk that something could go wrong again, said the officials late Monday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The US andPakistan...
Fox News - 2 hours ago
The official did not specify how many troops would be recalled or how many would be left at the border centers. USmilitaryofficials said late Monday that Pakistan was pulling out of at least two of the three centers along the border. ...
Salon - 5 hours ago
ISLAMABAD (AP) — US military officials say Islamabad is pulling its troops out of at least two of the three centers meant to coordinate military activity across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. ...
Times of India - 4 hours ago
US military officials said late Monday that losing Pakistani liaisons at the border centers is a problem because the whole purpose of the posts is to exchange information about ongoing operations.
San Francisco Examiner - 5 hours ago
AP US military officials say Islamabad is pulling its troops out of at least two of the three centers meant to coordinate military activity across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The move comes a little over a week after NATO airstrikes killed 24...
The Seattle Times - 4 hours ago
Pakistan is pulling its troops out of at least two of the three centers meant to coordinate military activity across the Afghan border in apparent retaliation for NATO airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, US military officials said. ...
Ct Post - 4 hours ago
LOLITA BALDOR, AP, SEBASTIAN ABBOT, Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — US military officials say Islamabad is pulling its troops out of at least two of the three centers meant to coordinate military activity across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. ...
StarNewsOnline.com - 4 hours ago
Pakistan may still have troops at the coordination center in Torkham in the country's northwest Khyber tribal area, but has pulled out of the other two along the border, said the US officials. The Pakistani military did not immediately respond to ...
TheNewsTribune.com - 3 hours ago
A senior Pakistani military official says the force is temporarily pulling back some of its troops fromcentersmeant to coordinate activity with international forces across the Afghan border. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani gestures during ...
WVNS-TV - 3 hours ago
AP ISLAMABAD (AP) - A senior Pakistani military official says the force is temporarily pulling back some of its troops fromcenters meant to coordinate activity with international forces across the Afghan border. ...
The Missoulian - 1 hour ago
Gilani says his country wants to rebuild ties with the United States despite Islamabad's ongoing retaliation for deadly airstrikes on its troops by the US-led coalition in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) A senior Pakistanimilitaryofficial ...
Pakistan Daily Times - 12 hours ago
US officials have said the attacks occurred when a joint US and Afghan patrol requested air support after coming under fire. The US checked with the Pakistan military to see if there were friendly troops in the area and were told there were not, ...
New York Times - 8 hours ago
The Pentagon has promised a transparent inquiry — it must deliver one — and officials say they can compensate forPakistan's lack of cooperation by using phone conversations, e-mail exchanges and surveillance images. ...
eTaiwan News - 5 hours ago
The move was not expected significantly to curtail drone attacks in Pakistan since Shamsi was used only to service drones that had mechanical or weather difficulties. NATO officials say the supply line blockage is not affecting operations, ...
AFP - 12 hours ago
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Obama administration had no plans to adopt such a policy at this time. Ties between Washington and Islamabad took a turn for the worse after a US special operations raid killed Al-Qaeda leader ...
eTaiwan News - 8 hours ago
26, killing 24 soldiers and prompting the government to demand the US leave Shamsi. The two sides have given differing accounts of what led to the attacks on the army posts. US officials have said the incident occurred when a joint US and Afghan patrol ...
eTaiwan News - 2 hours ago
Both the Pakistani and the US officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Pakistan is pulling its troops out of at least two of the three centers meant to coordinate military activity across the Afghan border in ...
Reuters - 15 hours ago
US officials say it has produced major successes in decimating the central leadership of al Qaeda and putting associated militant groups on the defensive. Pakistani authorities started threatening US personnel with eviction from the Shamsi base in the ...
CNN International - 4 minutes ago
The recall of the troops is part of Pakistan's investigation into the NATO airstrike on Nov. 26 that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, two senior Pakistani military officials said. The Pakistani troops are not suspected of doing anything wrong on the night ...
Voice of America - 16 hours ago
Pakistani officials announced a boycott of the Bonn conference soon after US helicopters and fighter jets reportedly fired on two Pakistani military encampments, killing 24 soldiers. Pakistan resisted all efforts to persuade it to send envoys to the ...
IBNLive - Dec 5, 2011
Asfandyar Wali Khan is the President of the Awami National Party and presently MP in Pakistan's Parliament. He spoke to CNN-IBN's Marya Shakil on a range of issues from the Bonn conference, NATO attacks, threat of coup in Pakistan to rival politician ...
DAWN.com - 8 hours ago
“Well, I think we also, of course, welcome Prime Minister Gilani's positive statements on the US-Pakistani relationship,” said a State Department spokesman when asked to comment on Mr Gilani's remarks, adding that the United States wanted to get over ...
Reuters - 15 hours ago
Two US officials have told Reuters that preliminary information from the ongoing investigation indicated Pakistani officials at a border coordination center had cleared the air strike, unaware they had troops in the area. (Reporting by Caren Bohan, ...
Ahram Online - 27 minutes ago
But the incident has plunged relations between Washington and its counterterrorism ally Islamabad to a new nadir, although officials say neither country can afford a complete break in relations. US officials and intelligence analysts have said the ...
The Express Tribune - 4 hours ago
By AFP Riedel says Pakistan army gradually installing a new military dictatorship, without even needing to resort to a coup. WASHINGTON: The United States must shift to a strategy of engaging Pakistan while containing the worst “excesses” of its army, ...
Washington Post - 15 hours ago
US officials have said the airstrikes have been the most serious blow to a relationship that has been battered by a series of crises this year, exposing its brittleness each time. Pakistani officials have been demanding more clarity in their ...
CNN International - 16 hours ago
"Will they decide a drone strike in Pakistani airspace without permission is an act of war? Doubtful." US officials have long prepared for Plan B in Pakistan, he said. "If you have facilities in any country where you have a somewhat occasional volatile ...
Pakistan Observer - 10 hours ago
Pak—US have always been a story of seasonal relationship with Pakistan accusing US of being a friend only at time of its need and leaving Pakistan high and dry afterwards. The US accuses Pakistan of partnering only for its economic interests....
DAWN.com - 4 hours ago
“We also, of course, welcome Prime Minister Gilani's positive statements on the US-Pakistani relationship,” Deputy Spokesman at the State Department, Mark Toner, said, commenting on Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's indication that Islamabad would ...
NPR - 14 hours ago
Masud, a retired lieutenant general, says that Pakistanis have also felt publicly rebuked by US officials over the past few months. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Pakistan's foreign minister in October that "You can't expect to keep snakes in ...
