US to double military strength in Pakistan
The United States has said it would nearly double its military forces in earthquake relief efforts in Pakistan.
The higher troop levels will come as
Rear Admiral Michael LeFever, the
There are currently about 560 military personnel on the ground carrying out a multitude of tasks in the relief operations in Pakistan.
The American troops will be backed by NATO’s reinforced engineering battalion of some 1,000 personnel and four helicopters pledged at the weekend by the alliance.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly debated on the presence of
In a hard-hitting speech in the National Assembly with regard to relief measures for earthquake affected areas of the country, MNA Riaz Hussain Peerzada opposed the presence of Nato forces in the country saying there was no justification for calling in Nato for relief operations as the Pakistan Army was capable of performing this task in a better way.
“If the country needs technical assistance and necessary equipment for the relief operations it could easily get the same from Turkey which has already pledged all assistance. Similarly, help could be sought from other Muslim countries. Moreover what is the guarantee that Nato would leave Pakistan after completing the task of relief operation,” he asked. He said, “We have invited the wrath of Allah Almighty by pleasing the superpower. We are being punished in the shape of earthquakes for what we have done in Afghanistan. “Even mosques and Imambargahs are not safe in the country.”
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