NATO troops ordered to stay out of Af-Pak buffer zone
US-led NATO troops in Afghanistan have been ordered not to approach the buffer zone on the Af-Pak border in order to avoid recurrence of last week's air trike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
An order in this regard has been issued by Gen John Allen, the Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the November 26 air strike, pending the detailed investigation into the incident announced by US Central Command (CENTCOM), Ivo Daalder, US Permanent Representative to NATO, said here yesterday.
The real facts of the incident, he said, would be known only after the investigation is over.
"The most important thing we have already learnt is that Gen Allen has ordered the troops not to approach the created buffer zone at the border in order to reduce the chances that something like this would happen in the future," Daalder said in a breakfast meeting with the Defence Writers Group here.
Giving his brief of the incident that has plunged the US-Pak relationship to an all-time low, the US Ambassador said the most basic fact is that there was a strike that killed 24 Pakistani border guards.
"What we don't know the sequence of events that led to that and we have conflicting stories. Our side of the story is still being investigated in great detail. General Allen took the responsibility immediately not only to investigate the incident but also to bring in US, Afghan, NATO and asked Pakistan to participate in the investigation," he said.
The Pentagon yesterday said that Pakistan has declined to participate in the investigation.
Source http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nato-troops-ordered-to-stay-out-of-afpak-buffer-zone/883612/0
An order in this regard has been issued by Gen John Allen, the Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the November 26 air strike, pending the detailed investigation into the incident announced by US Central Command (CENTCOM), Ivo Daalder, US Permanent Representative to NATO, said here yesterday.
The real facts of the incident, he said, would be known only after the investigation is over.
"The most important thing we have already learnt is that Gen Allen has ordered the troops not to approach the created buffer zone at the border in order to reduce the chances that something like this would happen in the future," Daalder said in a breakfast meeting with the Defence Writers Group here.
Giving his brief of the incident that has plunged the US-Pak relationship to an all-time low, the US Ambassador said the most basic fact is that there was a strike that killed 24 Pakistani border guards.
"What we don't know the sequence of events that led to that and we have conflicting stories. Our side of the story is still being investigated in great detail. General Allen took the responsibility immediately not only to investigate the incident but also to bring in US, Afghan, NATO and asked Pakistan to participate in the investigation," he said.
The Pentagon yesterday said that Pakistan has declined to participate in the investigation.
Source http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nato-troops-ordered-to-stay-out-of-afpak-buffer-zone/883612/0
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