NATO Statement Bashes Pakistan for Complaining About Cross-Border Attacks

Insists Pakistan Exaggerating Claims

Friday’s public argument at the Aspen conference, in which Pakistani ambassador Sherry Rehman complained about cross border attacks by Taliban forces operating in occupied Afghanistan has spawned another angry response.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force issued a statement today denying the charges that Taliban are setting up safe havens in Kunar Province, insisting that every time Pakistan has reported a violation of their border NATO has dispatched “appropriate” force.

The statement went on to say that Pakistan’s claims of 52 separate border violations “are incorrect,” saying that the actual number was “far fewer” though not providing any actual details.

Pakistan has complained several times in recent months about major attacks coming out of Kunar, with sometimes hundreds of fighters showing up in the Swat Valley to attack a Pakistani villages or military outpost before retreating back into Afghanistan. The NATO statement downplayed the seriousness of such incidents, saying the focus should be on Pakistani militants crossing the border into Afghanistan, not the other way around.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.