Salala: 24 soldiers killed, supply lines cut

Background

By late 2011 relations were already under severe strain after the Raymond Davis affair and the Abbottabad raid. In September Admiral Mike Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Haqqani network acted as a "veritable arm" of the ISI and had carried out attacks in Kabul with ISI support; Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar warned that such recriminations risked losing an ally⁶.

What happened

During a night operation by US and Afghan forces near the border on 25–26 November 2011, US helicopters and an AC-130 gunship, supported by fighter aircraft, attacked two Pakistani army posts at Salala in Mohmand Agency, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers^1,2. Each side later said the other had fired first.

Pakistan's response was the strongest of the decade. It closed the ground supply routes through its territory used by NATO forces in Afghanistan, ordered the United States to vacate Shamsi airbase in Balochistan within fifteen days, and announced a review of all cooperation². The last US personnel left Shamsi on 11 December³. Pakistan also boycotted the international conference on Afghanistan in Bonn on 5 December, despite American requests to attend⁴.

The inquiry

US Central Command appointed Brigadier General Stephen Clark to investigate. His December report concluded that US forces had acted in self-defence and with appropriate force after being fired on, but that inadequate coordination, incorrect mapping information and an overarching lack of trust had contributed, and that errors had been made on both sides^1,5. The Pakistan Army formally rejected the findings, saying the claims of self-defence and proportionate force were contrary to the facts^5,7. President Obama and other officials expressed condolences, but Washington did not initially apologise - the central Pakistani demand.

Why it mattered

The closure of the supply lines showed the leverage Pakistan held over the war in Afghanistan, while US forces' increased use of the costlier Northern Distribution Network through Central Asia showed the limits of that leverage. Parliament in Islamabad undertook a review of the terms of engagement with the United States.

Legacy

The routes stayed closed for seven months, until Hillary Clinton said in July 2012 that the United States was sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military. Salala is commemorated in Pakistan as a national loss and remains a reference point for Pakistani demands that the relationship be based on respect for sovereignty.