Pakistan’s current turbulent political scenario seems to have the former President General Pervez Musharraf worried.
Musharraf wants President Asif Ali Zardari to continue on the post as he fears that if Nawaz Sharif manages to climb the ladder to power, then the PML-N chief would make his life ‘miserable’ and leave no stone unturned to target [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Minister Rehman’
Musharraf fears Sharif would make his life ‘miserable’ if he replaces Zardari
November 7th, 2009 |
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President’s ‘associate’ out to ruin PSO
November 3rd, 2009 |
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ISLAMABAD – While President Asif Ali Zardari is already pushed to face the pending court cases against him, dubious characters are at large to exploit relations with him as well as key cabinet members to ruin the state entities.
According to well-placed sources, a mega scam in the Pakistan State Oil was brewing to upset the financial status of the state-owned sole custodian of PakistanÂ’s strategic oil reserves. The sources informed TheNation that Irfan Puri, who proclaims publicly that he is the business partner of the President, is using his influence to remove the top management of the PSO which is blocking his dubious deals as a local agent of international fuel suppliers.
The sources providing documentary evidences to TheNation revealed that Puri, who paid National Accountability Bureau Rs. 300 million as plea bargain, had been misusing his connections with Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Petroleum Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, and former Advisor to the PM on Petroleum Dr. Asim Hussain in addition to the President.
Malik when contacted by TheNation denied any business connection with Mr. Puri. However, he admitted that that he knew Puri. “None else but Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto once introduced me to Irfan Puri as a travel agent, but I never dealt with him even for my travels.” When this scribe drew Malik’s attention towards the fact that Puri was in oil business now, he said, “You are right, he is doing oil business now but at that time he was a travel agent.”
Despite frequent efforts, Naveed Qamar was not available for comments, perhaps due to his preoccupation with hectic political activity on the issue of NRO.
Besides publicly proclaiming business partnership with the President for setting up an oil refinery, Puri has also defrauded the PSO by supplying oil without providing mandatory documents of origin, the sources informed. According to the sources, no certificate of origin was provided when M.T. Difo Chaser, a motor gasoline cargo, came to Pakistan. It arrived in Pakistan on January 25, 2009, was on berth for being discharged on January 27, 2009, and sailed from Pakistan on January 28. The PSO was not having any copy of certificate of origin of this cargo, as Mr. Puri never provided it. Then why his shipment was cleared is a million dollar question?
Initially, the sources informed that Mr. Puri made his comeback to the oil business after being black listed by the PSO. He used his linkages both in the Interior Ministry and the Presidency for the purpose. According to the sources, the FAL had denied agency to Puri in the first place. Eventually, FALÂ’s former agent Shakeel Haroon Rehmane was picked up by police as well as law enforcement staff from Karachi on February 17, 2009 and was kept in confinement without any charge. Later on Rehmane lodged a complaint in the Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), Karachi, the copy of the complaint is available with TheNation.
The sources claimed that afterwards Puri arranged a meeting of the FAL Chairman with President Zardari who told them to work with Puri if they wanted to do business in Pakistan. In this way Puri got back the agency of FAL.
Most recently in a tender called by the PSO for the supply of diesel (HSD), Vitol submitted the lowest price. However due to lack of demand in the country for diesel after the calling of the tender, PSOÂ’s import committee recommended to the management to cancel the tender as there was no point in importing product and holding stocks when the company was already facing huge financial costs and didnÂ’t have money to pay local refineries due to the circular debt issue. When Mr. Puri learnt that the tender was going to be scrapped, he asked the Petroleum Minister to summon the current Managing Director at the midnight and order him to award the tender to him despite a 34 percent cut in demand at that time.
Currently, the sources informed, Puri is seeking removal of PSOÂ’s incumbent General Manager Supplies Nazir Abbas Zaidi who is reportedly resisting his dubious deals and supplies.
President’s ‘associate’ out to ruin PSO
Nabbed with illegal arms again
October 27th, 2009 |
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ISLAMABAD – Once again, 4 American nationals were caught red-handed by Capital Police in the wee hours of Tuesday when they were carrying weapons publicly. However, they managed to secure release and continue their journey to a mysterious destination, sources informed.
According to details, police personnel deployed here at Nawaz Chowk, sector F-8, intercepted two suspicious vehicles in the wee hours of Tuesday. During the search, police recovered weapons from their custody. The riders of these vehicles were found, once again, to be American nationals.
To the surprise of many, the Americans were allowed to go along with their arms after an anonymous call that the officer in command at police picket received at the same time when preliminary investigation were being carried out from the foreigners.
Though it is not clear who asked the police to let the Americans go, sources revealed that US Embassy officials came into action swiftly and got their nationals freed after contacting high-ups of PakistanÂ’s Interior Ministry.
When contacted, Foreign Office spokesman told TheNation that there existed no law in Pakistan that might allow any foreigner or diplomat, including Americans, to move on busy roads of capital with illegal arms.
Talking to TheNation, the Spokesperson of US Embassy Richard Snelsire said he was unaware about the incident.
