INITIAL SUMMARY OF EVENTS - SALALA INCIDENT AND

SUBSEQUENT PAKISTANI ACTIONS :

The Nato attack on 25-26 November 2011 in the Mohmand Agency at the Militarys Salala Checkpoints is widely considered a blatant aggression and aggressive violence of Pakistans territorial integrity and sovereign rights to exist among the community of nations.

Effects of Attack:
24 Pakistani security force personnel martyred and 14 critical wounded. Two check posts were completely destroyed. A severe setback on the War on Terror operations. Cross-Border security dented. Trust deficit and severe communications problems exist. The attack triggered domestic and world-wide protests.

Statement Issued by the Defence Committee of the Cabinet:

Attached herewith is the Statement Issued by the Defence Committee of the Cabinet on the attack on border posts, dated 26 November 2011: http://www.innercitypress.com/Pakistan112711.pdf The official letter attached here-with is from the Pakistani Ambassador Abdullah Haroon to UN.

Initial events of the NATO attack:

Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Major General Ishfaq Nadeem in the Senate Committee of Defence briefed: Unprovoked act of blatant aggression. DGMO further said, the attack as not only deliberate but the allied military force also tried to mislead Pakistan military regarding the attack.

The final decision rests with the prime minister. We are considering a range of options, All SOPs were violated that night, said General Nadeem. Director General Military Operations (DGMO) said that they did not have orders before to respond to the November 26 Nato attack. Question remained why the Pakistan Air Force did not respond immediately to the attack. General Nadeem said there was a haze at the time, adding Pakistan Air Force interceptors did not scramble when the two helicopters from the other side violated the border, because initially it seemed the violation was only marginal. AVM (retd) Shahzad Chaudhry told Express Tribune that the air force could have scrambled but you have to decide if you want a shooting war with America. With only 200-300 meters between the border, our jets would have entered Afghanistan. It is the consequences you have to live with. http://tribune.com.pk/story/299849/unprovoked-dgmo-gives-details-of-aerialassault/ http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/09-Dec2011/Nato-attack-was-planned-DGMO

Briefing Continued:
According to him (Gen Allen) no such attack was planned, giving rise to speculations that certain operations are conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Special Operation Forces on their own and about which Nato and Isaf are kept in the dark, the DGMO was quoted as saying. We can expect more attacks from our supposed allies, NATO STRIKES RECALLED: Explaining the sequence of events, he said a post code-named Volcano was first attacked by two helicopter gunships at 12.15am on

Nov 26. A nearby check post, code-named Boulder, hit back with 12.7mm antiaircraft weapons and mortars after the Volcano check post was attacked. He said the General Headquarters came to know about the incident at 12.35am. Subsequently, check post Boulder also came under attack and all communication was lost with both checkposts. But minutes before the disruption, Company commander Major Mujahid left for the Volcano and Boulder posts for an assessment of the situation. Unfortunately, the officer lost his life after the helicopters reengaged. Another officer sent later saved his life by sheltering in a bunker when he saw helicopters taking position again. He said the entire operation lasted almost two hours. Gen Nadeem said the two posts were located at a place from where there had been no cross-border infiltration, although militant attacks from the other side had been frequent. The two check posts, he maintained, could not be mistaken for militant havens as the other side had been given all information about the number of Pakistani posts and their locations. The men at the posts were uniformed and positions were welldefined. The DGMO further said the Pakistan Army believed that Nato was monitoring the transmissions that night and knew they had hit Volcano checkpost. DECEPTION: He said misleading information was provided to the Pakistan military from the outset. Just before the Nov 26 strike, a Pakistani officer at the regional tactical centre was informed by an American sergeant that their special forces had received indirect fire from Gora Pai, some 15 kilometres from Volcano post. And after seven minutes, a woman officer informed him that the fire had, in fact, come from Volcano, which had been hit in retaliation. It is not the first incident of its kind and in recent years it already has happened thrice.

In reply to a question, Gen Nadeem said joint investigations had been carried out in the past as well, but vital information that could have helped reach a conclusion was never shared. http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/09/afghan-border-to-get-air-defence-weapons.html

Piecing together the initial events:

The DGMO said a US sergeant at the Nawra coordination centre informed a Pakistani officer that they had noticed fire coming from the Pakistani side, from the Gora Pari area. This was a move to deceive the Pakistani troops as the check post was located 15 kilometres away from the two check posts that were attacked later on, Nadeem is said to have told the committee. Apparently, he went on, while Pakistani troops were focusing on that complaint, US helicopters attacked well-marked check posts, which are located on a high mountainous terrain in an area where there is no civilian population therefore, according to the DGMO, ruling out any possibility that the attack was carried out in pursuit of militants hiding in the area. He added that the two check posts were set up in September 2011 and their maps were exchanged with the US. The first attack was carried out at 12:15am and all communications were blocked. After the first attack they returned and conducted a second attack. The whole operation was completed in two hours, he said. GHQ knew about the attack by 12:35am and informed officials and their counterparts. Keep in mind that all this happened in the middle of the night and our troops were killed in cold blood, Nadeem is quoted as having said. Suspicion grows The DGMO told cabinet members that Isaf commander General Allen was in Pakistan on the day of the incident. He was discussing with us how to resume tripartite talks and he had been proposing the meeting in the third week of December that evening. The next morning, when we asked him about the attack, he said he was completely unaware.

In Nadeems view, this gives the impression that the CIA and US special forces conduct certain operations on their own keeping Isaf in the dark. When asked about Pakistans refusal to be part of joint investigations, he said in three such incidents in the past Pakistan fully cooperated, but these efforts did not bear fruit. Because of mistrust created due to three previous incidents we have decided to stay away from such investigations, Nadeem said. US spies unwelcome in Pakistan Earlier, briefing the federal cabinet on the airstrikes, Nadeem is quoted as having said that Pakistan would no longer allow the presence of US intelligence operators. Pakistan, it seems, does not want to completely shun cooperation with the US in the war on terror, but plans to reduce the direct and independent operations of the CIA inside the country to a minimum level, a top military official said. The DGMO told the meeting that several hundred individuals with direct or indirect links to the CIA had already been expelled from Pakistan since the secret raid by US Navy Seals in May which killed Osama bin Laden. The exact number of CIA operatives who flew out of Pakistan after the midnight raid in Abbottabad is not known, though conservative estimates put the number at more than 500. http://tribune.com.pk/story/303944/cabinet-and-senate-briefings-military-to-up-theante-on-western-front/

Response to the Salala incident Report:

Pakistan Army doesnot agree with the inquiry as it was short of facts: http://www.ispr.gov.pk/front/main.asp?o=t-week_view&id=1936#wv_link1936

Key Recommendations:
Critical Review of Agreements with US should be undertaken. A lower down of diplomatic relations. Supply lines to remain choke. Brig General Stephen Clark presented a report which has been rejected by the Pakistan Military, since it is considered bias, and lack sufficient ground details of the incident. It fails to provide evidence and justify violation of Pakistan territorial integrity and unprovoked killing of Pakistani Soldiers, injuring many other through violent use of force. It is recommended that those who perpetuated the attack should be brought in front of the court of law. Pakistan Supreme Court should initiate a case through petition filed. ICJ (International Court of Justice) should be contacted and requested to be filed a case to ensure justice is given on the NATO attack on the night of 2526 November 2011 at clearly defined Salala checkpoints.
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Under right of self-defence, Pakistan is advised to respond effectively, considering all options on table.

BY: Arslan Shahid Qureshi