Author:
Publication: The Times of India
Date: January 5, 2003
US officials have begun to grumble
for the first time about the extent of Pakistan's cooperation in the war
against Al Qaida and the Taliban along the Pak-Afghan border even as American
and Pakistani forces exchanged heavy machine gun fire in a tribal area
along the border on Friday.
"A year ago, Pakistan had the choice
of either acting decisively against Al Qaida and Taliban elements or of
doing the minimum. By now, it is clear that they have decided not to move
strongly against them," a US diplomat in Kabul told The Washington Post.
General Richard B. Myers, Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had recently said that he would seek to clarify
the rules of engagement that apply to the pursuit of enemy guerrillas in
certain situations.
The issue has become a pressing
one as US soldiers have begun to patrol the Afghan-Pakistani border more
aggressively, especially in the south-east, where many Al Qaida and Taliban
fugitives remain active.
On December 21, Sgt. Steven Checo
of the 82nd airborne division was shot and killed near the border by men
who entered Afghanistan from Pakistan and then retreated across the border.
In the most recent incident, a US
soldier was shot and wounded by a Pakistani border scout near the border,
apparently on Afghan territory which Pakistani soldiers are not supposed
to enter.
Friday's exchange of fire, the second
such incident within a week, came even as Gen Pervez Musharraf held telephonic
talks with his American counterpart George W Bush to defuse the tension
arising out of last weekend's skirmish. Gen Musharraf also spoke to Secretary
of State Colin Powell over the phone on Friday even as a US military spokeswoman
at Bagram in Afghanistan, Capt Alayne Cramer, delivered a terse message
to a Pakistani colonel, who formed part of a joint team, saying that "enough
was enough" and that the US would not tolerate any firing from the Pakistani
side.
Capt Cramer told the Pakistani colonel
that the message was from "the very top". US central command chief Tommy
Franks himself wanted it to be conveyed to Gen Aziz, the chairman of Pakistan's
Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, the Pakistan daily Dawn said.
Meanwhile, another US military spokesman
in Afghanistan, Maj Stephen Clutter, said, "We do reserve the right to
go after them and pursue them and that is something Pakistan is aware of.
In hot pursuit, we are going to chase down the bad guys."
Pakistani officials refuted the
US warnings by saying that "Pakistan is not Afghanistan" and warned the
Americans that "hot pursuit" across the border would provoke Pakistani
firing and that the Americans would have to face the consequences of such
misadventures. Pakistani officials also warned that the US-led anti-terror
campaign would come to a grinding halt if Pakistan stopped cooperating.
While talking to Mr Powell, Gen
Musharraf said there should not be a repetition of aerial bombing by US
planes. Mr. Powell as sured him that utmost care would be taken in this
regard by the allied forces in future, The Nation said.
Gen Franks is expected to hold a
tele-conference with Gen Musharraf or Gen Aziz to discuss steps to reduce
tensions.
The News quoted local officials
as saying that a rocket launcher shell- fired from across the border fell
into Pakistani territory near Angoor Adda early on Friday. The fire was
returned, resulting in a heavy exchange of machine gun fire for more than
an hour Details of loss to human lives or property, if any, were not immediately
available. All communication links between Angoor Adda and the rest of
Pakistan remained suspended on Friday.