Pakistan recovers stolen Nato hoard

The stolen goods included helicopter spare parts, equipment to detect landmines, binoculars and personal belongings.

PESHAWAR: Pakistan's Frontier Corps paramilitary said Monday it had recovered a huge hoard of military equipment stolen from Nato supply convoys travelling to Afghanistan.

The stolen goods, which included helicopter spare parts, equipment to detect landmines, binoculars and personal belongings, were found in raids on warehouses in Jamrud town in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region of Khyber.

"We began raiding different private warehouses late on Thursday and this operation continued until Sunday," Frontier Corps spokesman Major Fazal-ur-Rehman told reporters.

"We are making the assessment (about the value of stolen goods) but the cost must be in millions of rupees. What I can tell you at the moment is that the equipment was looted during the last five to six months."

He declined to blame any specific group for the theft, but said: "One thing is clear -- militants were involved in these activities.

"We have taken up the matter with local tribesmen and told them that the owners of these warehouses should voluntarily surrender to security forces."

Khyber is on the main Nato supply route through Pakistan into Afghanistan, where 150,000 US and Nato forces are battling to reverse an escalating Taliban insurgency.

Nato supplies also travel through the southwestern province of Baluchistan, which is troubled by Taliban violence and attacks by separatists who rose up in 2004 demanding autonomy and a greater share of profits from natural resources.