A NATO spokesman in Afghanistan says reports of hundreds of troops massing near the Pakistani border are totally inaccurate.
Spokesman
Mark Laity told VOA Afghan service Tuesday that coalition forces are
not conducting any unusual activity near the border.
Laity was
responding to reports from local Pakistani officials and villagers who
say they have witnessed a buildup of troops across the border in
Afghanistan.
Residents of Lowara Mandi in
Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region report that foreign troops
moved armored vehicles and heavy artillery into Afghanistan's border
region Tuesday.
Witnesses say some Pakistani families have fled the area because of fears of a cross-border strike.
But
Pakistani army officials are playing down fears of such a strike. They
say the troop movement in Afghanistan is probably routine, and that
reports of a buildup of U.S. forces are "unnecessary hype."
The
United States and Afghanistan say Pakistan's tribal regions are a haven
for militants who stage cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.
Afghan
President Hamid Karzai has threatened to send troops into Pakistan if
the Islamabad government does not stop the violence. Pakistan says it
does not allow its territory to be used to attack other countries.
Last
month, the U.S. military moved an aircraft carrier from the Persian
Gulf to the Arabian Sea to further support its operations in
Afghanistan.
In another development, Pakistan is denying the
Afghan president's allegations that its intelligence agencies and armed
forces were behind a series of attacks in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's
Foreign Ministry Tuesday called the allegations "baseless" and said they
were aimed at creating an "artificial crisis" in relations.
Mr.
Karzai's spokesman told reporters in Kabul today that his government
will only disclose its proof of Pakistan's involvement in the attacks
if Islamabad is interested in addressing the problem.
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