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  • NATO takes the fight to Pakistan

    South Asia
    Nov 2, 2006


    NATO takes the fight to Pakistan

    By Syed Saleem Shahzad

    KARACHI - The air attack on Monday in which up to 80 suspected militants were killed at a religious school in the Pakistani tribal area of Bajour marks the first successful operation after a tripartite meeting in Kabul on August 24 of representatives of Afghanistan, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Pakistan. And it won't be the last.

    It was agreed at that meeting that NATO forces operating in Afghanistan would be allowed to conduct hot-pursuit operations across the border into Pakistan.

    Although Pakistani officials claim that Monday's operation was conducted by the Pakistani military, Asia Times Online contacts in the area are convinced that foreign forces were also involved, including US unmanned Hellfire Predator aircraft. NATO and the US have only acknowledged that they provided intelligence on the possible presence of Taliban and al-Qaeda figures at the madrassa that was attacked, which was known to be pro-Taliban.


    After Monday's operation, intelligence sources say that Pakistan will further facilitate NATO in the strategic back yard of Pakistan in an attempt to bolster the struggling NATO forces in Afghanistan in their battle with the Taliban.

    "I can see slit throats beneath these turbans and beards," were the words of Hajaj bin Yusuf, an 8th-century tyrant in what is now Iraq, as he witnessed a gathering of leading religious and political figures.

    This was the start of an article (The knife at Pakistan's throat, Asia Times Online, September 2 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HI02Df02.html) by this correspondent on returning from the largest-ever meeting of the Taliban in the North Waziristan tribal area two days before a peace deal was signed between the Taliban and Pakistani authorities.

    The inspiration behind the quote was a genuine sense of upcoming bloodshed in the Pakistan tribal areas, given the hot-pursuit agreement in Kabul to which Pakistan had agreed in principle, though it unsuccessfully demanded a clear demarcation of the boundaries up to which hot pursuit would be allowed.

    Subsequently, Pakistani officials traveled to the tribal areas, where they tried to explain their position of being under immense pressure from the increasingly desperate Americans. The Pakistanis suggested that the tribals develop a mechanism under which militants would retreat into the background, allowing the "soft-faced" (moderate) tribal leaders to come to the fore.

    All the same, it was fully understood by both sides that bloodshed was inevitable, of which Monday's massacre in Bajour agency is just the beginning of a new phase in the "war on terror" battlefields that will embrace all seven of Pakistan's tribal agencies. These remote and semi-independent agencies along the border with Afghanistan have steadily developed into hideouts and bases for the Taliban and al-Qaeda and serve as the back yard for operations in Afghanistan.

    The prospect of foreign forces becoming a regular feature on Pakistani soil conjures up visions of disastrous proportions. Just as such troops have been fiercely resisted in Iraq and Afghanistan, so they will be opposed in Pakistan.

    More important, Pakistan will then become a new base for anti-US jihadis, that is, a new front will be opened.

    The prelude to this phase was President General Pervez Musharraf's recent visit to Washington, where he was placed under heavy pressure to take a broader operational role in the US-led "war on terror". Soon after Musharraf's return home, the British commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, Lieutenant-General David Richards, visited Islamabad.

    He talked to the Pakistani authorities of creating a joint operational strategy for Afghanistan. It was speculated at the time that this would involve joint patrols on the border. But sources close to the strategic quarters of Rawalpindi maintain that there is more to it than that.

    In the first week of October, a team of British army officers visited the southern port city of Karachi and inspected the medical facilities in various hospitals and discussed with the administration of Aga Khan Hospital the availability of special wards with emergency facilities for wounded soldiers.

    Many US troops are already stationed at Jacobabad Air Base in Sindh province, and recently the Pakistani air force reported extended reconstruction operations there that appear to be preparations for extended action. Similar information has been gathered about Kohat Air Base in North-West Frontier Province.

