Tariq Outpost, Oct 25: From this hilltop outpost
built of mud and stone, Pakistan troops watched the
infiltration routes through the narrow gullies and expanse of
plains traditionally traversed by afghan tribesman, and now
the suspected avenues of escape for Taliban and Al-Qaeda
fighters.
During the day paramilitary forces squeeze their eyes
into binoculars to watch. At night, they mount
four-wheel-drive pickup trucks, some donated by the United
States, to patrol the unpaved border tracks.
Nearby, two helipads serve the troops on this
desolate frontier, marked only by the occasional
white-painted stone. Army officers say the new Pakistani
vigilance is paying off. In recent months, 62 foreign
nationals have been arrested illegally crossing the border in
the southwestern sector, said Maj. Gen. Sadaqat Ali Shah, the
head of the frontier constabulary paramilitary troops in the
province of Baluchistan.
"They were not Afghans. I cannot say who they
were,'' said Shah. The detained men were handed over to
Pakistani intelligence agencies.
The internationally backed Afghan government of
President Hamid Karzai has long complained that its enemies
were finding safe haven in Pakistan's unruly and sparsely
inhabited border regions.
To counter the accusations, the Pakistan military
arranged a series of briefings and a tour for reporters of
the normally off-limits area yesterday and today to support
its contention that it is using all available resources to
stop rebels from using its soil against Afghan President
Hamid Karzai's fledging government.
Bureau Report
