[R-G] US to aid Pakistani frontier force against militants

[Anthony Fenton]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/ 
msid-2554762,prtpage-1.cms
The Times of India -
US to aid Pakistani frontier force against militants
20 Nov 2007, 0500 hrs IST,REUTERS

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WASHINGTON: The United States has set up a program to train and equip  
a Pakistani paramilitary force recruited from tribal areas to try to  
counter Islamist militants, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Washington would supply equipment like helmets and flak vests to the  
tribal force, known as the Frontier Corps, but would not provide  
weapons or ammunition, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told  
reporters. The plan also calls for the involvement of US Army trainers.

He said the United States government believed that the tribal force  
was best-suited to fight militants who are believed to be behind a  
surge in violence in Pakistan's lawless mountainous regions bordering  
on Afghanistan. "They are locally recruited and have local knowledge,  
language skills and most of all credibility with the people who live  
in those areas," he said.

Asked about concerns that tribal fighters may not be reliable allies  
and may have ties to militants, Morrell said: "I don't think we would  
be proceeding with a plan of this nature, of this cost, unless we had  
some degree of confidence that it would be fruitful."

He said that the corps was a legitimate part of Pakistan's security  
forces and the Pakistani government fully supported the plan. The  
United States has criticised President Pervez Musharraf for imposing  
emergency rule on Nov 3 and has put US aid to Pakistan under review.  
But officials have said they will be careful not to undermine  
counterterrorism efforts.

The US government allocated $52.6 million in the 2007 fiscal year  
that ended in September to equip eight battalions of the corps,  
establish a training center and set up joint border surveillance  
stations with Afghan forces, Morrell said.

The equipment had not yet been delivered and a contract had still to  
be awarded to establish the training center.

He said that Bush administration had requested $97 million for the  
program in the current fiscal year but has yet to receive funds from  
the US Congress. That would finance the development of four new  
battalions and establish headquarters for them, among other measures.

Morrell said that the Pentagon hoped that US Army trainers would be  
involved in Pakistan but noted that they were currently in high  
demand. The US military is involved in major efforts to train forces  
in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We're trying to incorporate some foreign military trainers as well,"  
Morrell said. Elements of the plan have been reported by US media in  
recent weeks. But Morrell's comments were the first time the Pentagon  
has spoken publicly about the program.