ISLAMABAD, Jan 13: Nato forces engaged in relief activities in the earthquake-affected areas of Pakistan will complete withdrawal from the country by mid- February.

This was announced by the Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces in Pakistan, Air Commodore Andrew G. Walton, while speaking at a round-table conference organized by the military alliance here on Friday.

He said an agreement giving legal status to Nato forces in Pakistan for 90 days was to expire by the end of January but the stay of Nato forces had been extended up to the middle of February.

He said Nato forces would withdraw from Azad Kashmir by February 1 and from Pakistan by middle of that month.

He said withdrawal of four Nato helicopters would not affect relief activities as weather conditions would not allow too much reliance on airlift operations and strong winds and low clouds would make helicopter operations in the mountainous region of Kashmir more challenging.

Answering a question, he said Nato forces would be leaving behind nothing but Pakistan had requested two Nato member countries to leave behind some equipment.

He said France had positively responded to the request and the fuel farm established in Abbottabad would remain there after the withdrawal. Air Commodore Walton did not reveal the name of the second country.

He said there was a lot of criticism against the presence of Nato forces in Pakistan and added that they were in the country neither to crush the Kashmiri freedom fighters nor to chase Al Qaeda operatives.

Answering another question, he said Nato forces intended to complete everything they had started, before they left. However, he added, 14 army engineers’ battalions were capable of completing the projects that remained incomplete.

He said Nato forces would restore a fresh water spring in Arja, which had been badly damaged by the devastating quake, adding that its restoration would benefit thousands of people.

Answering a question, he said there was no formal relationship between Nato and Pakistan and Nato had no role to play in reconstruction of the quake-ravaged areas.

Answering yet another question, he said Nato forces did not face any problem in Pakistan on account of lack of experience in relief activities.

He said that was the second time Nato had conducted an emergency relief operation. The first time was when the United States requested Nato’s assistance in the relief effort following Hurricane Katrina.