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These circles attribute this decision not to disturb Tenet from his post to an important behind-the-scene role, which
he has reportedly been playing since last year in working for a rapprochement between the Palestine Liberation
Organisation (PLO) & Israel in West Asia and between India & Pakistan over Kashmir. Bush & his
senior aides, who do not want the President to personally play an active mediatory role in West Asia or elsewhere
similar to the high-profile roles played by Clinton, reportedly felt that US interests could be better served by
continuing to use the deniable, stealth services of the CIA chief. It is said that Tenet was involved in the secret
goings-on which preceded the subsequently-aborted cease-fire between the India govt & the Hizbul
Mujahideen and in the events preceding & following the non-initiation of combat operations in Kashmir by the
India govt. He operated directly as well as through Maj.Gen. (retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani, who like Gen.Musharraf,
was a blue-eyed boy of the late Gen.Zia-ul-Haq and who is now a close confidante of the self-styled Chief
Executive.
Maj.Gen.Durrani had in the past served as ISI station chief in Washington and was responsible for the ISI's liaison
with the CIA & the FBI. Last year, Jamaat-e-Islami circles in Pakistan had alleged that he had, at the instance
of the CIA, played a role, in consultation with Gen.Musharraf, in persuading the Hizbul Mujahideen to agree to a
cease-fire. However, the whole exercise was sabotaged by Lt.Gen.Mohammad Aziz, the then Chief of the Gen.
Staff (CGS), who is a Sudan from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and had not been consulted by Gen.Musharraf
& Maj.Gen. Durrani. Gen. Musharraf had him subsequently transferred to Lahore as a Corps Commander.
It is claimed by these circles in the US that the Ramzan initiative of the India govt (non-initiation of combat
operations) was to have been reciprocated by the Gen. with an order to his troops for restraint along the
Line of Control (LOC) and action to moderate the activities of the jehadi terrorist organisations in Jammu & Kashmir
which, in turn, would have been reciprocated by India with permission to the Hurriyat leaders to visit Pakistan.
While the Gen. issued the restraint order to his troops, he allegedly went back on his word to the CIA to issue a
similar restraint order to the jehadis on the ground that this was being opposed by some of his Corps Commanders.
It is said to be correct that some of his Corps Commanders & retired military officers such as Lt.Gen.Hamid
Gul & Lt.Gen. Javed Nasir, former chiefs of the ISI, had strongly urged that any restraint by the jehadis should
be conditional on progress in a resumed political dialogue with India. Lt.Gen.Nasir reportedly even urged that if the
dialogue was resumed, any restraint on the jehadi organisations should be only as a quid pro quo to a similar
restraint by the India govt on the alleged anti-Muslim activities of the RSS, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad & the
Shiv Sena, but his advice on this issue did not reportedly enjoy the support of other officers, serving or retired.
It is claimed that in the face of this log jam, Tenet once again stealthily stepped into the scene through his recent
visit to Islamabad and worked out a formula, which could be projected by both India & Pakistan as a
vindication of their respective stand hitherto. Ever since capturing power in October,1999, Gen.Musharraf has been
repeatedly expressing his desire for talks at any place, at any time and at any level. Even if the forthcoming summit
has really been midwifed by the CIA as claimed, this need not detract from the significance of the turn of events.
But, one has to keep one's fingers crossed till the summit actually takes place. Gen.Musharraf, sarcastically called
in Pakistan General Retreat, had in the past repeatedly reversed decisions which were opposed by the jehadis. If
the jehadis outside & inside the army continue to oppose the summit, it is to be seen whether he would resist
their pressure and stick to his decision to come to India.
The summit would at least provide an opportunity to our Prime Minister to test the military dictator's sincerity and to
judge whether the reasonableness projected by him is an act of desperation to move Pakistan out of its continuing
diplomatic isolation & economic difficulties or just one more crafty move to catch India on the wrong foot.
In the past, India had had no qualms about negotiating with Pakistan's military dictators, but Gen.Musharraf cannot
be compared to them: The past dictators were either Punjabis or Pakhtoons, who hold the majority of the posts in
the military. Gen.Musharraf is a Mohajir, who is looked down upon by the Punjabi officers as a Mohajir parvenu.
As Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, often points out, the past dictators seized power
themselves, but it was Gen.Musharraf's subordinates who seized power in his absence and made him the ruler.
He, therefore, owes his gratitude to them and cannot easily over-rule them. The past dictators enjoyed absolute
power, but Gen. Musharraf is only the first among equals.
He has conceded more demands of the Islamic fundamentalists during his 19 months in office than Gen.Zia. Till
now, he has been extremely amenable to pressure from the Jehadis. In recent weeks, significant sections of
Pakistan's civilian bureaucracy and, particularly its economic managers, have been coming round to the view that
Pakistan's continued involvement in Afghanistan & J&K was coming in the way of its economic recovery and
that the harping of the military leadership on the nuclear flashpoint theme in the hope of thereby internationalising
the Kashmir issue was scaring foreign investors away There has been a dramatic drop in foreign investments since
the Gen. seized power.
[ "involvement in Afghanistan and J&K was coming in the way of its economic recovery" = Pakistan
charged in Congressionally required human rights reports of aiding terrorists which auto-suspends foreign aid
delivery; "dramatic drop in foreign investments" = cut-off of U.S. tax$ welfare checks ]
The Corps Commanders, however, do not share this perception and continue to believe in their present policy of
keeping Indian security forces bleeding in J&K in the hope of thereby weakening them and keeping the jehadis
fighting & dying at the hands of the Indian security forces in order to prevent their returning to Pakistan and
talibanising the country.
India should guard itself against any illusion that the summit could lead to peace in J & K. What will really lead to
peace is better governance and attention to the grievances of the people in the State , effective control of
human rights violations by the Security Forces and a willingness, capability and readiness to take the proxy war to
Pakistani territory.
4.7.01 Barry Bearak NYTimes Nevertheless, Ms. Bhutto was talking about just such a comeback today. "I have called all my colleagues over for a consultation as to setting a date," she said to Sky News, the British-based outlet. "One big hurdle to my return has been removed, and it's important for me to go back and be part of the democratic process in my country." Ms. Bhutto and her husband were convicted in April 1999 of accepting kickbacks from a Swiss company. They were sentenced to 5 years in prison & fined $8.6 million. At the time, Mr. Zardari was already in jail on other charges. In setting aside Ms. Bhutto's conviction, the Supreme Court issued a statement that did not explain the reasons for the decision. All along, Ms. Bhutto has insisted that the case against her was a political maneuver set in motion by Mr. Sharif. In February, that accusation gained credence when The Sunday Times in Britain published transcripts of reported conversations between the original trial judge and pivotal figures in the Sharif govt. Today in an interview with the BBC, Ms. Bhutto said of the judges in her case, "They can stand up to the forces of dictatorship and uphold the scales of justice." Numerous allegations of corruption remain against Ms. Bhutto. If she does go home, she may well be taken into custody and find herself facing additional charges. Her career has been a series of such pinnacles and canyons. In the male-dominated world of politics in a Muslim country, she managed to become prime minister from 1988 to 1990 & again from 1993 to 1996. She was once considered a great hope for good govt in notoriously corrupt Pakistan. But her years in office were marked by the familiar scenes of scandals, favoritism & political vendettas. |
British court releases Bhutto's bank records 4.12.01 AFP ISLAMABAD Govt said today a British magistrates court had released 22,000 documents detailing assets & bank records of Benazir Bhutto and jailed husband Asif Ali Zardari. An official statement said the court had released the documents to Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) through the British High Commission here.