    "The recent comment of the British commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan [Richards] that NATO had failed to deliver on promises made to the Afghan people and a warning that the Taliban will be back in strength next summer explains very well these preparations," a security official told Asia Times Online.

    Meanwhile, in many places in Afghanistan, especially the south, allied forces are virtually being held hostage in their bases by the Taliban.

    As a result, they are negotiating with the Taliban in many districts for a peace deal to give them some breathing space, especially as the Taliban have in recent weeks focused their attentions on attacking bases, and will continue to do so until winter brings the current offensive to a standstill.

    The Taliban have sustained heavy casualties from this fresh approach, but they have succeeded in rattling the nerves of the allied forces in the southwest, to such an extent that those forces feel they are rapidly losing the ground from under their feet in Afghanistan.

    It is for this reason that Pakistani territory is so important, as it would give the NATO-led forces room to consolidate and take the fight into the enemy's home territory - the longer-term consequences be damned.

    Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be reached at [email protected].

    (Copyright 2006 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing .)
    http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HK02Df02.html
    Link this with

    http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/showthread.php?t=22806

    The pot boils over!


    "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

    I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

    HAKUNA MATATA

  • #2
    Thursday, November 02, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

    Bajaur sealed as protests continue

    * Protesters in Mohammad Ghot attack grid station, under-construction check-post

    By Masood Khan

    KHAR: Hundreds of troops completely sealed off Bajaur Agency and part of Mohmand Agency on Wednesday as protests against air strikes on a local madrassa on Monday continued for a third day here.

    “No-one is allowed into Bajaur. We are searching vehicles at all entry routes for suspected people and most notably journalists,” a security official told Daily Times. Markets and schools in Khar also remained closed for a third day.

    Protestors in Mohammad Ghot attacked a grid station and an under-construction security check-post and burnt down tents of tribal police at makeshift roadside posts, eyewitnesses said.

    Around 4,000 protestors participated in a demonstration in the same area led by Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, while there were also demonstrations in Khar, where speakers called for President Gen Pervez Muhsarraf’s resignation.

    AFP adds: Sunni cleric Maulana Nasiruddin urged around 1,000 protesters at Landi Kotal town in Khyber Agency to become suicide bombers, an AFP correspondent said.

    “Muslims should become suicide bombers to defend themselves. There is no other way but to wage jihad against the aggressors,” he said.


    http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-11-2006_pg1_4


    "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

    I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

    HAKUNA MATATA

    Comment


    • #3
      Thursday, November 02, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

      Deal still possible in Bajaur: Orakzai


      PESHAWAR: The government is negotiating a Waziristan-like peace deal with tribal elders in Bajaur Agency despite an airstrike on a madrassa in the area, said NWFP Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai on Wednesday. Talking to reporters after meeting tribal elders from FATA, Orakzai denied that US forces were involved in the madrassa bombing and that children were killed in the attack. staff report
      http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-11-2006_pg1_5


      "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

      I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

      HAKUNA MATATA

      Comment


      • #4
        Thursday, November 02, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

        NWFP, Balochistan denounce airstrike

        PESHAWAR/QUETTA: The NWFP and Balochistan assemblies continued criticism of the US and President Musharraf on Wednesday and passed resolutions condemning the Bajaur airstrike. The resolution moved in the NWFP PA condemned the government for not allowing politicians and clerics to visit the airstrike site. In the Balochistan PA, the condemnation resolution was passed with an overwhelming majority. staff report
        http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-11-2006_pg1_6


        "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

        I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

        HAKUNA MATATA

        Comment


        • #5
          It is still in murky waters as to who has undertaken the strike,

          Pakistan has always complained that it does not have adequate helicopters for the task and that it want more from the US.

          Therefore, it is a moot point if they did the strike.

          Technically, it does not matter.

          The strike took place and it took place in an Islamic country and with the permission of the Islamic country and hence is reprehensible to Islamic ideas of a Moslem not harming a Moslem. In case, Pakistan itself undertook the strike it is all the more reprehensible from the Islamic mindset's point of view.

