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| India-Pakistan |
| NATO Quake Force held up by Red Tape, Rumor |
| 2005-11-29 |
| A 1,000-strong NATO force sent to Pakistan to help earthquake victims has been impeded by bureaucracy and Pakistanis' fears about foreign troops on their soil. Commanders' resentment about being designated the task is another factor. The deployment has been one of the most controversial in NATO's 56-year history. It is the first relief mission in which the organisation has "put boots on the ground" and has been criticised in Pakistan by both Islamist parties and secular commentators. Some Islamist leaders spread stories that the force had come only to look for Osama bin Laden and al-Qa'eda terrorists, or that it was part of some subterfuge to establish a presence in Kashmir. Spanish commanders have complained that it is not much more than a flag-waving exercise to show that President Pervez Musharraf's support for the American-led war on terrorism has paid dividends for Pakistan. Critics also claim that it is merely an exercise to enhance NATO's image in the region as the multi-national force is committed to an increasingly prominent role in neighbouring Afghanistan. NATO responded that an airstrip was established and aid transported from Germany and Turkey within days of the disaster on Oct 8, in which 76,000 people died. A spokesman said that 139 flights had lifted more than 2,300 tons of supplies. NATO medics had also set up a field hospital in the Bagh region that was treating 150 people a day. However, the ground operation has been slow. On Oct 21, in response to a further request from Pakistan, NATO agreed to send specialist troops, equipment and a headquarters. Although the first troops of the Spanish-led force began arriving on Oct 29, they did not reach the earthquake region until 10 days later. Since then, apart from a small amount of road repair and wall-building, little has taken place. Air Cdre Andrew Walton, the British commander of the NATO relief team sent to Bagh, a district of 400,000, said that speed was essential. Ninety British engineers from 59 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers and 42 Commando Royal Marines, who will work under the command of Nato, will reach Pakistan today. Their arrival was delayed by the authorities, who were worried that the presence of commandos would create yet more consternation. The millions of survivors in mountainous Kashmir faced further misery yesterday as persistent rain and the first winter snows cut off roads and caused airlifts to be suspended. Three people who survived the quake died and more than 100 were taken to hospital with hypothermia. |
| Posted by:Pappy |