Following Tuesday’s incident, a wave of anger, fear and uncertainty has been felt across the federal capital. It was not the first incident of such kind in the Federal Capital wherein foreigners were nabbed by police for keeping illegal arms. It has been observed that in a number of incidents police intercepted foreigners including American diplomats cruising busy roads of Islamabad carrying sophisticated arms and let them free after interception of ‘hidden hands’.
Some days ago, police officials deployed at a picket intercepted two Dutch diplomats and recovered sophisticated weapons including hand grenades from their possession. The police lodged a formal complaint, however, no such action was initiated in repeated cases of US diplomats and nationals who were allowed to go.
Following the incident, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik also stated that no foreigner would be allowed to carry illegal arms with him/her. “The violators would be dealt with an iron hand,” he added.
However, Americans were found violating the law of the land and to the surprise of the Minister himself, violators were given a safe passage every time.
Reportedly, it was the sixth incident in which the US Embassy officials/diplomats or nationals were found carrying weapons hiding in their vehicles during the last four months.
On June 23, 2009, a police team deployed at Khyber Chowk, G-9/4, intercepted a vehicle. The team found three American diplomats – Jeffery, Jeffdic and James Bill Koeen and driver Charlie Benzic – belonging to the regional security section of the US Embassy, in the guise of pakhtoons wearing Shalwar Kameez.
The police recovered four M-4 machineguns and four 9mm pistols from their possession after checking the vehicle. Before the police could lodge complaint against them, the diplomats were allowed to go after the intervention of US Embassy and Interior Ministry.
Another incident of this kind surfaced on August 5, 2009, when Police Inspector Hakim Khan was abused by a US security official namely John Arso as he (John) took out his pistol and harassed the inspector to a great extant. When contacted at that time, the US spokesman confirmed an exchange of harsh words. However, he said the US official never displayed pistol. The US security official was later sent back to Washington.
In yet another incident, on August 12, 2009, a Pakistani youth was intercepted and abused by a US Marine inside Diplomatic Enclave.
In another incident, on August 26, 2009, two US nationals stopped Mohsin Bukhari, owner of a petrol pump situated in F-6 at Agha Khan Road near Marriott Hotel. To the surprise of Mohsin, US officials took him to his petrol pump where three more investigators from US Embassy joined them. After questioning him for 30 minuets, the US team set him free.
Similarly, Another incident came to the surface where US embassyÂ’s employee intervened in police matters. The incident occurred on October 6 when police arrested two Dutch diplomats who were carrying unlicensed weapons. However, the said diplomats were released on the spot on the intervention of diplomatic circles.
When said Dutch diplomats were being interrogated by police, a US embassy domestic employee namely Sunny Christopher (having US EmbassyÂ’s official card # 16570) reached there and interfered in the police matters.
Meanwhile, despite frequent attempts Interior Minister Rehman Malik could not be approached for comments over TuesdayÂ’s incident.
India rejects Pak charge of funding Taliban
October 27th, 2009 |
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India has rubbished as “absurd” and “totally baseless” Pakistan’s allegations that it was supporting and sponsoring Taliban along the border with Afghanistan and said it was the greatest threat to world peace.
“It is absurd and totally baseless. India cannot support Taliban, which is the greatest threat to world peace,” Defence Minister A K Antony told [...]
Islamabad Islamic University bombed
October 20th, 2009 |
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ISLAMABAD – As many as six people, most of them students, were killed and some 42 others sustained injuries when two suicide bombers blew themselves up one after the other here at the new campus of International Islamic University.
The first suicide blast occurred at female studentsÂ’ cafeteria when a number of students were having lunch that left four killed, including two female students and one security guard and with the interval of just two minutes another suicide bomber blew himself up at the first floor of the Imam Abu Hanifa block that left two killed, university students said.
An eyewitness Muhammad Mashooq, cook by profession in University, told TheNation that a young man wearing a shawl entered the female cafeteria and within seconds he blew himself up with explosives.
He said that the security guard stopped a suspected person at the gate but he (bomber) hit him hard and succeeded in reaching the female cafeteria where he blew himself up,” he added.
He said, “when the blast occurred at the female cafeteria the café was fully packed with students and most of them died or were injured,” he added.
An injured female student said, “The explosion sent a shaft of light into the air and I fell unconscious. When I got my senses there were broken windowpanes everywhere in the cafeteria. There was a pool of blood besides me and the injured were crying for help, she added.
Similarly, another eyewitness Prof Iklaq Rasool said that he was present at Imam Abu Hanifa block. “I was next to the office of Zia Sahib, Head of Department of Shariah. I saw the suicide attack carried out in front of his office,” he added.
He said that although the classes were underway at the time of the blast in Imam Abu Hanifa block but at the same time there was an electricity breakdown thatÂ’s why mostly students were out of the block.
It may be recalled here that Faculty of Usul-ud-din, Faculty of Shari and Law, Faculty of Arabic and Faculty of Language and literature are located in the block.
