NATO Contractors 'Attacking Own Vehicles' in Pakistan

Tankers on fire near Quetta, Pakistan (6 Oct 2010)

By Riaz Sohail
BBC News, Karachi October 6 2010

Nato supply convoys travelling through Pakistan to Afghanistan have regularly come under attack in the past, but following Pakistan's decision to block their route through the Khyber Pass, they now face an even bigger security threat.Hundreds of tankers and trucks have been left stranded on highways and depots across Pakistan, with little or no security.

Taliban militants have regularly been targeting the convoys, even when they are heavily protected.

But many believe it is not just the militants who pose a security threat to the convoys.

The owners of oil tankers being used to supply fuel to Nato in Afghanistan say some of the attacks on their convoys are suspicious.

They say there is evidence to suggest that bombs have been planted in many of vehicles by the "Nato contractors" - individuals or companies who have been contracted by Nato to supply fuel and goods to forces in Afghanistan.

The contractors subsequently hire the transporters who then carry the goods.

Selling fuel
Dost Mohammad, an oil tanker owner from Nowshera district, said a Nato contractor had recently been caught trying to plant a bomb in an oil tanker.

Nato supply trucks parked by a road in Torkhum, Pakistan (2 Oct 2010)
Contractors say there is little of no security for the supply convoys

"This happened in the area of Paiyee, when he was putting the bomb under the vehicle."

"At that time, a few men also opened fire on the tankers. The deputy later told the police that he had been told to plant the bomb by the contractor."

Dost Mohammad said the contractor had apparently sold off the fuel first.

"Only 2,000 litres from the original 50,000 litres had been left in the tanker to cover up the crime," he said.

Dost Mohammad said it is a win-win situation for the contractors.

"If an old vehicle is burnt, Nato gives them money for a new vehicle. In addition, they receive compensation for all the fuel lost as well."

We are very scared at the moment - we are an open target for the militants” -- Israrullah Shinwari All Pakistan Oil Tankers Association
But the Deputy Minister for Interior, Tasneem Ahmed, dismissed the transporters' claims.

"We have no such information that the Nato contractors are themselves setting the tankers on fire," he told the BBC.

"No such complaints have been lodged, to my knowledge."

The BBC also spoke to a Nato contractor, who was similarly dismissive of the allegations.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said Nato insured all the goods being transported and the vehicles carrying them.

"NATO pays the premium and bears the relevant charges with the local companies who provide the schemes. The transporters are then reimbursed on the basis of their actual losses," he said.

But he said the policies were only valid within Pakistan.

Driver arrests
But Nowshera's police chief, Nisar Tanoli, had a different account of events.
Khyber Pass • Up to 80% of Nato supplies for Afghanistan pass through Pakistan • Majority are driven 1,200 miles (1,931km) from port of Karachi to Kabul via Khyber Pass • 1,000 container lorries and tankers travel daily through the pass to Kabul • Khyber Pass is 53km long (33 miles) and up to a height of 1,070m (3,444ft) • About 150 lorries go via the southern supply route through Chaman to Kandahar.

Talking to the BBC, he confirmed that at least two attempts to blow up oil tankers had taken place in the district.
"One took place in Paiyee, and the other in the area of Watak near Akora Khattak," he said.

"In both incidents the tankers were parked in the area for a couple of days. During this time, bombs were made in nearby houses and then used on the tankers."

He said the contractors were "in a hurry" to get a copy of the initial police reports into the incident and were "not interest in prolonging the investigations".

"The insurance agents also showed up a few days later," he said.

Mr Tanoli says the police carried on their investigations and the facts eventually came to light.

"We have now arrested some drivers and their helpers," he said.

"The people behind them are not residents in the district, but we have issued warrants for their arrest."

He added that there have been incidents in which fuel for aircraft has been sold off.

"The contractors later said it had leaked, or the tanker caught fire."

'Open target'

All, then, is not as straight forward as it seems, as far as the threat to the Nato supply route is concerned.

But despite these additional concerns, the main danger continues to come from the Taliban.

"We are very scared at the moment - we are an open target for the militants," said Israrullah Shinwari, a spokesman for the All Pakistan Oil Tankers Association.

"Since the blockade was enforced, we have 3,000 tankers stranded across Pakistan."

"The blockade itself has cost us tens of millions of rupees in losses. This does not include the damages suffered in the attacks.

"The Taliban have openly declared they will target the tankers, but we have been provided with no security."

Since 2007, the militants have destroyed or captured dozens of Nato transport vehicles, especially in the Khyber tribal region.

But a security analyst said the latest move was "tantamount to encouraging the militants to have a real go at the convoys".

"The fact that government ministers are calling the attack an expression of public anger shows that some may just be payback," he said.

"Pakistan's intelligence and security apparatus may be encouraging the attacks by looking the other way. In fact, there are suggestions that agencies may themselves be behind some themselves."

Additional reporting by Riffatullah Orakzai, BBC News, Peshawar
Map

More on This Story

Taliban Conflict

Views: 59

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

Comment by bryan l on October 8, 2010 at 1:57am
yep lots of money.

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Is Contact With Extraterrestrials Plausible?
"Burbia, we now know from Dr. Stevn Greer that there are 3 kinds of UAP's -alien or NHI,…"
2 hours ago
tjdavis posted a video
4 hours ago
Burbia commented on Doc Vega's blog post Is Contact With Extraterrestrials Plausible?
"There's the story of John Dee making a deal with entities leading up to splitting the atom and…"
15 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Escape from the Clown Show

I said stop and you say goOver the proverbial cliff don’t you know?People can’t seem to escape from…See More
16 hours ago
tjdavis posted videos
yesterday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
yesterday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
yesterday
cheeki kea posted a photo
yesterday
cheeki kea commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

Muskrat Love

"Good vid. find Burbia. Very interesting indeed. "
yesterday
cheeki kea posted a blog post

General Dynamics Was Contracted By Pentagon To Run An Anti-Vaccine Psyop? Deep insight from a reader comment...

 A top notch comment from a Substack post. I nominate this individual as as commenter of the year…See More
yesterday
Burbia commented on tjdavis's photo
Wednesday
tjdavis posted photos
Wednesday
Sandy posted a video

Mel Gibson's message to Newsom: 'Spend less on hair gel!'

Actor Mel Gibson joins ‘The Ingraham Angle’ to call out California leaders over their response to the deadly wildfires scorching Los Angeles County. #foxnews...
Tuesday
Burbia commented on KLC's group MUSICWARS
Tuesday
Burbia posted a blog post
Tuesday
cheeki kea commented on tjdavis's photo
Monday
Burbia posted a video

This Plane Unlocked the Pandora Box, and This Can't be good...

This is all I could find on this crazy "Alien" situation and the famous missing airplane case - but is it connected and what does it mean?
Monday
tjdavis commented on tjdavis's blog post The Resnick Family - CA Thread
Monday
tjdavis posted a blog post
Monday
tjdavis posted videos
Monday

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted