The US embassy in Pakistan rejected Oct. 23 claims that an Islamabad warehouse in the possession of a subcontractor to Xe Worldwide, formerly Blackwater, was used to store heavy arms and ammunition for the company. Said the statement: "Kestral Logistics is a private logistics company that handles the import of equipment and supplies provided by the US to the government of Pakistan. All of the equipment and supplies are imported at the request of the Pakistan government, which also certifies the shipments." It also said that the media outlets that published the story did not contact the embassy for comment. (Daily Times, Islamabad, Oct. 24)

The claims of weapons stockpiling at the warehouse, located in the Sector I-9/3 industrial area of Islamabad, were made in Pakistan's The Nation newspaper last week, citing an anonymous source. The source also claimed Blackwater has implanted sensitive instruments at the Sihala nuclear installation to monitor the activities of the adjacent Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) at Kahuta. (Daily Star, Bangladesh, Oct. 22; The Nation, Islamabad, Oct. 20)

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