The injured were shifted to PIMS, NESCOM, and KRL hospitals and dead bodies were shifted to PIMS.
According to PIMS administration, five dead bodies and 23 injured were brought to the hospital. Those who died include Shaukat Bhatti, Pervaiz Masih, Sidra Khalid and others including Hena Sikander
While the injured people are Alina Bashir 22, Aqsa 18, Asma Basheer 17, Ayesha Ambreen 21, Irrum Hassan 20, Kanwal Parveen 18, Maham 19, Nadia Sheraz 22, Najam Idress 45, Nida Jamshed 19, Saira Mubeen 20, Samra Basheer 19, Seeda Minhaz 33, Shella Abbasi 24, Sobia Jahsheed 16, Uzma Ijaz 21, Warda Illyas 20, M Idress 60, M Raza 55, Shaukat Ali 40, Tanveer Khan 27, Waqar 20, and Zia-ud-Din 30.
A senior doctor of PIMS told TheNation that injured Aqsa, Samra Basheer and Zia-ud-Din are in critical condition.
Soon after the blasts officials of law-enforcement agencies apprehended two suspects from the crime scene, one was arrested when he was suspiciously roaming in front of female cafeteria while the other was arrested inside the cafeteria.
It is pertinent to mention here that some body pieces including four legs were also brought to PIMS and it is being considered by police that these are suicide bombers bodiesÂ’ parts.
It may be relevant to note here that the Islamic University enjoys a good reputation amongst the worldÂ’s major Islamic institutions, attracting a number of foreigner students and locals as well. Some students felt this attack could be a conspiracy against the University itself.
Spokesman of IIUI said that university has been closed for four days to mourn Tuesday bomb blasts. He also informed that two University Guards also died in the blasts.
Police spokesman on the behalf of DIG said that five people including two female students were died in the blasts. He said that police found skull and body parts of suicide bombers. He informed that five to six kilograms explosive were used respectively in two blasts.
Agencies add: The bombing of IslamabadÂ’s International Islamic University was the seventh major militant attack in just over a fortnight and the first since the military launched what officials vowed would be a knockout blow against the Taliban.
“We are in a state of war. They will make every effort to destabilise the country. These so-called Islamists are enemies of Islam and enemies of Pakistan,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik said at Islamabad’s main hospital.
Broken glass and pieces of charred flesh littered the faculty buildingÂ’s first floor, where blood dripped down the stairwell and students stepped through the debris, choking under heavy smoke, an AFP reporter said.
“Seven people including two suicide bombers are dead, and 29 injured in the two attacks. Among the dead is one female,” senior city administration official Rana Akbar Hayat told AFP at the scene of the attack.
Doctor Minhajul Siraj, at IslamabadÂ’s main hospital, confirmed there were five dead bodies in the morgue, with 22 people wounded including 16 women.
The first blast ripped through the faculty of Islamic jurisprudence used by male students and the second hit the womenÂ’s cafeteria, law student Qudrat Ullah told AFP from the scene.
“There is panic. Students are rushing to donate blood. There are a lot of police arrived inside the building,” he said.
“Casualties were taken away first in private vehicles. Then ambulances arrived. I saw several people wounded.”
The sprawling university teaches over 12,000 students, nearly half of them female and including hundreds of foreigners, focusing on education that incorporates Islam in modern times.
Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked extremists have carried out a two-year campaign of suicide bombings and commando raids that have killed 2,280 people.
“Whether they claim or don’t claim, all roads lead to South Waziristan,” the interior minister said, referring to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda stronghold on the Afghan border where the military launched its offensive at the weekend.
A barrage of attacks since October 5 has left more than 170 people dead, underlining the scale of the insurgency that authorities are trying to halt.
The Taliban last week staged an audacious raid on Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi, with 23 people killed and 39 hostages freed by troops.
Five UN World Food Programme workers were killed earlier this month when a suicide bomber dressed in military uniform walked into their office in Islamabad and blew himself up.
Authorities believe that many of the bombings and suicide attacks in Pakistan, as well as attacks in the West, are being planned in South Waziristan.
US to attack Quetta?
September 27th, 2009 |
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The United States is threatening to launch airstrikes on Mullah Omar and the Taliban leadership in Quetta as frustration mounts about the ease with which they find sanctuary across the border from Afghanistan, according to a The Sunday Times report.
The threat comes amid growing divisions in Washington about whether to deal with the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan by sending more troops or by reducing them and targeting the terrorists. This weekend the US military was expected to send a request to Defence Secretary Robert Gates for more troops, as urged by Gen Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Afghanistan.
In a leaked strategic assessment of the war, Gen McChrystal warned that he needed extra reinforcements within a year to avert the risk of failure. Although no figure was given, he is believed to be seeking up to 40,000 troops to add to the 68,000 who will be in Afghanistan by the end of this year.
US Vice-President Joe Biden has suggested reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan and focusing on the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Pakistan.
Last week Gen McChrystal denied any rift with the administration, saying, “a policy debate is warranted.”
