Pakistan shuts down US supply lines into Afghanistan
In retaliation for the US helicopter/ground attack inside Pakistan, and I can't imagine it will last much longer than needed to make a statement, but still.....
And, look at the weird way this came out, through a frontier command. Does that mean the order didn't come through the political government?
Later: Or is the quiet release for the domestic audience only? After all, it is election day in Pakistan. Maybe this is a one or two day vote getting measure?
In a major development, the federal government on Friday announced disconnection of supply lines to the allied forces stationed in Afghanistan through Pakistan....
Political authorities of the Khyber Agency claimed to have received verbal directives to immediately halt transportation of all kinds of goods meant for the US-led Nato forces in Afghanistan for an indefinite period.
And, look at the weird way this came out, through a frontier command. Does that mean the order didn't come through the political government?
Later: Or is the quiet release for the domestic audience only? After all, it is election day in Pakistan. Maybe this is a one or two day vote getting measure?
posted by mikevotes at
10:21 PM
5 Comments:
I've been seeing trends over the past month of the Frontier Corps acting much more independently, but this is startling. Power has always been diffused in Pakistan between various layers of the military, the politicians, and the dictator. Now the old rules are gone, and there seems to be no consensus as to who controls what.
The Pakistani military has lost its patience with the Administration. There is no doubt in my mind about that. But the Frontier Corps is the element that is paying the heaviest price, and they will be the first ones to extend a middle finger to Bush and stop playing the game.
By
Todd Dugdale , at 10:01 AM
You forgot tribal loyalties todd. The Frontier Corps is basically an independent Pashtun militia.
I can't find any government response to this move.
By
Anonymous, at 10:39 AM
Todd, but do you think they would do something with this big of political ramifications without a wink from somebody in the national structure, whether it's just one general, the ISI, or whoever?
If so, that's pretty terrifying.
.....
Anon, I have a hunch it may be a day or two, election stunt.
...
Broadly, I don't know exactly what this is, but it is certainly someone sending a very loud message, and I guess who ordered this really determines a good part of what that message is.
By
mikevotes, at 11:44 AM
do you think they would do something with this big of political ramifications without a wink from somebody in the national structure
From the article, it looks as if the "federal government" was in on this.
I'd be surprised if it hasn't happened before on an unofficial level. It would be a stretch to see the FATA seceding at this point, but our airstrikes have made the Frontier Corps' job a nightmare.
"NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani had likened the attack to an aggression against a sovereign state, saying the people of the country expected the Pakistan Army to give a befitting reply to the attack. He said that some twenty innocent people lost their lives — most of them were women and children."
And there's that, too.
By
Todd Dugdale , at 3:11 PM
Yeah.
And again, it was election day, so a little anti-US article in the morning papers probably wasn't too bad a thing.
By
mikevotes, at 6:02 PM
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