Perilous Times
Pakistan: militant gunmen attack convoy of 30 Nato tankers bound for
Afghanistan
Gunmen in southern Pakistan have torched tankers carrying fuel destined
for Nato troops in Afghanistan, one day after Pakistani authorities
stopped supply convoys in protest at a cross-border air strike that
killed three soldiers.
By Rob Crilly, Islamabad
Published: 6:55AM BST 01 Oct 2010
Suspected militants, with their faces covered, opened fire with small
arms to scare off the drivers and then set fire to the vehicles, which
were parked in Shikarpur just before dawn, said Abdul Hameed Khoso, the
district police chief.
"Around 20 attackers armed with rocket launchers and assault rifles
attacked these trucks. They set ablaze 27 trucks parked there," he said.
Some 80 per cent of supplies for international forces pass through
Pakistan.
Although attacks by militants and looters are not rare, the latest
incident comes at a time of heightened tension between Islamabad and
Nato commanders in Afghanistan.
Three Pakistani soldiers were killed and three wounded on Thursday in
two cross-border strikes by Nato helicopters forces chasing militants
in Pakistan's northwestern Kurram region.
The Nato-led International Security and Assistance Force initially
denied crossing the border before later admitting that its troops had
entered Pakistani air space.
Hours later, Pakistani authorities halted tankers carrying supplies for
Nato forces passing through the Khyber tribal region on the Afghan
border.
Pakistan is a crucial ally for the United States in its efforts to
stabilise Afghanistan, but analysts say border incursions and
disruptions in Nato supplies underline an increasingly fraught
relationship.
This week the country's ambassador to Brussels was ordered to submit a
formal protest to Nato headquarters over three earlier, unauthorised
attacks.
"Isaf/Nato has been asked not to participate in any military action
that violates the UN mandate and infringes upon Pakistan's
sovereignty," said a statement issued by the foreign ministry.
"In the absence of immediate corrective measures, Pakistan will be
constrained to consider response options."