KARACHI: The terrorist attack at Jinnah International Airport on Sunday night was primarily focused on the cargo terminals and resulted in the destruction of Nato-Isaf cargo bound for Afghanistan, Customs sources said. The sources said that there were several consignments lying at these cargo terminals, which were to be airlifted to Afghanistan for the US and Nato forces. Initial reports by some international media outfits after the attack had claimed that PAF jets and Nato supplies had been damaged in the attack. However, security officials and the ISPR had strongly denied that any military aircraft was parked at terminal one of the airport, which suffered the most during the attack. “No aircraft have been damaged in the attack,” tweeted ISPR DG Maj General Asim Bajwa. However, a Taliban spokesman claimed the attack was aimed at military aircraft, drones and tons of Nato supplies. This was reiterated in a statement issued by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), in which they said the attack was carried out on a ‘special section’ of the airport. The statement said the operation continued for nearly six hours during which many of the fighter jets, American drones and other military planes which were in that special section not visible to the passengers, were destroyed, in addition to the killing many security forces. The reverse cargo did not come to Air Freight Unit (AFU), as it was moved to the seaports directly, it was learnt. The Nato-Isaf cargo, which is routed to Afghanistan through Pakistan, does not contain food and medicines only. The details of this cargo cannot be ascertained as Nato-Isaf cargo is generally not examined at the port, the sources said. They said that it seemed that the attackers were not after the terminal or hijacking the aircraft on the runway, instead the warehouses and the Customs examination hall were the primary targets. It should be mentioned that at least two of the cargo bays were attacked and set on fire by the militants.Nato-Isaf supplies remain crucial for the alliance as they prepare to leave Afghanistan with some semblance of order, after the end of their campaign.
Posted on: Sat, 14 Jun 2014 21:34:35 +0000
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