So sensitive is the subject that when US President Barack Obama addressed the UN summit in New York, he barely mentioned Afghanistan.
The Times reports the unspoken problem is that if the priority is to destroy Al-Qaeda and reduce the global terrorist threat, western troops might be fighting on the wrong side of the border.
The Biden camp argues that attacks by unmanned drones on PakistanÂ’s tribal areas, where Al-QaedaÂ’s leaders are hiding, have been successful. Sending more troops to Afghanistan has only inflamed tensions.
“Pakistan is the nuclear elephant in the room,” said a western diplomat.
It is a view echoed by Richard Barrett, head of the UN Commission on Monitoring Taliban and Al-Qaeda, who believes the presence of foreign troops has increased militant activity and made it easier for the Taliban to recruit.
“If Obama sends more troops, it would better be clear what they are to do,” he said.
“A few thousand more boots on the ground may not make much difference except push the fight into areas which are currently quiet because no one is there to challenge the Taliban. I cannot see any number of troops eliminating the Taliban. Obama has a really difficult decision to make.”
In the meantime, Afghanistan is in limbo and the Taliban is taking advantage, opening up new fronts in the north and west. Al-Qaeda is also trying to capitalise on the uncertainty. The Afghan election has strengthened the position of those in Washington who advocate eliminating Taliban leaders in Pakistan.
Senior Pakistani officials in New York revealed that the US had asked to extend the drone attacks into Quetta and Balochistan.
“It wasn’t so much a threat as an understanding that if you don’t do anything, we’ll take matters into our own hands,” said one.
The problem is that while the government of President Asif Zardari is committed to wiping out terrorism, PakistanÂ’s military does not entirely share this view, according to The Times.
Earlier this year there was optimism that Pakistan had turned a corner after it confronted a Taliban group that had taken over the Swat valley and moved to within 70 miles of Islamabad.
There has been tacit co-operation over the use of drones. Some are even stationed inside Pakistan, although publicly the government denounces their use.
According to the Paper, suspicions remain among US officials that parts of Pakistan Army intelligence agency, the ISI, are supporting the Taliban and protecting Mullah Omar and other leaders in Quetta.
It was to shore up ZardariÂ’s domestic standing that Obama attended a Friends of Pakistan summit in New York on Thursday. On the same day, the US Senate tripled non-military aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year.
The Obama administration hopes such moves will reduce anti-American feeling in Pakistan. A survey last month by the Pew Research Centre found that almost two-thirds regarded the US as an enemy.
According to the Paper, drone attacks on Quetta would intensify this sentiment, causing some British officials to argue that such missions would be “unthinkable”.
The Pakistani government is reluctant to take its own action, however. “We need real-time intelligence,” said Interior Minister Rehman Malik. “The Americans have never told us any location.”
Western intelligence officers say Pakistan has been moving Taliban leaders to the volatile city of Karachi, where it would be impossible to strike. US officials have even discussed sending commandos to Quetta to capture or kill the Taliban chiefs before they are moved, according to The Sunday Times.
US counteroffensive inside Pakistan
September 25th, 2009 |
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ISLAMABAD — US political and military officials go on the offensive inside Pakistan, confronting critics and seeking to build a coalition of allies across Pakistani politics, media and the academia to create a domestic counter to the entrenched Pakistani policymaking establishment that is resisting American efforts to force Pakistan to become a voluntary full-fledged second theatre of war after Afghanistan.
Signs of the new American aggressiveness abound from increased willingness of US diplomats in Pakistan to confront their local critics, to sweet-talking Pakistani politicians, media and academicians into openly promoting the US agenda through sponsored visits to Washington and Florida.
This is similar to a Plan B: using local actors to force change from within. Plan A, the coercive diplomacy and threats of sending boots on the ground into Pakistan, failed to yield results over the past months.
This counteroffensive began with Ambassador Anne W. PattersonÂ’s attempt to intimidate a Pakistani columnist and a known critic of US policies. Ms. Patterson did not seek a public debate to counter the criticism and resorted instead to backchannel contacts, something that has worked well for US officials in Pakistan over the past eight years. The pressure worked, breaking a new barrier for US influence, this time creating a precedence for how the US embassy deals with the Pakistani media. This is something that the AmbassadorÂ’s counterparts could never dream of pulling off in places like Moscow, Ankara, or Cairo.
Buoyed by this, the Ambassador went on the offensive. This month, she held a press conference, released a long policy statement, and met Prime Minister Gilani last week to assure him, after reports that her government did not trust Islamabad, with the expected aid money. She also appeared on primetime television last week, carefully choosing a non-aggressive TV talk show as a platform to address Pakistanis glued to their sets in peak evening hours.
The television appearance coincided with an interview she gave to a US news service accusing Pakistan of refusing to join the US in eliminating one of the Afghan local parties – the Afghan Taliban – whom her own government and military failed to wipe out in Afghanistan in eight years of war. The statement played on the usual American accusations, backed by no evidence, that seek to explain the growing disenchantment of the Afghan people with the failed American occupation of their country by linking it to alleged Pakistani sanctuaries and covert support.
