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Afghanistan, Pakistan to coordinate amid cross-border confusion

07 Jul 2011 12:49

Source: reuters // Reuters

By Michelle Nichols

KABUL, July 7 (Reuters) - Afghanistan said on Thursday it would work with Pakistan to avoid innocent deaths as they fight militants on their remote, mountainous border after recent shelling killed dozens of Afghans, fuelling tensions and confusion.

Pakistan says it may have accidentally fired a few rockets over the border while chasing militants, but the apparent scale of the shelling has sparked speculation it could be a show of strength by Islamabad, under increasing U.S. pressure, or simply in retaliation for Afghan fire.

Afghan officials say nearly 800 rockets fired from Pakistan over the past month have killed 42 people, including children, wounded dozens more and destroyed 120 homes. There are Islamist insurgents on both sides of the porous and disputed border and it is extremely difficult to verify events.

The shellings have outraged many ordinary Afghans and there had been calls from within Afghan President Hamid Karzai's cabinet for a military response. At a news conference this week, Karzai said he wanted to see a non-violent end to the problem.

Kabul and Islamabad both issued statements saying their leaders had agreed to find a quick solution.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani phoned Karzai late on Wednesday and said while his army was exercising "utmost restraint" against militant cross-border incursions, the situation "needs to be defused quickly", Gilani's office said.

Karzai's office said on Thursday the leaders had agreed to set up a joint military commission to address any border problems, while Gilani, in his statement, said he had asked the NATO-led force in Afghanistan to convene a border coordination meeting.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has already set up several "Joint Border Coordination Centres" -- the first of which opened in 2008 -- aimed at improving communication between ISAF, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

ISAF said on Thursday it had few official details on the recent rocket attacks, and added: "We share our Afghan partners' concerns, but ultimately, this is an issue to be resolved between national governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan."

SHOW OF STRENGTH?

Stephen Biddle, a senior fellow at U.S. think-tank the Council on Foreign Relations, said the shelling could be uncontrolled attacks by local commanders, but because of the large scale it was more likely to be a warning from Pakistan.

"I'm speculating, but natural possibilities include a signal to Karzai and to (the United States) that we can't push Pakistan too hard," Biddle said.

The Pakistani tribal regions along the Afghan border are known to be a haven for al Qaeda and Taliban militants and while the Pakistani military has conducted operations in some areas, the United States is pressuring Islamabad to do more.

Pakistan says it is doing everything it can to contain a growing militancy on its side of the border at great human sacrifice to its troops.

Already strained ties between Washington and Islamabad worsened after a secret May 2 U.S. raid killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in his hideout near Pakistan's main military academy. Many Pakistanis see the raid as a breach of their sovereignty.

Pakistan has in the past fiercely contested cross-border attacks by NATO forces chasing insurgents, but a Pakistani military intelligence official operating in Waziristan's tribal region on the Afghan border said the recent shelling was in retaliation for cross-border fire from Afghan forces.

"They say they fire at Taliban militants from Pakistan who cross the border. But there has been firing even when there is no movement," said the official, who declined to be named. "When this happens, we also retaliate."

Pakistani security analyst Imtiaz Gul, author of "The Most Dangerous Place: Pakistan's Lawless Frontier," said Pakistani and Afghan troops do not coordinate and that had created confusion about who was being targeted on the border. He said it was easy for the neighbours to blame each other for any mistakes.

"The relationship will remain fragile," he said. "The insecurity and uncertainty and violence travels back and forth." (Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi in KABUL, Izaz Mohmand in PESHAWAR and Saud Mehsud in DERA ISMAIL KHAN; Editing by Sugita Katyal)