Islamabad: The Pakistan Army on Thursday said it did not agree with the findings of a US inquiry into a cross-border NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last month. "The Pakistan Army does not agree with the findings of the US/NATO inquiry as is being reported in the media," chief military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said in brief statement. "The inquiry report is short on facts. A...
01:46 AM, Dec 23, 2011
Washington: The strong fire from the Pakistani military posts against the US-led NATO military forces was the "catalyst of the tragedy" last month that led to the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers, the Pentagon said on Thursday, indicating deep trust deficit and "misunderstanding" between them. The Pentagon remarks came as the US Central Command (CENTCOM) and NATO both came out with their investigations on the November 26 incident, concluding that...
10:20 PM, Dec 22, 2011
Washington: Asserting that its US-led NATO forces "legitimately responded in self-defense" after being fired upon on November 26, NATO on Thursday said that mistakes were committed on both sides that resulted in the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers. "The combined international and Afghan force was initially fired upon by unidentified forces, then believed not to be Pakistani military, and legitimately responded in self-defense," NATO said in a statement soon after...
06:24 PM, Dec 22, 2011
Islamabad: Pakistan wants new rules of engagement with the US and an assurance of "no Abbottabad-like unilateral action in future", Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said. The prime minister was referring to the May 2 killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US commandos who carried out the daring raid by swooping into Abbottabad town without informing Pakistan. Gilani on Wednesday said that Pakistan wanted new rules...
12:41 PM, Dec 22, 2011
Islamabad: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said the US must guarantee Pakistan's sovereignty and ensure that there is no unilateral action like the raid that killed Osama bin Laden under the new terms of engagement that will define bilateral relations in future. Gilani made the remarks while addressing a meeting of Afghan and Pakistani parliamentarians at the Prime Minister's House. Pakistan wanted to take up three issues with...
09:29 PM, Dec 21, 2011
Washington: The US has put its covert air campaign that targets al Qaeda and Taliban operatives in Pakistan's tribal agencies "on hold", in the wake of strained ties between the two countries. Several US intelligence officials involved in the CIA programme, which uses unmanned Predator and Reaper strike aircraft, more commonly called drones, said the strikes were on hold due to fears that an attack at this point in time...
02:58 PM, Dec 20, 2011
Islamabad: The US would be held responsible if Pakistan failed in the war against terror, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Thursday. Khar told the Parliamentary Committee on National Security that relations with the US were "on hold" and would proceed further if parliament allowed this, Geo TV reported. Bilateral relations were affected after a NATO air strike on two Pakistani army check-posts killed 24 soldiers in November....
01:32 AM, Dec 16, 2011
Washington: Contending that US relationship with Pakistan had reached a dead end, an American lawmaker has said there was a sense among Congressmen that time had come to 'side' with India to 'cut off the ISI'. Senator Mark Kirk said at a discussion forum by prestigious Washington-based think tank, Foreign Policy Initiative, that a US-India tie-up was ISI's 'horror story' but time had come for it to evolve. "You know,...
10:13 AM, Dec 15, 2011
Kabul: Voicing cautious optimism, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan said that he's seeing signs of a possible lifting of Pakistan's communications blackout imposed on the US-led coalition after NATO airstrikes killed two dozen Pakistani forces last month. Marine Gen John Allen revealed for the first time that he spoke on the phone on Monday with Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani their first conversation since just after the...
08:59 AM, Dec 14, 2011
The Pakistan Prime Minister emphasised that Pakistan expects a strong investigation on the recent NATO strikes. ...
07:55 AM, Dec 14, 2011
Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday asked NATO to answer the "disturbing questions" about last month's air strikes on two Pakistani army border posts that killed 24 soldiers. NATO is still investigating the November 26 strikes in Pakistan's Mohmand tribal region bordering Afghanistan. "We expect the US-NATO-ISAF inquiry that is being undertaken to come out clearly with the facts and provide answers to the disturbing questions that...
05:13 AM, Dec 14, 2011
Islamabad: Making sure nothing sensitive is left behind, American forces set on fire all their redundant and useless equipment before abandoning the Shamsi air base in the country's southwest. Shamsi air base, which is now under the control of the Pakistani army, was used by US for reportedly launching drone attacks on militant hideouts. US was forced to vacate the base as it was given a 15-day deadline by the...
03:30 PM, Dec 12, 2011
Islamabad: Pakistan may continue blocking NATO supply convoys into Afghanistan for several weeks and would not rule out closing its airspace to the US, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Sunday. Gilani said there was a "credibility gap" between Pakistan and the US, and the two sides need to develop greater trust. He made the remarks during an interview with BBC. Pakistan stopped NATO convoys and asked the US...
01:39 AM, Dec 12, 2011
Islamabad: Pakistani security forces on Saturday took control of a strategically important airbase in the country's southwest after US military personnel vacated the facility in line with a demand from the Pakistan government. Pakistan had asked the US to vacate Shamsi airbase in Balochistan province after a cross-border NATO attack on two border posts killed 24 soldiers on November 26. The US had been using the airbase since late 2001...
10:29 PM, Dec 10, 2011
Islamabad: Pakistani security forces on Saturday took control of a strategically important airbase in the country's southwest after US military personnel vacated the facility in line with a demand from the Pakistan government. Pakistan had asked the US to vacate Shamsi airbase in Balochistan province after a cross-border NATO attack on two border posts killed 24 soldiers on November 26. The US had been using the airbase since late 2001...
09:21 PM, Dec 10, 2011
Chaman: Sleeping in a freezing cab, running out of money and worried about militant attacks, Ghulab is one of thousands of truck drivers stranded as a result of Pakistan's blockade of the Afghan border to NATO and US war supplies. But they and the businessmen who run what has been a lucrative trade for most of the last decade say they support the decision to shut the frontier in retaliation...
03:27 AM, Dec 10, 2011
United Nations: The Iranian UN mission said on Friday it complained to the UN Security Council about a US reconnaissance drone that it says was flying over eastern Iran before the military took "forceful action" against it. "I have the honor to draw your kind attention to the provocative and covert operations against the Islamic Republic of Iran by the United States government, which have increased and intensified in recent...
02:41 AM, Dec 10, 2011
Islamabad: Pakistan will deploy air defence weapons on the border with Afghanistan to pre-empt fresh attacks by NATO forces in the wake of a "pre-planned" air strike that killed 24 soldiers, a top military official has said. The decision to deploy air defence weapons was part of Pakistan's re-evaluation of its strategy for guarding its western borders against air raids, the Pakistan Army's Director General of Military Operations, Maj Gen...
12:14 AM, Dec 10, 2011
Islamabad: Pakistan is reassessing its relations with the US and NATO to redefine the terms for cooperation with them after a cross-border NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Friday. "There had been a lot of ups and downs in the relationship with the US and we really want to improve our relationship," Gilani told reporters on the sidelines of an official...
11:55 PM, Dec 09, 2011
Islamabad: Pakistan has decided to deploy air defence weapons on its border with Afghanistan to pre-empt fresh attacks by NATO and allied forces in the wake of a cross-border airstrike that killed 24 soldiers. According to a media report on Friday, the decision to deploy air defence weapons has been made as the country re-evaluates its strategy for safeguarding its western borders from air raids, the Pakistan Army's Director General...
12:06 PM, Dec 09, 2011