But hours before her television appearance, on Sept. 19, Pakistani police raided the Islamabad offices of Inter-Risk, a Pakistani security firm representing American defense contractor DynaCorp, where a huge quantity of unlicensed weapons were confiscated. According to one news report, the Pakistani owner of the firm, retired Captain Ali Jaffar Zaidi, escaped from his house hours before the police arrived. A Pakistani journalist, Umar Cheema, who works for an English daily, confirmed in a published statement that Mr. Zaidi told him a day before the raid that “the US embassy in Islamabad had ordered the import of around 140 AK-47 Rifles and other prohibited weapons in the name of Inter-Risk” and that “the payment for the weapons would be made by the embassy.”
On Sept. 30, another senior journalist, Mr. Ansar Abbasi, published the full content of a letter written by Ambassador Patterson to Interior Minister Rehman Malik, dated March 30, seeking his “intervention” to grant Inter-Risk and DynaCorp “the requisite prohibited bore arms licenses to operate in the territorial limits of Pakistan and as soon as possible.”
The story creates a new dent in the US embassyÂ’s counteroffensive that seeks to downplay the presence of private US security firms in the country. An earlier story in TheNAtion had released fresh evidence this month showing the infamous US security firm formerly known as Blackwater recruiting military-trained agents fluent in Urdu and Punjabi.
The strong denials of US officials on the presence of private US security firms in Pakistan do no tally with the circumstantial evidence. At least three verified incidents have been reported in Islamabad alone over the past few weeks that involve armed US individuals in civilian dress. In two incident, Pakistani police officers arrested and then released them after intervention from the US embassy. In one incident, a Pakistani citizen reported being assaulted by armed Americans in civilian dress.
The American charm offensive coincides with a new bout of US meddling in domestic Pakistani politics. The US government has put into high gear its contacts with Pakistani political parties. Washington is now conducting direct diplomacy with Pakistani political parties. A high level delegation of MQM is in Washington, meeting US political and military officials. A similar exercise is planned with the ANP. The Americans are trying to accentuate what they see as pro-Indian, pro-American strains within the two parties. Washington began this programme quietly in 2007 after getting a green signal from President Musharraf to increase US involvement in Pakistani politics. There are reports that nazims of several districts in Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP were invited to Washington to meet US government and military officials. But these were very low key visits. In fact, they were so low key that ANP chief Asfandyar Wali refused in early 2008 to confirm or deny a visit he made to Washington after the Feb. 2008 elections in Pakistan. In contrast, no effort was made this time to downplay the current visits by MQM and ANP delegations to Washington and their meetings with US and NATO officials. Reports confirm that the federal Pakistani government is not on board regarding the content of the new direct US diplomatic push with different Pakistani political parties and players.
While there is no immediate evidence that Pakistan should be alarmed by WashingtonÂ’s direct diplomacy with Pakistani political parties outside PakistanÂ’s territory, Islamabad needs to be wary of strong strains within WashingtonÂ’s policy establishment that have been focusing on exploiting PakistanÂ’s ethnic and linguistic fissures in order to support its so-called ‘Af-PakÂ’ agenda. During PakistanÂ’s worst domestic instability in 2007, mainstream US media outlets were leaking policy and intelligence reports focusing on alleged separatism in Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP. This week, some of the most ardent American supporters of separatism inside Pakistan – the usual suspects from the US think-tank circuit – came together in Washington to launch a political action committee that seeks independent status for PakistanÂ’s Sindh province, in contacts with US Congress. The ceremony for the launch of the ‘Sindhi American Political Action CommitteeÂ’ was addressed by Selig Harrison and Marvin Weinbaum, both advocates of engagement with Pakistani separatists.
The new American confidence in open and public engagement and meddling in Pakistani politics should, however, raise alarm bells. This is the strongest sign yet of how weak the federal Pakistani government appears to outsiders.
Govt rules out Ramazan truce
August 23rd, 2009 |
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THE government has ruled out a ceasefire during Ramazan in Fata and NWFP areas where operations against militants are under way.
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the operations will continue during Ramazan.
Militants in North Waziristan, part of the tribal region, had said they will observe a unilateral ceasefire throughout the month.
“There will not be a ceasefire during Ramazan. We are not interested in a ceasefire,” Malik said. “They haven’t kept their commitment in the past. We will continue targeted actions against the Taliban.”
Malik said forces during the last month foiled a planned attack on the Parliament building, the intelligence agency and other federal institutions. Authorities arrested three men with suicide vests ‘in the last four weeks’ who were plotting to carry out the attacks, he added.
Malik would not say exactly when the men were caught.
Meanwhile, Rehman Malik has claimed that Taliban have killed Baitullah MehsudÂ’s in-laws and some other people over their suspected role in the killing of their chief.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC on Sunday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik maintained that four people, including Mehsud’s father-in-law Ikramuddin and brother-in-law Iqbal Mehsud, were killed by the Taliban for spying on him. But, he said, “This is just information, and it has not been verified as yet.”