4.8.01 Pamela Constable WashPost pA23
"This will create a huge challenge to the regime's agenda. It makes her look both morally clean
and politically resurgent," said Rifaat Hussain, a political scientist in Islamabad, the capital, and a
former diplomatic aide in Bhutto's govt in the early 1990s. "It has given a whole new twist to the
political climate in Pakistan." At the same time, Pakistan's other major political party, the Pakistan
Muslim League, held elections two weeks ago and chose Mian Azhar, a reformist politician from
Lahore, as its new president, reportedly with the tacit approval of the military govt. Before the vote,
the Muslim League had been mired in bickering and confusion. Its standard-bearer, former PM Nawaz Sharif,
Bhutto's longtime rival, was overthrown in the military coup of Oct. 1999, imprisoned for months
and then sent into exile in Saudi Arabia last December. Both parties are still weak & discredited after 2 decades of disappointing leadership by Bhutto & Sharif, who were each elected twice as prime minister and then driven from office. But after 18 months of enforced dormancy, |
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both parties have been given new life and relevance. Gen.
Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, has also been acting increasingly like a politician
instead of a general. Last month, he announced he would not retire from the army as planned this
fall, and in interviews and news conferences since then he has hinted that he might want to
become president. Musharraf has pledged to restore civilian rule by Oct. 2002, and the military
govt has begun holding elections for local, regional & national parliamentary seats. But
political analysts suggest Musharraf might now want to form an earlier, interim govt in conjunction
with the Muslim League. "Without wanting to sound haughty or arrogant, I have a feeling that I
have a role to play in ensuring continuity & sustainability.
Therefore, I cannot retire,"
Musharraf said in a magazine interview last week. "The govt is examining all aspects of my
becoming the president in 2002." In one way, the court's decision on Bhutto reflects well on the
Musharraf govt, because it shows the judiciary to be independent of military influence. But in
another way, it injects a wild card into the govt's careful script for a controlled political transition.
Musharraf & his aides have been counting on the continued absence of Bhutto & Sharif,
the country's two leading politicians. Sharif is out of the picture, unable to return for 10 years under
his exile agreement. But Bhutto's unexpected legal reprieve has opened the door for her political
homecoming.
In a BBC interview Friday, Bhutto said the court ruling has "removed the biggest hurdle for my
return to the country." Earlier, she said she had planned to come home after local elections were
completed in August, "but today's judgment creates a whole new situation. It will now be sooner
than later," she said. Nevertheless, legal & political analysts said it was far from certain
whether Bhutto, who has been raising 3 children in comfortable exile while her husband, Asif Ali
Zardari, serves a prison sentence in Pakistan for corruption, would risk facing a new trial and the
possibility of being sent to prison herself. "Does she have the raw will to stage a comeback? I don't
think so," said Ayaz Amir, a leading political columnist for Dawn newspaper. "I think the political
keenness she had in the '80s has been dulled by time, children and the millions she has made."
Even attorneys for Bhutto said they were not certain what she would do next. | |
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Pakistani junta arrests 100s in opposition party crackdown
4.3.01 Vilani Peiris WSWS
Pakistan's military regime headed by General Pervez Musharraf carried out a widespread
crackdown on opposition parties to prevent a protest rally in the provincial capital of
Lahore on March 23 Pakistan Day calling for the restoration of parliamentary democracy
& early national elections. In the days leading up to the demonstration, police rounded up
an estimated 2,000 activists from the 16-party Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD)
formed last December to oppose the junta. The alliance includes the Pakistan Muslim League
(PML) of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP).
Among those detained were 28 political leaders, including ARD leader Nawabzada Nasurullah
Khan, PML acting president Javad Hashmi and ARD secretary general Zafar Iqbal Jhagra. On the
day of the rally, 6,000 police were deployed to prevent people from assembling at the venue,
Mochi Gate Park, which was sealed off with barbed wire barricades. Hundreds of people were
arrested trying to take part in the rally and others were detained when they marched to the
Nawabzada's house.
Two days before the police crackdown, on March 19, the ruling junta met in Islamabad to discuss
how to consolidate their rule. According to a report in the Times of India, the commanders
discussed among other issues a comprehensive political strategy to consolidate the army's hold
on power. One plan was to appoint Musharraf as the country's president with greater powers
under a changed constitution. Musharraf also used the meeting to promote eight generals loyal to
him.
Musharraf has since hinted at his plans to retain power beyond October 2002 deadline for
elections by the Supreme Court. In an interview with the Washington Times, Musharraf
said "the Pakistani environment is not fully conducive to real parliamentary democracy, as it is
understood in the West" and alluded to the possibility of changing the constitution to strengthen
the presidency. At a press conference on March 25, he bluntly ruled out retiring as scheduled
this Oct. and indicated that time was already short to prepare for national elections next year.
When asked whether he planned to seek the presidency, Musharraf said it was within the "strategy
and parameters of the govt
whatever needed to be done would be done
surely."
The intl response to the police roundup has been distinctly muted. The US State Dept
issued a perfunctory statement saying that the arrests "hamper Pakistan's return to democracy".
The British Commonwealth called on Musharraf to announce a plan for democratic rule. Far from
seeking Musharraf's removal, these routine protests are simply a means to keep the pressure on
the military to implement the policies demanded by the major powers, including the economic
measures dictated by the IMF and World Bank. Pakistan is in desperate need of further
financial assistance. At his press conference on March 25, Musharraf admitted "debt servicing has
gone up to $US36 billion from $14 billion during last 11 years." The amount is now equal to
55% of the budget expenditure and equivalent to the country's total foreign exchange
earnings. Most of what is left of the budget, 26% goes to the military, leaving little for health,
education and other services. Musharraf made an appeal to the country's rich to each lend
$200,000 to help the treasury out of its precarious position.
According to an Intl Labor Organisation report, 6% of the workforce is unemployed and another 15 million
people are underemployed. The regime is proceeding with its restructuring and privatisation program, which will
inevitably lead to more job losses. It plans this month to auction 868 indebted private sector companies, which
have 107 billion rupees in outstanding public sector loans. At the same time, state-owned banks
will close 588 branches and retrench 50 percent of their workforce. Franco Passacantando, head
of a World Bank delegation to Pakistan, last week called on the junta to speed up its economic
restructuring. "We appreciate the govt's structural economic reform which we believe
needs faster implementation," he told a press conference. So far the IMF has released only one
installment of its loans to Pakistan last year after the regime imposed a general sales tax and
began the privatisation of state enterprises. In a revealing statement, the Finance Minister Saukhat
Aziz admitted last month that "more and more people are slipping below the poverty line and
social indicators are deteriorating
Above all, the people of Pakistan are losing confidence in the govt's
ability to manage its affairs." But he emphasised govt had to proceed with restructuring to get "strong support from the intl donors." Small farmers faced with severe drought have carried out a number of demonstrations. On March 22, the Awami Teherek carried out a protest calling on the govt to provide water. Police responded by arresting around 220 people including the organisation's president Rasool Baktish Paligo. According to media reports, the protesters were shouting: "We are at war with General Musharraf." In a recent press statement, Musharraf's press secretary, Major General Rashid Qureshi, pointed to the mounting social tensions in Pakistan. "The country has witnessed strikes, lockouts and breaks in everyday life causing the loss of billions of rupees," he said. "[We] can no longer afford to put the process of stability and the execution of our policies framed in the best national interest at risk " When Musharraf seized power in 1999, he was able to capitalise on the widespread opposition to Sharif and his economic policies. Eighteen months later the junta has proven incapable of resolving the country's economic and social crisis and is resorting to police repression to try to stamp out opposition. more |
12.6.01 Anwer Kamal News Intl
A resident of Hatri, Jan Mohammad, had filed a habeas corpus petition in the Sindh High Court (SHC)
Hyderabad Circuit through Aftab Ahmed Bhutto stating that SHO Hamir Khan Bhangwar and ASI Photu Khan
along with 10 police constables raided his house on the night of 26 & 27 November. He alleged that
during the raid, the police searched the entire house and stole Rs 10,000 cash, gold ornaments and 82 goats
and added the police picked up his three relatives including Noor Mohammad, Gul Hassan and Mubeen along
with his brother, Luqman and himself, Jan Mohammad. He informed the court that on the next day, the police
released him (Jan Mohammed) with instructions to arrange bribe money for the release of his relatives and
brother. He said instead of arranging the money, he approached the Sindh High Court (SHC) and filed a
constitutional petition under section 491 against the SHO and ASI on 28 November for arresting his relatives
and brother.
