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Pakistani Helicopters Hover at Border With Afghanistan to Prevent Militants From Entering Country

TIRAH VALLEY, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistani military helicopters hovered at the border with Afghanistan and hundreds of soldiers patrolled the narrow mountain trails Thursday to try to stop Osama bin Laden or other al-Qaida members from escaping into Pakistan. Pakistani troops, armed with heavy machine guns and light weapons, have set up positions on mountain peaks along the border near the besieged Tora Bora camp, where U.S. bombers were pounding suspected al-Qaida members battling Afghan fighters.

There are fears that the militants may try to enter Pakistan - a key partner of the U.S.-led coalition against war on terrorism.

"We are monitoring the border round the clock," said Aslam Khan, a Pakistani soldier.

Snow was falling Thursday in Tora Bora, and Pakistani tribesmen said it would be difficult for al-Qaida fighters to make the arduous journey into Pakistan.

"The snow has blocked most of the passes," said Gul Zareen, 62, a Pakistani tribesmen.

"It seems that nature has also turned against Osama and his friends," Zareen told The Associated Press here in the Tirah Valley, 80 miles southwest of Peshawar. "It's now impossible to cross these mountains either by foot or by mules," he said.

On Sunday, the government won approval from tribal elders in the semiautonomous region to send a federal force to the porous frontier. The army movement was the first time federal forces have received permission from tribal elders to enter the area.

Zareen said bin Laden and his friends won't be welcome in his area, which is home to warrior Afridi tribes.

"We don't want Osama or (the Taliban leader) Mullah (Mohammed) Omar to create problems for us," he said. "We welcome the presence of troops here. It is in our interest."

"If they come here we will arrest them ourselves," he said.

Pakistan, which shares a 1,344-mile-long border with Afghanistan, has tightened security at its frontier with the war-torn neighbor in recent weeks in an attempt to cut the escape routes of militants. But the security is particularly tight in the region bordering Nangarhar.

Bin Laden is a prime suspect of Sept. 11 terrorist strikes in the United States, which has vowed to eliminate his network and protectors - the now vanquished Afghan Taliban.

Gen. Rashid Quereshi, the spokesman of the military-led government, said a substantial number of troops have been deployed at Pakistan's border with Afghanistan to prevent fleeing Afghan Taliban and Islamic militants from entering the country.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2001