Malik went on to say that he was claiming the incident based upon information just like he had done in case of Baitullah’s death. “We have reached to their houses and whenever they venture out, we will kill them.”
The Interior minister remarked that Mehsud’s death was now almost an established fact but not verifying the incident with 100 per cent surety might be a part of government’s policy, adding that the appointment of new Taliban chief did not matter much to the government. “It does not matter whether it is Hakimullah, Waliur Rehman or Qari Hussain. Baitullah was the key person and he has been killed.”
He repeated the stance that Taliban leadership was spineless now and they were fighting each other. “These are insignificant characters. The real power rests with the Al-Qaeda as it makes the final decisions.”
Rehman said Maulvi Omer had also confirmed MehsudÂ’s killing, and he was providing useful information that would be utilised by the government for further action against the extremists.
He refuted the notion that the government was using propaganda tactics to fuel differences among Taliban ranks, saying, “whatever the government says is categorised as propaganda, but when a chief terrorist says anything, it is accepted as universal truth. We are not indulging in propaganda. We receive information from different sources.”
The Minister again reiterated his standpoint that Hakimullah was first injured and then killed in the infighting.
When asked how it is possible for Taliban to appoint a dead man as their chief, he replied that his (Hakimullah) brother, who is his look-alike, has been brought to the main stage. It is also possible that some other person with the same voice and looks may have replaced him.”
When asked whether he sees any change in Taliban policy after change in its hierarchy, Rehman Malik responded, “Terrorist remains a terrorist.”
It may be mentioned here that tribesmen, officials and some Taliban sources had disclosed on Saturday that Ikramuddin and his son Ziauddin, brother Saeedullah and nephew Iqbal Mehsud had been in TalibanÂ’s custody form quite some time.
Sources further said these people had been kept in custody by the Taliban at Sararoga because it was suspected that they gave information to either Americans or Pakistan security forces about the presence of Baitullah Mehsud at his father-in-lawÂ’s residence.
‘Enemy of peace’ Maulana Sufi, 2 sons arrested
July 26th, 2009 |
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PESHAWAR – Chief of the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) Maulana Sufi Muhammad, who brokered a peace deal with the Taliban in Swat Valley, was arrested from a house in Sethi Town, Peshawar, on Sunday noon.
“Maulana Sufi has been arrested in the wake of threats to the ongoing peace process and a formal case against him will be registered soon,” NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said during a Press conference.
When asked that why the government arrested a person whom it had released earlier, Iftikhar said that the government had released Sufi with the hope to restore peace in Malakand. “ Now, in fact, Sufi’s activities were proving harmful to the govt’s efforts for restoring peace and writ of law in Malakand,” Iftikhar said.
Justifying the arrest of Maulana Sufi, Iftikhar said that after the launch of military action, Sufi had left his native Dir district and been residing in Peshawar and other places. During this period, there was no need to arrest Sufi as he remained silent and peaceful. But when he resumed his activities by contacting his aides and supporters and convened a meeting of TNSMÂ’s Shura, the government was left with no option other than arresting him, the minister claimed.
Iftikhar also said that Sufi had expressed his desire to go to Malakand. “All such acts on part of Maulana Sufi were harmful to peace and stability in the region affected with violence and terrorists’ activities,” Iftikhar said.
Though Iftikhar neither confirmed nor rejected the reports about the arrest of three others, his two sons and one unknown person, but the residents of Sethi Town have said that Sufi and three others were arrested during the raid.
Iftikhar also said that law-enforcement agencies would investigate Sufi and upon the completion of the investigation process a case would be registered against him. He also said that SufiÂ’s fate would be decided according to law of the land.
It may be recalled that Maulana Sufi had promised to disarm Taliban militants in an accord, signed between TSNM and the NWFP government on February 16, 2009 for the enforcement of Nizam-e-Adl Regulation. But after signing the agreement, Taliban militants, instead of honouring the commitment, had been extending their network towards adjacent areas of Buner and Lower Dir. In this regard, the minister also listed out details of Maulana SufiÂ’s post-agreement activities, speeches and remarks against the constitutional institutions like judiciary and the Parliament.
Staff Reporter from Islamabad adds: Interior Minister Rehman Malik has ordered the concerned authorities to constitute an investigation team to interrogate TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad.
APP/AFP add: The police raided City Town on GT Road and took Maulana Sufi Muhammad in their custody and shifted him to an unknown location, the NWFP Information Minister said in the Press conference.
Iftikhar said NWFP government had earlier released Maulana Sufi with hope to restore law and order situation in Swat but he instead worked against the countryÂ’s interests. He said that enemy of peace and the country would be tried in courts.
He said that the NWFP government had signed a peace deal with TNSM Chief but he did not reciprocate the governmentÂ’s goodwill gesture and instead worked to strengthen hands of anti-state elements.
“We released Sufi Muhammad for peace and was arrested again for the sake of peace,” he said. The NWFP government would take every decision in line of national interests and people, he added.
He said that peace is returning to Malakand Division and the government has achieved its objectives.
