ISLAMABAD, 5 February 2006 — American troops will leave Pakistan after helping in earthquake relief efforts on March 31, its commander said.
“This has been by far the largest relief operation the US has been involved in,” Rear Adm. Michael LeFever told a news conference at Chaklala Air Base in Rawalpindi.
“The response to Pakistan was quicker and more long-lasting, and more supplies (were delivered) than we had done in the tsunami relief effort,” LeFever said, comparing his mission with the one mounted after the Indian Ocean disaster in December 2004.
The difficulty of the mountainous terrain and the onset of the Himalayan winter necessitated a far longer operation in Pakistan.
LeFever, who commands a 750-strong force, said the weather favored the international effort to rush food and shelter by helicopter to some 2.8 million people rendered homeless by the Oct. 8 quake, many of whom lived high in the Himalayan foothills.
“In 117 days ... So far we’ve only lost nine days of flying because of the weather.”
Mortality rates and levels of disease are lower than five-year averages, and communities living in the mountains have been supplied with shelter and foodstocks that should see them through any worsening in the weather, LeFever said. The United States, a key ally of President Pervez Musharraf since the war on terrorism began in late 2001, was asked to let its troops stay through the winter until the end of March.
A near 1,000-strong NATO contingent packed up on Feb. 1, after the Pakistani government said it would not be required to extend its 90-day mission. The US troop drawdown begins this month, and by March 1 some 350 troops will have left, but a dozen Chinook helicopters, vitally important for supplying isolated villages, will remain.
The US military is transferring to the Pakistani Army its mobile field hospital in Muzaffarabad. It is also leaving behind heavy engineering equipment, like bulldozers and generators, plus two portable refueling facilities that will enable Pakistani Army helicopters to extend their range.
— Additional input from agencies