He said a two-member bench comprising Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany
appointed Ghulam Murtaza Shah as raid commissioner on his petition to visit the Hatri police station and
ascertain the illegal police detention there. The raid commissioner raided the Hatri police station on the same
day (November 28) but he did not find the relatives and the brother of the petitioner there. The court official
also raided the Masu Bhurgari police post of Hatri police station but they were also not present there.
On the next day, the petitioner again filed an appeal before the SHC Hyderabad against the arrest of both boys
and prayed for their recovery along with others. The bench again appointed Ghulam Murtaza Shah as raid
commissioner and directed him to ascertain the illegal detention of both boys. The raid commissioner raided
the police post of Hatri on November 30 and recovered the boys, Ali Nawaz and Qurban Ali. On inquiry, the
Incharge of Misu Bhurgari police post, Mohammed Urs Chandio revealed that both the detainees were kept at
police post on the directives of ASI Hatri police, Photu Khan. He further stated that the detainees were used to
be shifted to Hatri police lock-up at night but during day they were brought to Misu Bhurgari police post. When
the raid commissioner checked the police daily entry register he found no entry regarding the arrest of both
the boys. He reached the Hatri police station and checked the roznamcha but he found nothing there about the
arrest of Ali Nawaz and Qurban Ali. When the raid commissioner asked the SHO why the two youths were
detained at Misu Bhurgari police post, he replied that he does not know anything about their arrest and the
police does not require them in any case. The raid commissioner directed the SHO to appear before the court
on December 4 along with the entire record. SHO Hamir Khan Bhangwar appeared before a SHC bench and stated that the three people (relatives and brother of the petitioners) including Mubeen, Noor Mohammed and Luqman were wanted by police in a case No. (FIR) 108/2001 registered by police against them under section 457, 382 and 413 PPC while one relative, Gul Hassan had already been released from the police station. About the arrest of two boys the SHO stated that the raid commissioner, Ghulam Murtaza Shah had left the detainees at Hatri police station with instructions that they be kept at the police station and produced before the court on December 4. The SHO said he requested the raid commissioner that Ali Nawaz and Qurban Ali be allowed to go to their home but he refused and instructed that they be kept at the police station. The SHC Hyderabad Circuit bench ordered the release of both the boys, and warned SHO Hamir Khan Bhangwar not to harass the petitioner again. The bench disposed of the case with this order.
4.27.01 AP Army took power 10.99, throwing out civilian govt of Nawaz Sharif on charges of massive corruption, economic incompetence and mismanagement. Army sent Sharif into exile in Saudi Arabia after he was found guilty of hijacking & terrorism and sentenced to life in jail. Military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf promised general elections by the end of 2002 in keeping with a Supreme Court order. But the alliance is demanding immediate polls. Military banned public protests & demonstrations almost 1yr ago. Several religious groups defied the ban to hold large gatherings without any interference from military regime. Several members of alliance gone into hiding say they will resurface May 1 to defy the ban & hold rally.
3.25. 01 Pamela Constable WashPost pA22 |
"Punjab became like a jail," said Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, 80, a veteran politician who is
president of the opposition Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy. "Police paraded in the
streets with guns, and public meeting places were barricaded with barbed wire. There was no
rhyme or reason for it." The scenes of mass arrests and armed forces blanketing the streets of
Lahore contrasted sharply with the martial pomp and precision of an official parade in Islamabad,
the capital, held to commemorate Pakistan National Day on Friday. The parade featured tanks,
missiles, helicopters and thousands of smartly uniformed marching troops. "The images of the 2
events
. will define two opposite portraits of Pakistan," wrote columnist Imtiaz Alam in
today's News Intl newspaper. The parade, headed by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's ruler,
"will define a capital under military rule," he wrote, while the repression of protesters in Lahore "will
convey an image of Pakistan still struggling for the original democratic justification of its very
existence."
Atizaz Ahsan, a former senator from the opposition Pakistan People's Party, said that if the rally
had been allowed to go ahead, "people would have had a cathartic release and then gone home."
Instead, he said, "the recurring image of human rights being violated will do a lot of damage to the
regime's image abroad. It will be very counterproductive for the govt." Musharraf's govt has
banned all political activity since it took power in a coup in October 1999. But it has also vowed to
restore civilian rule by October of next year and to hold local, regional and parliamentary elections
before then. The opposition campaign is led by newly allied figures from Pakistan's two major
parties, once bitter rivals. The leaders of the two parties, former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto of
the Pakistan People's Party and Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League, both live in exile.
But the rally highlighted sharp differences in Sharif's party, which is scheduled to hold elections for
a new leader Sunday. Sharif loyalists backed the rally, but party dissidents have refused to
collaborate with Bhutto's forces.
As preparations were underway for Friday's rally, which was intended to coincide with the national
holiday, military authorities warned that the event was illegal and would not be permitted. They
said they would not tolerate any breach of public order or allow any group to jeopardize the govt's
agenda. Wednesday, Maj. Gen. Rashid Qureshi, the military spokesman, reiterated the govt's
commitment to holding elections. A number of opposition leaders were arrested Thursday but
released. Khan, who was placed under temporary house arrest Friday, said by telephone from
Lahore that the opposition would continue to organize and plan future rallies despite the
crackdown. "This govt said it would not impose martial law, and it was our fundamental and
constitutional right to hold a rally," he said. "But this govt is very much allergic to political activity.
They don't have popular support. They think those who are demanding the restoration of
democracy are their real rivals, and they want to eliminate us."
Some opposition leaders suggested that the govt, in forcefully quelling the rally, was also trying to prevent Sharif supporters from allying with Bhutto's party, possibly in hopes of persuading them to participate in the elections. "The regime probably thought the rally would upset its apple cart while trying to make deals with like-minded anti-Sharif leaders," said Ahsan, a senior People's Party figure. "It may have thought people might be dissuaded from crossing over if it came down heavily."
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Pakistani retreats in battle for reform 6.5.00 Pamela Constable WPFS
Islamabad The general rode into town last October, pledging to tackle the
nation's daunting array of problems with discipline, efficiency and the implied threat of force that
only a military ruler can command. The public, fed up with corrupt and hapless civilian rule,
cheered him on. But now, 8 months after Gen. Pervez Musharraf seized power and suspended
Pakistan's constitution and parliament, his credibility as a reformer is sagging badly as he backs
down from confronting one traditional interest group after another. If a powerful army cannot force
the country to shape up, Pakistani and foreign observers now ask in dismay, who can?