The aging Maulana Sufi had attracted public attention in 1994 when his TNSM movement got momentum and they blocked Malakand Tunnel demanding Adl regulations in Swat and Malakand Division.
“He killed a lot of people. Again he was planning for this. We will not allow anyone to destroy peace at Malakand and Swat,” Iftikhar said.
Iftikhar said Sufi was arrested for encouraging violence and terrorism. “Instead of keeping his promises by taking steps for the sake of peace, and speaking out against terrorism, he did not utter a single word against terrorists,” Iftikhar said, adding that the cleric’s stance ‘encouraged terrorism. It encouraged violence’.
Iftikhar accused Sufi of ‘again preparing to get more people killed’ and said: “We cannot let it happen. The price we have paid for the sake of peace, we cannot allow any person to disturb the peace.”
Iftikhar said Sufi would be investigated regarding his role as mediator between the government and the Taliban, and that a case would then be made based on that investigation.
Monitoring Desk adds: Sufi’s son Azmat Ullah, 12, told a foreign news agency that police arrived at his home in Sethi on the outskirts of Peshawar in four vans and took away his father and three brothers. “My father and brothers went with them without offering any resistance,” Ullah said.
One witness, local resident Mohammad Arif, said police fired a shot in the air to disperse a crowd that had gathered during the operation to arrest the cleric.
Sufi is also the father-in-law of the Taliban leader in the Swat Valley, Maulana Fazlullah.
NNI adds: Earlier in the day, in an interview with a private TV channel, Maulana Sufi said that he had migrated to Peshawar and living there just like the other displaced people.
He said he would not issue any statement without consulting with council (Shoora).
About the council meeting in Peshawar, he said no such meeting was held.
Pakistan court delays Mumbai attack case for month
July 26th, 2009 |
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A Pakistani court hearing the case against five men allegedly involved in the Mumbai attacks adjourned for more than a month on Saturday without reading out the charges, a defense lawyer said.
Pakistan’s prosecution of suspects in the November killings of 166 people in India’s financial capital is considered a test of its commitment to eradicate [...]
Pakistan court delays Mumbai case
July 25th, 2009 |
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A brief hearing has been held in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi in the case of five men accused of involvement in last year’s Mumbai (Bombay) attacks.
No charges were read and the court was adjourned until 29 August, legal officials said.
More than 160 people died last November when gunmen targeted the Indian city.
Pakistani officials say the trial is evidence of the seriousness with which Pakistan has pursued the suspects, despite Indian claims to the contrary.
India blames Pakistan-based militant organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba for the attacks and wants Pakistan to act strongly against it.
Pakistan has admitted the attacks were partly planned on its soil and the two countries have suffered seriously strained relations.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik says one of the five men in the dock is accused of masterminding the attacks and the other four of acting as facilitators.
Hearings are being held behind closed doors in a maximum security prison.
The sole gunman to survive the attacks, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, pleaded guilty to 86 charges including murder and waging war against India in court in Mumbai earlier this week.</p
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UN opens Bhutto probe in Pakistan
July 16th, 2009 |
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Members of a United Nations inquiry into the assassination of former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto has arrived in Pakistan.
Led by Chile’s ambassador to the UN, Heraldo Munoz, the team includes a former Indonesian attorney general and a former senior Irish police officer.
The inquiry will last six months and investigate the "facts and circumstances" of Ms Bhutto’s death.
She was killed in December 2007 as she left a party rally in Rawalpindi.
‘Gather material’
The inquiry commission begins its work in Pakistan on Thursday.
The visiting team will be supported by staff based in Pakistan.
"The staff, working under direction of the commissioners, will gather information, collate relevant material and conduct interviews," a UN statement released on Thursday said.
During the visit, the commissioners are scheduled to meet Ms Bhutto’s widower, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, and other senior officials.
The commission is scheduled to submit its report to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in six months.
The report will be shared with the Pakistani government and the UN Security Council, reports say.
The UN says the panel will inquire into the facts and circumstances of the assassination, but stresses that any criminal investigation is Pakistan’s responsibility.
Apart from Mr Munoz, the other members of the probe team are Marzuki Darusman, the former Indonesian attorney-general, and Peter Fitzgerald, who headed an early inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the BBC his government thought the UN investigation was necessary to find out who was behind the attack.
Mr Malik said he believed the assassination was "a big international conspiracy".
"Obviously, there might be some actors within Pakistan or within the region, but we want really to expose the whole conspiracy, because we think that this was a kind of a beginning of an attempt to Balkanise Pakistan."
Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, accused by the last government here of being behind the assassination, is the target of a military offensive and his militant network has hit back with retaliatory suicide attacks.
The Taliban commander has denied having anything to do with Ms Bhutto’s killing.
‘Rogue elements’
Her assassination left questions unresolved for many people here, but especially her own party, which is now in government.
After she had narrowly escaped a double suicide bombing on the day of her return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile in October 2007, she accused what she called "enemies" and "rogue elements" in the government led by President Pervez Musharraf and in the intelligence agencies of plotting to kill her.
