OTTAWA, 28 January 2007 — Canada is seeking NATO’s help to control Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.
“Militants crossing into Afghanistan through Pakistan border must be stopped,” said MacKay before leaving for Brussels to attend the hurriedly-arranged NATO meeting.
He said since Canada cannot do the job alone, he plans to ask NATO to provide “more help in controlling the Afghanistan-Pakistan border”.
Canada has about 2,500 troops in southern Afghanistan as part of the NATO force supporting the Kabul government. MacKay said Afghanistan will be a key topic of discussion at the Brussel’s meeting.
Meanwhile in a related development, Chairman of Canada’s parliamentary defense committee has said that Ottawa must “push Pakistan harder to stop insurgents from attacking Canadians and their allies in Afghanistan”.
Rick Casson, a Conservative MP, emerged from three days of briefings at Kandahar Air Field with praise for the Canadian troops but a sharp message for Islamabad.
“We understand there’s a problem with what’s going on at that border, and we want them to address it,” Mr. Casson was quoted as saying.
His statement was delivered amid a general hardening of Western views toward Pakistan.
Military officials in Kandahar have been quietly saying for several months that they’re fighting insurgents whose training, supplies and leadership come from across the mountainous border.
Politicians and officials from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are increasingly making those accusations publicly, putting Pakistan on the defensive.
Last week, Pakistan’s prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, categorically denied that his government provides a haven for the Taleban, and dismissed allegations that his country’s intelligence services are covertly supporting the insurgents in Afghanistan.
