Pentagon rejects Pakistan army claim on Nato blunder

WASHINGTON: The United States rejected Monday the findings of a Pakistani probe into Nato air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in late November, saying the investigation ignored the fact that “mistakes” were made on both sides.

At a press briefing, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the Pakistani army had officially delivered during the weekend a copy of the report conducted by Islamabad on the November 26 strikes against a Pakistani border post.

“The statement that this was an unprovoked attack by US forces is simply false,” said Navy Captain Kirby. “It was not an unprovoked attack,” he said. “There were errors made by both sides here.”

Underscoring its criticism of the Nato force in Afghanistan, the Pakistani military rejected Monday US efforts to apportion some of the blame to Pakistan as “unwarranted and unacceptable.”

Kirby said the Pentagon was “100 percent” behind the findings of the investigation report released last month by the US military.

That report, while acknowledging some responsibility in the bombing of one or two Pakistani border posts, argued that Nato troops had fired in “self-defense” after being shot at by “heavy weapons and mortar” from an “unidentified” source in a remote area infiltrated by Taliban organizations.

Captain Kirby regretted that Islamabad refused to participate in the investigation initiated by the US military. He called on Pakistan to reopen supply routes for Nato troops in Afghanistan, which were closed after the bombing.

“We want to get past all this and we want to build a good cooperative relationship with the Pakistani military,” he said.

The crisis in US-Pakistani relations has been overshadowed by a stand-off between the courts and the civilian government that analysts believe could force early elections in Pakistan within months.

Read more »

Posted in: INTERNATIONAL

Hundreds of ex-militants lay down weapons in India

GAUHATI: Hundreds of militants in jungle fatigues lined up to surrender weapons Tuesday as several insurgent groups formally joined a cease-fire with the government in a step toward ending a three-decade insurgency in northeast India.

The 676 fighters who handed over weapons to authorities at a sports stadium in the Assam state capital of Gauhati are members of nine of the more than 20 groups fighting the government in the remote northeastern state.

More than 10,000 people have been killed since 1979 when the insurgents began fighting for greater autonomy for their ethnic communities in Assam. However, over the past two years, the groups have begun to reach cease-fire accords and enter peace talks with the government.

Tuesday’s event in Gauhati brought the number of groups in talks to 15 — leaving about a half-dozen still fighting.

Senior army and police officers stood by as Home Minister P. Chidambaram assured the ex-fighters they would be embraced back into society.

”We shall make sure each one of you are able to enjoy equal rights now that you have shunned violence,” Chidambaram said.

He also said that the government was close to signing comprehensive peace deals with some of the groups, but did not elaborate.

Previously, the government has said it was open to discussing demands for more autonomy in areas including civic administration, finances and cultural rights.

The militants have argued over the years that Assam’s indigenous people — most of whom are ethnically closer to groups in Myanmar and China than to the rest of India — are ignored by the federal government that sits 1,000 miles away in New Delhi.

They also accuse the Indian government of exploiting the northeast’s rich natural resources.

Read more »

Posted in: INTERNATIONAL

Two car bomb blasts kill 10 in Baghdad

BAGHDAD: Bombs in two parked cars exploded in a mainly Shia area of Iraq’s capital on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 31, police and hospital sources said.

The first blast occurred near a group of labourers gathered to wait for jobs and the second near a traffic intersection, both in the northeastern Sadr City area of Baghdad.

Iraq has been hit by a number of bombings targeting Shias after a political crisis that has threatened to break up its fragile coalition government and raised fears of renewed sectarian violence after US troops pulled out in mid-December.

Violence in Iraq has dropped sharply from the height of sectarian killing in 2006-2007, but insurgents and militias still carry out daily attacks and assassinations in an attempt to undermine the government.

Read more »

Posted in: INTERNATIONAL