Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ISLAMABAD1813
2007-04-23 12:41:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Islamabad
Cable title:
GENERAL PASHA ON FENCE CONFRONTATION
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C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 001813
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2017
TAGS: AF MARR PGOV PK PREL
SUBJECT: GENERAL PASHA ON FENCE CONFRONTATION
Classified By: Charge Peter Bodde 1.5 (b),(d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 001813
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2017
TAGS: AF MARR PGOV PK PREL
SUBJECT: GENERAL PASHA ON FENCE CONFRONTATION
Classified By: Charge Peter Bodde 1.5 (b),(d).
¶1. (C) MG Helmly, Chief, Office of Defense Representative -
Pakistan, met on April 21 with MG Ahmad Pasha, Pakistan
Military Director General of Operations, to discuss the April
19 confrontation between Afghan Army and Pakistan Army troops
near Angor Adda and Shkin. MG Helmly complimented Pasha on
the maturity and self-control of the Pakistani forces and
their leaders during the incident, during which the
Pakistanis responded to Afghan fire with only warning shots.
¶2. (C) According to Pasha:
--While Pakistan has agreed to suspend all surveys on the
fence's possible route until after President Karzai and
Musharraf meet April 29 in Turkey, Musharraf is still
committed to fencing three parts of the border, including
Angor Adda.
--The Pakistan Military chose Angor Adda as one of the areas
to fence because of the high volume of border crossings in
the region and the frequency of miscreant activity there.
Pasha described the proposed Angor Adda fence as a tool to
funnel people to formal border crossings.
--Pakistan placed the survey flags that precipitated the
confrontation in order to aid participants in the eventual
Pakistan/Afghanistan/U.S. military terrain walk. The
Pakistan Military hoped the flags would make it easier to
visualize Pakistan's proposed fence route.
--Pakistan still wants to go ahead with a terrain walk in
order try to reach consensus on the fence's location before
proceeding on constructing the fence.
-- After the April 19 incident, Pasha's Afghan counterpart,
MG Karimi, told Pasha the ANA had not received any orders to
interfere with the fencing.
--Pasha said that President Musharraf had given the Pakistan
Military great latitude on deciding the fence's route and the
timing and modalities of construction. Pasha inferred from
his conversation with Karimi that President Karzai had not
similarly empowered that ANA.
--Pasha bore no ill-will toward the ANA soldiers who fired at
Pakistani troops. He described the Afghan troops as
inadequately educated and trained. Pasha used his
conversation with MG Karimi as an opportunity to invite
Afghanistan to send troops to Pakistan for any type of
training Karimi believed would be valuable to the ANA.
BODDE