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf blamed al-Qaeda-linked militants for the attack and refused to seek a UN investigation.
He invited police from London’s Scotland Yard to assist in the inquiry into her death.
In their report, the British detectives said they believed she died due to a severe head injury sustained as a consequence of a bomb blast.
The Pakistani investigation into her death concluded that a lone attacker fired shots at Ms Bhutto before detonating explosives, but said that bullets were not the cause of death.
Wider enquiry
Ms Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) rejected both these versions, claiming adequate security had not been provided for Ms Bhutto, and called for a wider inquiry by the UN to establish the identity and motives of the assassins.
A PPP-led coalition defeated Mr Musharraf’s allies in general elections last year.
Ms Bhutto, twice prime minister of Pakistan, lived in self-imposed exile after Mr Musharraf assumed power in 1999.
In October 2007, she returned to Pakistan to campaign for the PPP in parliamentary and provincial elections – the first to be held since President Musharraf resigned as head of the army and became a civilian leader.
Shortly after her return, she survived bomb attacks on her convoy in Karachi that killed more than 100 people.
But Ms Bhutto continued to campaign and was assassinated on 27 December at a PPP rally in Rawalpindi.
She was standing upright in her armoured vehicle, with her head exposed above the open roof escape hatch, waving to the crowd when an attacker opened fire.
Seconds later, a bomb was set off at the scene which left some 20 other people dead. </p
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India and Pakistan discuss terror
July 15th, 2009 |
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The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan have met on the sidelines of a summit in Egypt to discuss terrorism.
The talks come ahead of a key meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries during the Non-Aligned Movement summit.
Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani has said he will approach the meeting with an "an open heart and a positive mind".
Relations deteriorated after Delhi said gunmen involved in last November’s Mumbai attacks were from Pakistan.
Ties between the two countries have been strained since the attacks in which more than 170 people died.
Pakistan has rejected Indian accusations that it has not done all it can to pursue those responsible for the Mumbai attacks.
India accused Pakistan-based fighters from the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba of carrying out the attacks.
Pakistan has admitted they were partly planned on its soil.
Reports say that the foreign secretaries of the two countries met late on Tuesday and had a "good detailed discussion on terrorism".
They are believed to have discussed the progress into the Mumbai attacks investigations and the steps taken to combat terrorism.
‘Visible response’
The foreign ministers of the two countries are now due to meet to set out the outlines of Thursday’s meeting between the two prime ministers.
India’s foreign minister SM Krishna has said that India demanded a "visible response" from Pakistan to bring to justice those responsible for the attacks in Mumbai and the bombing at the Indian embassy in Kabul last year.
In order to begin dialogue again on its terms, Pakistan has said it is doing as much as it can to pursue those responsible for the Mumbai attacks.
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that 15,000 Pakistani citizens had died in terrorist attacks since 2001.
"The terrorist threat in the region knew no boundaries and no-one has been more affected than Pakistan," he said.
Pakistan said the trial of five men suspected of involvement in the attack on the Taj Hotel in Mumbai last November is likely to start next week</p
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Pakistan to try Mumbai suspects
July 11th, 2009 |
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Pakistan says the trial of five men suspected of involvement in the attack on the Taj Hotel in Mumbai last November is likely to start next week.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said investigations were complete for these suspects and named another 12 men still wanted in connection with the case.
The charges show Pakistan is serious in pursuing suspects in the case despite Indian claims to the contrary, he said.
More than 170 people died in the attacks, including nine gunmen.
India has accused Pakistan-based fighters from the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba of carrying out the attacks.
Pakistan has admitted they were partly planned on its soil and the two countries have suffered seriously strained relations.
Timing
Mr Malik blamed India for any delay in bringing the charges.
He said Pakistan had sent India a list of questions on 12 February but only received answers on 9 June. This had enabled them to put a case together against five suspects already in custody.
There was no immediate response to the claims from Delhi.
Mr Malik said that after seeing how this investigation had been pursued, no-one should be in any doubt that Pakistan was serious in pursuing those responsible for the attacks.
"We are pretty sure that based on the evidence which our investigators have collected, the culprits will be punished," he said.
He said that he wished India had given as much co-operation in finding those responsible for killing Pakistanis when a cross-border train was blown up in February 2007.
The dossier detailing the charges against the five suspects for the Mumbai (Bombay) attack has been handed to the acting Indian high commissioner in Islamabad.
The BBC’s David Loyn in Islamabad says politically this development could not have come at a more opportune time for Pakistan.
The foreign ministers and prime ministers of Pakistan and India will meet next week during the summit of non-aligned nations in Egypt.
In order to begin dialogue again on its terms, Pakistan is eager to counter Indian accusations that it has not done all it can to pursue those responsible for the Mumbai attacks.
Mr Malik said that 15,000 Pakistani citizens had died in terrorist attacks since 2001.
"The terrorist threat in the region knew no boundaries and no-one has been more affected than Pakistan."</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.