US troops retreat from NWA as border reopens
Malik Mumtaz KhanTuesday, October 18, 2011
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MIRAMSHAH: The United States troops, after two days of deployment near the Afghan border with Pakistan’s volatile North Waziristan region, abandoned their camps and returned to their previous positions. The Pakistan-Afghan border was also reopened for traffic.
The US had shifted its forces along with heavy arms to the Afghan border near North Waziristan and sealed the road between Pakistan and Afghanistan for all types of traffic. The abrupt deployment of the US forces near the border with North Waziristan had raised tension in the tribal region.
However, government officials based in the border area of Ghulam Khan in North Waziristan said the US troops had started vacating their observation posts and roadside checkpoints established two days ago.
An official of the political administration based in Ghulam Khan told The News on condition of anonymity that US forces had established their military camp in a 10 kilometres area and brought gunship helicopters, tanks and long-range artillery guns to the border area.
“They first started vacating observation posts on hilltops and then sent back tanks, armoured personnel carriers and artillery guns. Later the helicopters were also seen flying back from the border,” a Pakistani security official based in Ghulam Khan said.
Abdul Hakim Khan, a resident of Gurbaz district in Khost, said US forces had imposed curfew in the border area of Afghanistan and conducted house-to-house searches on Sunday night. “They picked up a number of people from their houses but we have no information about their identity,” Abdul Hakim told The News from Ghulam Khan by telephone.
He said traffic between Pakistan and Afghanistan had resumed, but it would take some time to clear the heavy trucks carrying supplies to cross the border into Afghanistan and vice versa. Long queues of vehicles could be seen stranded on the road on both sides of the border.
Also, around 900 heavy trailers and trucks carrying goods from Pakistan to Afghanistan were stranded on the Ghulam Khan-Khost Road on the Pakistani side of the border. The drivers complained that suspension of traffic had caused them multiple hardships, adding that they spent two nights in the open.
Malik Mumtaz KhanTuesday, October 18, 2011
=================================================
MIRAMSHAH: The United States troops, after two days of deployment near the Afghan border with Pakistan’s volatile North Waziristan region, abandoned their camps and returned to their previous positions. The Pakistan-Afghan border was also reopened for traffic.
The US had shifted its forces along with heavy arms to the Afghan border near North Waziristan and sealed the road between Pakistan and Afghanistan for all types of traffic. The abrupt deployment of the US forces near the border with North Waziristan had raised tension in the tribal region.
However, government officials based in the border area of Ghulam Khan in North Waziristan said the US troops had started vacating their observation posts and roadside checkpoints established two days ago.
An official of the political administration based in Ghulam Khan told The News on condition of anonymity that US forces had established their military camp in a 10 kilometres area and brought gunship helicopters, tanks and long-range artillery guns to the border area.
“They first started vacating observation posts on hilltops and then sent back tanks, armoured personnel carriers and artillery guns. Later the helicopters were also seen flying back from the border,” a Pakistani security official based in Ghulam Khan said.
Abdul Hakim Khan, a resident of Gurbaz district in Khost, said US forces had imposed curfew in the border area of Afghanistan and conducted house-to-house searches on Sunday night. “They picked up a number of people from their houses but we have no information about their identity,” Abdul Hakim told The News from Ghulam Khan by telephone.
He said traffic between Pakistan and Afghanistan had resumed, but it would take some time to clear the heavy trucks carrying supplies to cross the border into Afghanistan and vice versa. Long queues of vehicles could be seen stranded on the road on both sides of the border.
Also, around 900 heavy trailers and trucks carrying goods from Pakistan to Afghanistan were stranded on the Ghulam Khan-Khost Road on the Pakistani side of the border. The drivers complained that suspension of traffic had caused them multiple hardships, adding that they spent two nights in the open.
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thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=9647&Cat=13
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