Musharraf has backtracked on a pledge to slightly loosen the nation's blasphemy law, making it
more difficult to charge someone with insulting Islam, after Muslim leaders threatened mass
"agitation." He has scaled back his sweeping crusade against industrial loan defaulters. And he
has postponed the nation's first income tax survey after shopkeepers across the nation shut down
in protest for the past week.
"Musharraf is trapped," said Rifaat Hussain, a political scientist at Quaid-e-Azam University. "He
must do a difficult job without damaging the army's image. He has to balance the perception of the
army as being pro-people with the need to use military authority for change. The big question is,
how long can this regime remain benign and still do what needs to be done?"
Ebola-type disease strikes in Pakistan
At least 8 people have died after a highly contagious disease which causes internal bleeding
broke out in the south-western Pakistani province of Baluchistan. The victims incl 5 members of
the same family and two paramedical staff attending the patients. At least 10 people have been
admitted to a govt hospital since the disease broke out last week, and their condition is described
as critical. The disease, which is called Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever and resembles Ebola,
was first detected in Crimea in 1944 and again in Congo in 1956.
U.S. to help catch corrupt Pakistani officials
Islamabad Pakistan's Foreign Minister Abdus Sattar said Monday U.S. promised to help his country catch corrupt officials hiding in North American. "The U.S. govt has given its assurance that it will help in our efforts to trace those accused of corruption," he said at a news conference in Islamabad. Officials in Islamabad earlier said Pakistan's anti-corruption investigators, the National Accountability Bureau, had asked Interpol to track down former navy chief Admiral Mansurul Haq. Haq is believed to be in U.S. The officials said they also had discussed the admiral's extradition with the U.S. officials who had promised to help bring him to Pakistan. "We will soon send a formal extradition request to the U.S.," said one official.
Pakistan maps out road to democracy Karachi Pakistan's military regime yesterday outlined a plan for gradual restoration of democracy, beginning with local elections by July next year. The elections for the local and district govt will start in December and be completed by next July. Announcing his Govt's programme for devolution of power to the district level, General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's chief executive, declared that his main objective was to introduce democracy at the grass roots. He said that by strengthening local govts the military regime wanted to empower the common people. "We want to introduce democracy first at a lower level," he said |
Armed & historically dangerous ¹ Tribesmen not shy about gun culture, vow to resist U.S. 9.28.01 Marcus Stern 9.11.01 terrorist attacks in the U.S. and noted that he has American relatives. But he also said the U.S. would be making a huge mistake by going into Afghanistan. "We will resist. This is our history. It is our way," he said. "Not a single Afghan will stay here, including me. We will go and fight. I am ready to sacrifice my whole family." He said this while sitting on a rope bed, sipping sweet green tea and surrounded by a passel of sons, nephews and grandsons. The words of sacrifice were not idle. His son fought against Soviet commandos when the Soviet Union tried to occupy Afghanistan in the 1980s. The war ended for his son when he stepped on a land mine and was killed.
The shy, polite boys and young men nodded solemnly as their patriarch said he was prepared to see them
"martyred" fighting Americans. One was the teen-age boy of the son killed by a Soviet land mine. As he looked
ahead to a possible war against the U.S., Arbab Tahir Khalil recalled the one against the Soviets. He was living in
the Afghan town of Gulai near Jalalabad, not far from the Pakistani border. "The mujahedeen would come to my
home, 100 of them, at 2 o'clock in the morning. We would get up and feed them happily because they were fighting for the motherland." Another of the men present for the interview yesterday was Hasan Gul Tander. He sat in a gray and brown turban and matching vest, recalling his days fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan alongside Arbab Tahir Khalil's son.
The Pakistani govt has been trying to reduce the number of guns in both the settled and tribal areas of the
North-West Frontier Province, a rugged and almost lawless region that borders Afghanistan. The region is now a
cultural blend of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The effort to make guns less ubiquitous has been greatly successful in the settled areas. While many people keep guns at home, no longer do you see a line of Kalashnikov rifles resting against a restaurant wall while the owners dine. And while the manufacture of weapons has been reduced
significantly in Darra in recent years through govt efforts, the smells and sounds of gun-making are still
ever-present. It is not surprising. The region, the fabled gateway between Central Asia and South Asia, has had a
long love affair with its swords and guns. "A man without a gun is like a woman without jewelry," said Arbab Tahir
Khalil, describing the role of the gun in Pashtun society. "It makes him look handsome. "We sleep with our guns
under our pillows," he added. "And before there were guns, it was swords."
Pakistani forces, militant tribesmen clash
Miran Shah, Pakistan Pakistani helicopter gunships fired on armed pro-Taliban tribesmen after they clashed with security forces Saturday near the border with Afghanistan in the aftermath of a military strike on a suspected militant hide-out.
At least 3 paramilitary soldiers also were killed and about 12 were wounded, most in vehicle ambushes, according to other security and intelligence officials in the region. They said helicopter gunships had been used to target the tribal fighters' positions.
Waziristan is known as a hotbed of al-Qaida and Taliban militants who draw support from the local Pashtun tribal people. Many of the rebellious tribesmen involved in Saturday's unrest were believed to be Islamic students who are sympathetic with the hard-line Taliban militia.
The fighting began Saturday in Mir Ali, a town near Miran Shah, when tribesmen opened fire on vehicles carrying paramilitary rangers, an army officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media about it.
"We acted swiftly to avoid civilian losses ... We are exercising maximum restraint," Sultan said. |
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Pakistan says 300 extremists have been slain Musharraf touts his policy of enlisting tribes to battle foreign militants in south Waziristan border region. 4.13.07 Mubashir Zaidi, Henry Chu L.A. Times
Islamabad Tribal fighters near the border with Afghanistan have killed 300 foreign militants allegedly linked to Al Qaeda over the last few weeks, President Pervez Musharraf said Thursday. Speaking at a counterterrorism conference here in the capital, Musharraf acknowledged for the first time that Pakistan's military had been assisting the tribesmen in their battle against mostly Uzbek militants who have found a haven in the remote, lawless region of South Waziristan.
Under a controversial deal struck last year, Musharraf scaled back troop deployments in the mountainous area in exchange for a pledge by tribal leaders to drive out militants tied to the Al Qaeda terrorist network and the Taliban movement. |
Musharraf has been under increasing U.S. pressure to show results on his stated commitment to stamp out militancy and capture Al Qaeda followers hiding in Pakistan, especially in the border areas. Analysts say pro-Taliban forces receive training in camps on Pakistani territory and cross into Afghanistan to carry out attacks against American and other coalition troops.
Musharraf, an army general who seized power in a coup in 1999, said Thursday that 700 Al Qaeda members had been held since late 2001. He dismissed suggestions that the Pakistani military establishment was engaged in a double game, declaring support for the U.S. war on terrorism while tacitly allowing or even encouraging militants to operate.
"If Pakistan is bluffing, if I am bluffing and the ISI is bluffing, I think we should be out of the [anti-terrorism] coalition," he said, referring to the military's Inter-Services Intelligence agency.
In neighboring Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan troops killed at least two dozen Taliban militants in Zabol province early Thursday, the U.S.-led coalition said in a statement. The joint force called in an airstrike after identifying "a large group" of Taliban fighters on a ridge, the statement said. After the militants scattered, some on motorcycles, warplanes pounded caves in the area.
