Pakistani Troops Ordered to Return Fire if Under Attack by NATO Forces

Pakistani military commanders have ordered troops to return fire if they again find themselves under attack from NATO forces. This raises the prospect of further fatal feuds along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

General Ashfaq Kayani, Pakistan's army chief, gave the orders in response to last Saturday's deaths of 24 soldiers as Pakistani border posts came under fire at the hands of NATO helicopters.

Kayani has been under intense pressure from within his own ranks over the two-hour attacks by the helicopters of an ally, to which Pakistan did not respond. The incident may in fact add a measure of humiliation on top of a military still stinging from the May killing of Osama Bin Laden deep inside of Pakistan by U.S. special forces.

Kayani said in a letter to his troops, “I want to emphasise and leave no ambiguity in the rules of engagement for everyone down the chain of command.”