During the days after OBL incident i was told by an army person that the security forces have no capability or resources to engage any aerial attack from Nato forces, rather even in case of violation of air fields, they are only to report it to higher ups.
Now it seems our defense strategy against Nato attacks is respond politically.
http://www.topstoryonline.com/fist-on-general-kayani’s-table
The CGS made the statement in response to questions by journalists who wanted to know why Pakistan Air Force (PAF) was not mobilized to repulse the attack described as an “unprovoked attack of blatant aggression” by the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), Major General Ashfaq Nadeem.
**“Technologically you cannot fight the ISAF,” the DGMO told the journalists as they asked about the response to NATO/ISAF for border violations.
**
Disparity between Pakistan and NATO/ISAF forces has forced Pakistani military commanders to take stock of ground realities by leaving the option of “escalatory” response to violations of the Western border with the government.
“The larger portion of response would have to come from the government due to disparity between the two sides,” said the DGMO.
The government on its part has already taken diplomatic measures by announcing the boycott of the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan’s future as well as ordering the blocking of NATO supplies and asking the US to vacate the Shamsi Air base.
The military on its part is very clear. If the option of climbing the “escalatory ladder” on the Western front is to be taken, the government has to decide by weighing the costs of such a decision, something which Pakistan can ill afford at the risk of being declared a pariah state internationally.
The attack on Volcano and Boulder check posts in Mohmand Agency by the ISAF/NATO helicopters reveal a lot about the coordination mechanisms between local commanders on both sides as well as the level of distrust that exists even at the local level despite all the sweet talk of intelligence sharing and coordination mechanisms.
It is worrying that the attack occurred within just twenty four hours after visit of ISAF Commander General John Allen to Pakistan and his meetings with top Pakistani military leadership.
“Post operation report was sought by Liaison Officer but denied by ISAF being classified information of Regional Command East,” said DGMO, adding, “all SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) were violated by ISAF.”
Three earlier attacks by ISAF/NATO forces on Pakistani troops in June 2008, September 2010 and July 2011 were investigated by the Coalition Forces, as they have promised to investigate the current incident.
However, the Pakistani military feels aggrieved that the results of the previous inquiries were not to their satisfaction and no one had been punished. Will a similar fate be the outcome of the inquiry into recent killings of 24 Pakistani soldiers by ISAF? Going by the track record, the answer is not difficult to figure out. Both sides, ISAF/NATO and Pakistani military have different versions of the event.
The Coalition forces have blamed Pakistan for attracting the response which is now being characterized as a case of mistaken identity.
Pakistanis believe otherwise.
“At multiple levels in ISAF it was known that they were attacking Pakistani posts but they continued the attack with impunity,” said Major General Ashfaq, adding, “It is not possible that ISAF/NATO did not know about the posts”.
The chronology of the incident as described by Pakistani military commanders raises questions if the attack was deliberate.
According to the DGMO, a US Sergeant had asked the Pakistani Liaison officer, a Major of Pakistan Army, that Coalition Special forces had received fire from Goraprai area, an area in Mohmand Agency about 15 kilometres from the Volcano and Boulder check posts established at a height of about 8000 feet on mountain peaks overlooking the Afghan side.
Even though the Pakistani Major is said to have told the US Sergeant that he would get the confirmations, within seven minutes of the communication, two to three Coalition forces helicopters attacked the Volcano post about fifteen minutes past midnight. The communication from the Volcano post broke down following the attack.The Boulder post, close to the Volcano post, retaliated by opening fire on the helicopters with 12.7 mm anti aircraft guns. The Coalition forces helicopters engaged the Boulder post and all communication with it also broke down.
According to Pakistan military’s narrative of the incident, Company Commander Major Mujahid moved from the company headquarters to assess the situation but he embraced martyrdom as he reached the post.
By this time, the Pakistani Military Commanders say all channels of coordination and communication with ISAF/NATO were activated and the attacking helicopters pulled back at ab0ut 0105 hours on the fateful night after receiving confirmation that they had attacked the Pakistani posts.
As the Pakistani troops moved to assess the damage, the reinforcement party was once again engaged by the Coalition forces helicopters. The second engagement between the two sides lasted till about 0215 hours during which 26 airburst artillery rounds were also fired by Pakistani troops.
Interestingly enough, the US Sergeant who had sought the initial information about fire emanating from Goraprai area is said to have told the Pakistani Major acting as LO at ISAF HQs that Volcano post of Pakistan had been hit.
The Pakistani military says all soldiers were wearing uniform and initial communication within ISAF/NATO referred to the posts as Volcano post.
The question remains if ISAF/NATO was informed that post was manned by Pakistani troops, and the helicopters had pulled back at 0105 hours, why they returned to attack again? Is it a fist on general Kayani’s table as mentioned in the Memogate?
A leading Islamabad-based Pakistani journalist who also hosts a current affair talk show contributed this report for Top Story asking not to publish his name. He was among the senior journalists who were briefed by the military command on Tuesday about NATO airstrikes that left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead on Pak-Afghan border last week.