The statement said 24 Taliban fighters died, but the Associated Press quoted an aide to the governor of Zabol as saying that 35 bodies were recovered. U.S. and Afghan troops also uncovered a cache of weapons in a cave, the coalition said.
In eastern Afghanistan, 2 coalition soldiers were killed and one injured when their convoys were struck by two bombs within half an hour of each other, military officials said. No further details were released.
Unlike that battle and others earlier in the war, U.S. Special Forces & covert soldiers from the Army's Delta
Force are now operating in small groups against handfuls of al Qaeda fighters. Moreover, the al Qaeda fighters are
no longer concentrating but have gone underground or are mixing with the population, forcing the Americans to
devise strategies to draw them out. To carry out this operation, American forces are active not only in Paktia &
Paktika provinces in Afghanistan, areas south of Kabul where U.S. officials say pockets of al Qaeda fighters
remain, but also in adjacent tribal areas in Pakistan where Islamabad govt has limited authority, officials said.
Pakistani govt is nervous about U.S. operations on its territory, esp. with approach of referendum Tuesday on
extending by 5 years rule of President Pervez Musharraf, who seized power through a bloodless coup in 1999.
Although expansion of war into Pakistan is U.S. military recognition that al Qaeda is operating on both sides of the
border, it risks increasing political turmoil in Pakistan, where Musharraf's support for the war has sparked
considerable opposition from Islamic political parties. Pakistan has asked the U.S. to be as quiet as possible about
U.S. activities inside the country, which also involve the presence of American warplanes, Special Operations
troops & regular forces at 4 Pakistani bases. The top spokesman for Pakistan's military govt said yesterday he
had no knowledge of U.S. military operations inside Pakistan. "I think there's some confusion," said Maj. Gen.
Rashid Qureshi. "What I'd heard earlier is that the only thing that may be happening is a communication link. I don't
think any Special Forces or Delta Force commandos are operating inside Pakistan."
Central Command spokesman Army Col. Rick Thomas said "Pakistan has been a staunch ally in the war against
terrorism" and that, as part of that, the U.S. military has established liaison arrangements with the Pakistani military.
"Beyond that, it is our policy not to discuss current or future operations," he said. A former U.S. official steeped in
Pakistani affairs offered a different view. "It is my impression that there is some quiet cooperation going on, but it's
going to be kept as quiet as possible," said former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Robert B. Oakley. NYTimes
reported yesterday Pakistan agreed to have U.S. advisers accompany Pakistani troops on patrols in border areas,
but it has not been disclosed until now that the U.S. military has already participated in attacks in Pakistan.
Despite the concern about political turbulence inside Pakistan, U.S. & allied offensive is underway because
defense officials believe it is necessary to keep al Qaeda fighters & their allies in Afghanistan's vanquished
Taliban militia on the run. Relentless pursuit of al Qaeda members, they calculate, will help deter new attacks on
Americans, whether in Afghanistan or in the U.S. Officials also worry that Afghanistan is entering an extremely
sensitive phase. As spring arrives, the melting of snow will open up secondary mountain passes and give Pakistani
supporters of the Taliban more opportunity to sneak into Afghanistan. Also, a grand council is being formed in
Afghanistan to pick a new govt in June. Meanwhile, there have been a series of violent attacks in & around
Kabul recently, raising worries about political instability. Deployment of British Marines to the Afghan provinces last
week effectively set up a screen for the new battlefield, cutting off some of the western approaches to the border
area. The deployment also familiarized the British forces with some of the difficulties of operating along barren,
waterless ridges as high as 12,000 ft.
In Afghan regions, U.S. Special Forces & Delta Force deliberately expose themselves to attack to draw out
pockets of al Qaeda & Taliban fighters believed to be hiding in the border area, officials said. This is a novelty
for counterinsurgency tactics, which usually are more proactive. Officials said the strategy is required because the
militants are operating in groups of 15 or smaller. The U.S. forces, which themselves generally work in groups of
just 3 or 4 people, have been assaulted by small arms fire, a rocket-propelled grenade and, in one incident, a knife.
One Afghan ally working with the U.S. forces was attacked with an ax. "We have to get them to shoot at us," said
one soldier. It is frustrating, one official said, because this tactic effectively means that al Qaeda "has the
offensive."
Also, the al Qaeda attacks frequently are launched from within larger groups of bystanders on the streets of villages
& towns such as Khost, making the decision to counterattack difficult, officials said. "The decision to shoot or
not shoot is one of the toughest decisions," said one source.
The enemy fighters tend to have sophisticated communications equipt and "better survival gear than we have," said
one knowledgeable source. Some of the fighters have carried U.S. equipt apparently captured during last month's
battle in the Shahikot valley. al Qaeda members have impressed their American opponents with their military skills,
most notably ability to observe U.S. combat techniques and adjust accordingly. Despite months of bombing and
last month's attack by thousands of U.S. & allied fighters, al Qaeda groups continue to execute well
coordinated operations, officials said. In one instance, enemy fighters are believed to have launched a
synchronized multipronged attack within a 10-minute period.
Another significant difference is that, unlike tactically experienced commanders of the Northern Alliance, which
seized much of the country from the Taliban last fall, Special Forces troops are having to depend on Afghan allies
with little fighting experience and whose allegiances are not well established. "This is unlike anything I have ever
seen," said one source familiar with the history of counterinsurgency operations involving Special Forces. U.S.
military officials said that their goal is to kill or capture as many al Qaeda members as possible, and that they
believe they are succeeding, albeit slowly, in dozens of small encounters in which one or two fighters are shot.
"They have no support" among the people of eastern Afghanistan, asserted one U.S. officer.
Officials said two soldiers died Wednesday evening in a bombing in southern Afghanistan, where Canadian forces form the largest coalition military presence.
[ Canadians = U.S. Pashtuns, uniformed in gurkha green. ]
Pentagon
U.S. fights al Qaeda in Pakistan
Islamabad Covert U.S. military units have been conducting reconnaissance operations in Pakistan in
recent weeks and participated in attacks on suspected al Qaeda hide-outs there, opening a new front in a shadowy
war being waged by U.S. along the mountainous Afghan-Pakistan border, according to U.S. military officials.
U.S. Special Operations troops based on the Afghanistan side of the frontier have been attacked several times a
week over the last month and have been in several firefights with al Qaeda militants, these officials said. The
Americans have suffered some casualties, though no American has been killed, officials said. New U.S. strategy,
which defense officials have not publicized, helps explain the evolution of the Afghanistan conflict since U.S. forces
early last month conducted a week-long ground & air assault on al Qaeda concentrations in the Shahikot
valley south of Kabul, the Afghan capital.
Covert action on Pakistani-Afghan border
4.25.02 D.Priest, T.E.Ricks & K.Vick Wash.Post
As in the opening 2 months of the war, U.S. Special Forces continue to work with Afghan allies and to call in
airstrikes. But they are much less dependent on air power at this stage. Rather, warplanes & Special
Operations attack helicopters are being used to close off caves, to destroy footpaths & routes through the
mountains, and to scout & confirm electronic emissions believed to be coming from al Qaeda troops.
Not all analysts share this view, believing that the Pashtun heartland in southeastern Afghanistan remains
sympathetic to the Taliban & their al Qaeda allies. Analysts worry as well that the fighting between Israel
& the Palestinians is spawning a new crop of recruits from the Middle East that will connect with al Qaeda.
