ISLAMABAD (Agencies) - A briefing by the head of the US Central Command to Pakistani officials on a November 26 cross-border Nato air attack that killed 24 soldiers and severely strained ties with Washington has been cancelled, an official said on Friday.
News that General James N Mattis’ visit to Pakistan has been cancelled came a day after the United States announced that its investigation into the attack found both American and Pakistani forces were to blame for the border incident. According to the investigation report, a lack of trust and series of miscommunications contributed to the events that took place on November 26.
On the other hand, Pakistan has rejected the US inquiry report. “Pakistan’s Army does not agree with the findings of the US/Nato inquiry as being reported in the media. The inquiry report is short on facts,” the military said in a short statement. “A detailed response will be given as and when the formal report is received,” it said.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy has issued a statement saying that Central Command head, General James Mattis was ready to come to Pakistan.
The statement added that General Mattis would come to Pakistan whenever the Pakistan Army requested.
Meanwhile, a senior government official has said Islamabad is rethinking its relationship with Washington. “Currently, we don’t care much about these findings, and we will see if a proper reaction is necessary once the actual report comes out,” said the senior official with knowledge of the workings of the relationship between Washington and Islamabad.
“What’s more important is that rethinking of our relationship with the US is under consideration by our Parliament,” the official said. “There is a larger picture here we are keeping our eyes on, versus just this American report. For example, will we allow Nato supplies through Pakistan?”
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to publicly speak on the issue.
The official said the Pakistani government’s position is to not take “these small details seriously.”
“Larger, strategic decisions will be more important in the coming future, versus just debating about who shot at who first,” the official said.
Two Pakistani intelligence officials said Thursday country’s investigation into the incident contradicts the findings of the US report.
“Every Pakistani soldier knows that the Taliban doesn’t have gunships and AC-130s,” one high-ranking official close to the investigation said. “But that’s not the point. The point is that they contend that we fired first. They’re wrong. They fired first. We responded. And then they called in the air support, and proceeded to attack us at length.”
A second intelligence official called the Pentagon findings “strange,” saying they “contradict what we have communicated so far to the Americans. This report is not good news.”
The officials declined to be identified because they are not authorized to discuss security issues.