10.7.94 Hon. Peter Deutch FL HOUSE (Mr. FINGERHUT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. FINGERHUT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring to the attention of my colleagues It is shocking [ Col. North, Dir. Casey & Pres. Bush taught them how. BCCI started out as the first viable microbank. Wall St was its bane. ]
7.10.99 AP Pakistan
12.26.99 UNITED NEWS OF INDIA The book exposes Saudi millionaire Osama Bin Laden's role in the Kargil infiltration and brings under scrutiny the ISI plan which led to the conflict that claimed thousands of lives on both sides. The book, the third by the author, a journalist with the Newstime- Eenadu group of newspapers, focuses on the proxy war waged by the ISI against India for the past two decades that culminated in the hilly terrain of Kargil. The ills of terrorism in a civilised society forms the basis of the book which delves at length on the terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. "It is unfortunate that hitherto the western world with its somewhat limited vision has fuelled the fire and inadvertently promoted countries like Pakistan in its acts of terrorism,'' says former air chief N C Suri in his foreword to the book. |
[
Pakis call them freedom fighters in a struggle of national liberation. They call themselves
martyrs for God, not a nation. India & trading partner U.S. call them terrorists since they own
the assets targeted. It is all cover for munitions industry & distant narcoplantations operated
by CIA assets laundering proceeds at a 40% cost in NY & London exchanges ]
Foreign Terrorist Organizations
Designations
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed)
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LT) (Army of the Righteous)
headlines history
5.4.00 Ayaz Gul VOA Pakistan's chief diplomat, Inam ul-Haq: The international community has always held that terrorism cannot be equated with national liberation struggles, and the struggle of the Kashmiri people is a struggle for national liberation. And therefore, it cannot be equated with terrorism.
Religious minorities tread carefully under Taliban Rule
KABUL, Afghanistan
the Taliban recognizes only the lunar calendar & the current year is officially 1421
here.
Ayatollah Sayad Ahmad Tawasali, a Shiite cleric who heads a small mosque and
Koranic school in Kabul, said he had "no problems" with the Taliban. He pointed out that unlike in
Pakistan, there is no sectarian violence between Sunni & Shiite sects in Afghanistan. "Here
things are peaceful & we do not have terrorism," he said.
The attack in this south-central Pakistani city was the worst in memory against the country's small Christian
community. 14 worshippers, their minister and a Muslim police officer guarding the church were slain. Despite the
priest's entreaties for calm, a group of about 250 young men chanted for revenge. "Blood for blood," they said. "We
will pay them in the same kind." It was unclear whether the violence was related to unrest over U.S.-led airstrikes
on Afghanistan. Police believe the killers might have come from a radical, banned Muslim group aiming to avenge
the deaths of 35 Pakistani fighters last week in Afghanistan. The young Muslims had gone to Kabul to fight for the
Taliban and were killed in a bombing raid. Police said one of the dead was Father Emmanuel, the Protestant
minister conducting the morning services. They did not know his last name. After the U.S.-led airstrikes on
Afghanistan began, the Pakistani govt ordered a police guard assigned to every Christian church. Muhammad
Saleem, the single guard at St. Dominic's, was unable to stop the assailants. Yesterday, the number of guards at
churches throughout Pakistan was doubled. Though St. Dominic's is a Catholic church, a Protestant congregation
in Behawalpur that lacks its own building was worshipping there, as it has for 30 years, at the time of the shootings.
The worshippers were members of the Church of Pakistan, which has about 800,000 members. The church,
founded in 1970, brings together Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans and other Protestants.
Pakistan is 97% Muslim, and its isolated Christian community represents only part of the remaining 3%.
There has been religious violence between Sunni & Shiite Muslims in the area, but this was the first such
attack on Christians in recent memory, authorities said.
Survivors said worshippers tried to flee or hide under pews to escape an indiscriminate hail of automatic weapons
fire that left holes in the walls of the stone building. "I saw some attackers escaping. I couldn't recognize them," said
Aina Bakshi, who was near the church when the gunfire began. "I saw small children crying; some of them were
bleeding." Most shops were closed yesterday morning, as was Behawalpur's outdoor market. The victims' bodies
were returned to their home villages after the funeral.
24 killed in Pakistan suicide bombings
Lahore, Pakistan Massive suicide bombs ripped through a seven-story police headquarters and a business on Tuesday, killing at least 24 people and wounding more than 200 others in attacks that deepened Pakistan's security crisis.
Twenty-one people were killed, including 16 police, officials said. Doctors at Lahore hospitals said the wounded included 32 girls who were hit by flying debris at a school near the police building. Paramedics carried a bloodied body on a stretcher from the building, while volunteers sifted through the rubble with bare hands, apparently searching for survivors.
Scores of nearby houses sustained major damage. Gates and doors were torn off, windows blown in and air conditioners dislodged and left in the street.
The second bombing hit an advertising agency at a house in an upscale neighborhood less than 50 yards from a residence owned by Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and co-chairman of her party. Police officials declined to speculate on whether that was the intended target. Zardari was in Islamabad at the time.
The bombings come amid a spate of violence that authorities are blaming on Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants, spreading beyond their strongholds along the Afghan border, and as the victors of last month's elections prepare to form a new govt. There have been at least seven suicide attacks in the three weeks since the 2.18.08 vote.
A spokesman for the country's largest Islamic group, Jamaat-e-Islami, blamed Musharraf's friendship with the U.S. for a campaign of attacks inside Pakistan.
After the attacks, small groups of city residents enraged by the bombing gathered on Lahore's main Mall Road, chanting "Musharraf is a dog, Musharraf is a pimp." Police were deployed to keep order but no trouble was reported.
Tuesday's violence was the first major act of terrorism since Sharif's and Bhutto's parties announced over the weekend they would form a coalition govt after routing Musharraf's allies in the Feb. 18 parliamentary elections. The parties are vowing to restore judges axed by Musharraf to secure his own re-election last year, setting them on a collision course with a key U.S. ally in its war on terror.
16 dead in Pakistan terror blast
A bomb hidden in a crate of grapes ripped through the biggest open-air produce
market in Pakistan's capital of Islamabad yesterday, killing at least 16 people, authorities said.
More than 80 people were injured, several seriously, in the latest terrorist attack to hit Pakistan.
The bomb was hidden in a crate of grapes imported from neighboring Afghanistan. There was no
claim of responsibility.
US researcher seeks to exhume 'Christ' in Kashmir
An American researcher who believes she has found the final resting place of Jesus Christ is campaigning to
exhume a body at a Muslim shrine in Indian-administered Kashmir for scientific tests. NY based researcher
Suzanne Marie Olsson is currently in Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital, studying the Muslim shrine of Rozabal.
While Muslims say Rozabal houses the tomb of Yuza Asaf, a Muslim saint, many researchers believe it contains
the body of Jesus Christ. To put an end to speculation, Ms Olsson has suggested exhuming the remains at
Rozabal for DNA testing & carbon dating. "This will trace him to his origin
and resolve the raging
controversy over the identity of the place forever," she said. Ms Olsson has already dug up a shrine at the Murree
hill station in Pakistan under the supervision of archaeologists Ahmad Hassan Dani & Saida Rahman.
Murree is believed to be the resting place of Jesus' mother, Mary. "The exhumed remains have been sent for the
DNA testing and the report is awaited," she said. "Now Rozabal holds the key.
"If the remains there are sent for testing and then tallied with the results of the Murree project, it will either establish
the link between the two shrines as being of similar origin and thus authenticate the Marium-Jesus theory or prove
it wrong for good." However, her project has run into trouble with the managers of the Rozabal shrine, who are
strongly opposed to its "desecration". "We will never allow it," said Mohammed Amin, one of the managers.
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5 dead in attack on Pakistan church Dozens injured in grenade assault near U.S. Embassy 3.17.02 N.O'Donnell & C.Grisanti NBC, AP & Reuters
An American woman & her daughter were among 5 killed Sun. in grenade attack at Protestant church in
diplomatic compound near U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. About 45 people were hurt in what Pakistan's president,
Gen. Pervez Musharraf, called a "ghastly act of terrorism." Pres. GWBush expressed outrage at the attack on the
Protestant Intl Church, which is located in a heavily guarded diplomatic enclave about a half-mile from the U.S.
Embassy. It was filled with worshipers at the time. "I strongly condemn them as acts of murder that cannot be
tolerated by any person of conscience nor justified by any cause," he said in a statement. "We will work closely with
Pakistan govt to ensure those responsible for this terrorist attack face justice."
Attack occurred at 10:50 a.m. during a sermon before 60 to 70 worshipers. Dozens of police & soldiers rushed
to the scene. U.S. Embassy identified dead Americans as Barbara Green & her daughter Kristen Wormsley,
Sr at American School in Islamabad. Green & her husband, Milton Green, worked at the embassy, she in
administration and he in the computer division. The others killed included one Afghan, one Pakistani and one
person of unknown nationality, the Pakistani govt news agency said. 10 Americans were among the 45 injured,
along with 12 Pakistanis, 5 Iranians, one Iraqi, one Ethiopian and one German, police said. The govt said injured
also included Afghans, Swiss, Britons, Australians and Canadians. 6 or 7 were in serious condition, Dist. Judge
Tariq Mehmood Khan said. It was the second attack against Christians in Pakistan since 9.11.01, which prompted
Pakistan to abandon support for the Afghan Taliban and instead back the U.S.-led coalition against terrorism.
U.S. Pakistan amb. Wendy Chamberlin called the attack a "cowardly act of violence against innocent people" and
said it would only strengthen U.S. resolve to fight terrorism.
U.S. agencies incl FBI, are working with Pakistani officials to investigate the bombing, U.S. diplomats told NBC
News. "We are cooperating closely with Pakistani law enforcement officials in the investigation and are determined
to see the guilty parties swiftly brought to justice," Sec.State Colin L. Powell said in a statement. Security was
immediately tightened in Islamabad & other parts of Pakistan, incl port city Karachi, where slain Wall St
Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in January. "We will take whatever measures we judge appropriate to
protect our people & their dependents," a State Dept official told NBC News. There were conflicting reports
among witnesses about the number of attackers. Sr police official Khalid Khan Khattak told NBC News that a lone
assailant rode up to the church on a bicycle from a wooded area in front of the church and hurled between 5 &
9 grenades at the congregation.
Khattak told NBC the attacker was not Pakistani but did not give any details of his nationality. Police are cross-
examining more eyewitnesses, Khattak said. Others said there were 2 attackers. 3 grenades exploded ,and the
attacker or attackers eluded security guards at the scene, police said. "I saw 2 men come into the back of the
church into the main sanctuary and threw what looked like hand grenades," said Cindy Jess, an American who did
not give her hometown. Elisabeth Mundhenk, 54, of Hamburg, Germany, said she took refuge under a piano when
the first explosion rocked the church but still suffered shrapnel wounds in the leg. "There was blood, blood, blood,"
she said while awaiting treatment at the hospital. "It was horrific. There was a horrible smell, and we could barely
breathe."
Although no group claimed responsibility, suspicion fell on Islamic militants angered by Musharraf's crackdown on
Islamic extremism begun in January. The motive of the attack "is not clear at this point," the State Dept official told
NBC News. "Extremist groups in Pakistan have repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to commit horrific crimes
against their govt. ... The struggle to neutralize and destroy such groups has our full support." "It's a highly
deplorable attempt to spoil our relations with foreign countries. Choosing this place is meant to embarrass the
govt," Pakistani Law Minister Khalid Ranjha said. British Foreign Sec. Jack Straw called the attack a
"serious outrage, particularly because it took place within what we thought was the well-protected diplomatic
enclave." "This is part of a continuing effort by dissident extremist terrorists to try to destabilize President
Musharraf's govt and the support which he enjoys from around the world, including the Western nations,"
Straw told the BBC.
Sectarian violence has been increasing in Pakistan, but most attacks have targeted Pakistan's Shiite Muslim
minority. Extremists from the majority Sunni Muslim community have been blamed. Despite increase in
sectarian violence, Ranjha said officials believed the church was well-protected. Head of Pakistan's main Islamic
party said it could not have been the work of a religious group. "We condemn this act in the strongest words and
assure the Christian minority that we fully share their grief and tragedy and will support any action against people
who did this," said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, a Jamaat-e-Islami leader. Such attacks in the Pakistani capital, where
security is higher than elsewhere in the country, are relatively infrequent. "The attack shows that those who carried
it out were committed people," Ranjha said. The last major violent incident directed at Christians occurred Oct. 28
when gunmen entered a church in the Punjab province town of Behawalpur and killed 15 worshipers and a Muslim
guard. Religious tension had been expected to rise with the start this weekend of the Islamic month of Moharram,
marking the beginning of the Muslim year. In January, Musharraf banned 5 Islamic extremist groups and
announced measures extending control over religious schools considered a breeding ground for terrorism. More
than 2,000 people were arrested, but many were released.
A nondescript harbor for wanted men
Karachi The building is a plain white concrete box on a commercial street in the part of the city
known as the Defense Section. The only ornamental touch is the gray-tile facing on the corners. A more
nondescript setting in a more undistinguished area of this densely packed metropolis is hard to imagine. It was here
that Pakistani authorities tracked down one of the world's most wanted men: Yemeni Ramzi Binalshibh who
allegedly sent money to the 19 9.11.01 hijackers, and who
might have been a hijacker himself if not repeatedly denied a U.S. visa.
Through an open window, a plastic bag on the floor and a crushed water bottle can be seen from a neighboring
building, but the flat itself has no visible furnishings. Neighbors say the Arabs who lived there apparently slept on
carpets, keeping few possessions, a sign that they may have moved frequently. Zeshan, an employee at a public
relations firm in an adjoining building, said no one suspected that behind the curtains lived "serious" terrorists. "We
had no idea that they were foreigners & Al Qaeda," he said.
The apartment would not have been very expensive; flats on this street go for less than $130. Neighbors say that
both the real estate agent who rented the apartment and the building owner, a woman who lives in the suburbs,
have been taken into custody for questioning. The tenants "lived in a quiet fashion and never created any problem,"
said Zeshan, who goes by one name.
About half an hour later, he heard 2 explosions and was stunned to see 100 to 150 police officers in the street firing
into the neighboring building. At first, he thought that police had caught robbers in the act at an electrical store.
Soon the police, incl members of Pakistan's elite paramilitary Rangers, had taken up firing positions on nearby
roofs. As authorities explained later, they had developed information from a satellite phone interception that Al
Qaeda suspects were living in the building. When they went to arrest the inhabitants, some suspects
surrendered. |
Among those who surrendered was Binalshibh, who was led out blindfolded & dressed in a blue T-shirt. Later
in the day, police also brought out the corpses of two Al Qaeda suspects who had been killed. The bodies, wrapped
in bloodied sheets, were placed into an ambulance to be taken to a morgue. 6 police officers were wounded.
A reporter who reached the roof opposite the building said that after the battle, he could see one of those killed
lying face down on the floor as members of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI, riffled through a
pouch of documents they took from the top of an air-conditioning unit.
The whole incident has left neighbors puzzled. What were the Al Qaeda fugitives doing here? How were they
traced to this spot? If they were really desperate terrorists, why were they not able to put up a more effective
resistance? "Living in a commercial area like this, it is difficult to accept that they were such wanted men," said
Salim Mahmood, Zeshan's employer at Media Strategists. "If I was one of them, I would not have chosen a street
on which over 1,000 cars pass every day, a place where if you stick your head out you wind up in someone else's
window. "Frankly speaking, it is all very curious."
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Pakistan after 10.99 military coup special report 7.31.00 BBC NewsOnline
Pakistan National Reconstruction Bureau
"charged with formulating policy/strategy options for national reconstruction, and a return to
democracy, with approval by National Security Council."
9.26.00 A.B.S. Jafri
The hierarchy of relationships in
Pakistan work as follows. The nucleus family is tied into other networks - the extended family,
beradari, clan, and tribe. The Pakistani individual when not operating within this nexus of family,
beradari, clan and tribe does not have other institutional connections. If his workplace has a union
it is probably weak. He probably is not actively involved in political work since political
organizations that have dominated the Pakistani scene have not developed deep structures. He
has, therefore, few reference points outside the family and the clan and he drifts without focus. He
drifts unless he joins two well-organized institutions: the military or a religious group. Putnam as
well as the institutional economists who have begun to highlight the importance of institutions in
promoting economic development would immediately see in this description of Pakistan a problem.
They will notice that a typical individual in Pakistan, in defining his values, has very little to go
beyond his allegiance to a family or to a clan. Unless, of course, he works in the military or is
actively engaged with a religious group.
Various nation-building efforts have failed in lifting the individual's sense of belonging from the
narrow base of the family and beradari to institutions at a higher level. I am told of a
little experiment once carried out in a class in a military school. The students were asked to list five
things that came to their minds when they think about the characteristics of a typical Pakistani.
Most lists had many more negative than positive attributes. A little later, they were asked to do the
same thing with reference to Punjabis, Pathans, Sindhis, Mohajirs, and Balochs. This time around
many more positive rather than negative characteristics were identified.
Women's Rights Project & Asia Watch
"Over 60 percent of women prisoners in Pakistan are detained under the Hudood Ordinance,
penal laws prohibiting sex outside of marriage devastating women's rights."
4.10.01 AP
4.8.01 Barbara Crossette NYTimes
4.9.01 Barbara Crosette NYTimes |
great highlands in N w/ world's highest peaks, Himalayas Balochistan Plateau in W & SW sectors; broken highlands of many 1000ft ridges crossing NE to SW Indus Plain, most prosperous agricultural region 300 thousand sq.mi in E and from N to Arabian Sea in south desert areas in SE
130 million population (1998) concentrated in fertile Indus River valley & along river's major
tributaries in N & NE. W & SW sparsely inhabited. Est. annual 3.0% growth rate
(Human Dev. in S.Asia 1997) is highest of any developing country. Ranks 134th of 173 nations on
UN Development Pgm index (Human Development Report, 1998). At least 35 million people live
in abject poverty. Public access to health, education, clean water, sanitation and family planning
remains low. Almost half of the population is less than 15 years old. Developing mixed economy based largely on agriculture, light industries & services. GNP increasing more rapidly than population but GNP per capita, est. US$430, is among lowest for developing countries. Growing industrial sector, manuf. generates half of country's exports. Gas, oil & mineral deposits contribute to economic growth which is uneven; widespread poverty persists, particularly in rural areas, where two thirds of the population lives. Up to 50% of workforce is agriculture.
Development is failing to keep pace with the population growth. Common practice in urban areas
for scavengers to burn solid waste in open air. Most hospitals burn waste close to facility. Major
industrial sectors in Pakistan are textile, metal, dying chemicals, pesticides, cement,
petrochemical, energy & power, leather, sugar processing, construction, steel, engineering,
pulp, paper, tanning, food processing, beverages, electronic consumer goods and mining. Toxic
and hazardous wastes in Pakistan are mainly the by-product of the chemical and petrochemical
dying industries.
40% Pakistan deaths are related to water borne diseases. WHO reports 25-30% hospital
admissions connected to water borne bacterial & parasitic conditions which cause 60%
of infant deaths. Drinking & bathing in polluted water are most common routes for diseases'
spread. Symptoms like abdominal pain, hair
loss, numbness in hands, loss of appetite, eye infections, irritation of skin, and
fever. In many urban areas, proper sewerage systems are still not available. Domestic wastewater
collects on the streets and sewage water is thrown into canals or rivers without any prior
treatment. Rivers change into stinking pools of stagnant water during low water discharge.
Drinking water lines and sewage lines in most areas are laid side by side, resulting in frequent
contamination of potable water when the fresh water pipes erode. Pollutants penentrates subsoil
water.
Cotton cultivation requires large inputs of irrigation water and pesticides. 10,000 farmers are
poisoned annually by indiscriminate use of pesticide in cotton growing rural areas. More than 70-
80% of pesticides used in this country are being used on cotton crops. Strong media campaign by
200 local, national & multinational companies with 6000 dealer distribution network has
convinced farmers it is essential to use pesticides. Use of pesticides is increasing at the rate of
25% a year. Due to a complex cropping system & small land holdings, ground spray is
preferred; aerial spraying is restricted to epidemics. Estimated 1,935 stockpiles of obsolete
pesticides in the 41 agriculturally active districts of Pakistan are threaten thousands. |
There are also questions about whether aid to the Taliban is coming from the administration of
Pakistan's leader, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, or from freewheeling elements inside Pakistani
intelligence agencies in league with Islamic parties. Pakistan continues to deny that it is giving
material support to the Taliban. At a news conference, Shamshad Ahmad, Pakistan's UN envoy,
dismissed the allegations of support. He said his country is "a law-abiding member of the UN, in
full compliance with Security Council resolutions." He referred to resolutions that ban military aid to
the Taliban but not to its armed opposition. "There is no ground for any sanctions on Pakistan," he
said. UN officials, some of whom opposed the sanctions, say Russia, Iran and lately India have
been equally to blame for fueling the war in Afghanistan, by supporting the armed opposition
against the Taliban. Barnett Rubin, Ctr on Intl Cooperation director of studies at NYU, said in an
interview that it was useful to bring the discussion of outside military assistance to Afghanistan into
the open.
But he was critical of the sanctions policy as it is currently constructed. "What's totally missing to
complement the sanctions is incentives to give Afghan people a concrete idea of what
reconstruction might be available if they change their behavior," he said. Mr. Rubin, an expert on
Afghanistan & Central Asia, added that a policy of sanctions without incentives "is not the
way to get people to reorient their behavior more toward peace-building and to strengthen
moderates who are either in the Taliban or on the Taliban side at the moment." He also
questioned the support for Ahmad Shah Masood, a cosmopolitan former general in a previous
Afghan govt who is leading the armed opposition and has long attracted Western support as the
face of moderate Islam in Afghanistan.
In anticipation of Security Council review of the sanctions this week, Mr. Masood went to garner
support in Europe, where he received praise from French Foreign Minister Hubert Védrine,
aspokesman for the French Foreign Ministry said. "Among the leaders who exist in Afghanistan,"
Mr. Rubin said, "Masood is the best, but the fact is that he represents very little in Afghanistan,"
noting that Mr. Masood is a member of the Tajik minority. "He has a very narrow political base."