          Prima facie, it appears that Musharraf is soon going to be dead meat. No Moslem will accept his selling his and his country's soul to the public enemy of Islam # 1 or to any non Islamic nation since that is blasphemous!

          If Pakistan explodes, then it does not auger well for the neighbourhood!


          "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

          I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

          HAKUNA MATATA

          Comment


          • #6
            Thursday, November 02, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

            Attack on seminary ‘a departure’ for Musharraf

            Daily Times Monitor

            LAHORE: Monday’s attack on a terrorist-linked Muslim seminary that killed 80 people was a dramatic departure by Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf from his recent approach to trying to bring peace and security to the country’s lawless border regions, according to a report in the Vancouver Sun.

            The report said that until Monday’s attack on the madrassa in Bajaur, Musharraf had concentrated on signing peace agreements with the fiercely independent and largely self-governing tribesmen of the border region. One such deal was signed two months ago with leaders in North Waziristan after Musharraf’s army lost hundreds of soldiers in a futile attempt to bring the tribal fighters to heel by force.

            “Indeed, a deal by which Islamabad agreed to limit its military activities in Bajaur in return for local leaders agreeing to seal the border with Afghanistan was due to be signed later that day,” it said, adding that as a result of the attack, there was no signing, “of course”. The report said that this had inevitably led to questions about whether Musharraf had purposefully changed policy towards the military option or whether the change had been forced on him by his ally, the Washington administration of President George W Bush.

            Musharraf had come under mounting pressure from Washington and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members, such as Canada whose troops in Afghanistan were facing intensifying resistance from Taliban fighters “using Pakistan as a safe haven and training area”, it added.

            According to the report, there were even “legitimate reasons” to wonder if the claims by the Pakistani military to have mounted the attack on the madrassa themselves with helicopter gunships were entirely accurate.

            “There is the possibility the Americans used an unmanned, rocket-armed Predator drone aircraft to attack the madrassa, with or without the knowledge of the Pakistan authorities, believing Al Qaeda’s second-in-command Ayman Al Zawahri was visiting the school as he has done in the past.” These scenarios have been vehemently denied by both Pakistani and United States spokesmen, but some of the spin is “not quite convincing”.

            For example, a Pakistani military spokesman first said the attack stemmed from US intelligence, and then called reporters to deny having said any such thing, it said.

            “Musharraf’s unwillingness to admit to American involvement in the madrassa attack is easy to understand.” His decision to side with Washington soon after Al Qaeda and its Taliban protectors in Afghanistan were fingered for the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington is “deeply unpopular” in much of Pakistan.

            The report said that there was “strong support” for the Taliban and puritanical Islam not only among rural and tribal people, but also “among Musharraf’s military and intelligence organisations”.

            There have been three alleged assassination attempts on Musharraf in the last few years, the latest in early October when short-range rockets were discovered aimed at the president’s office.

            “Even though Musharraf is Pakistan’s army chief who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, his authority over the military and intelligence organisations is limited and conditional,” it said. “He has been reluctant to fully test the military’s loyalty by ordering all-out operations in the tribal areas where Al Qaeda and the Taliban are reliably believed to have found refuge … and he has loudly, but not entirely convincingly, proclaimed that US troops will not be allowed to operate on Pakistani soil.”

            It said that this “patriotic strutting was sharply deflated” in January when a US Predator drone fired a missile at Al Qaeda deputy leader Al-Zawahri in Damadola near Chingai. The missile missed, but the attack by the US inside Pakistan prompted days of loud and ugly anti-American protests. There were similar popular protests at Bajaur on Tuesday in response to the attack on the madrassa and calls for the recruitment of suicide bombers to oust NATO forces from Afghanistan.

            “Washington at first went along with Musharraf’s desire to avoid such confrontations by making peace deals with the tribal leaders, but as evidence has gathered that the North Waziristan agreement has merely created a safe haven and infiltration route into Afghanistan for the Taliban, the Bush administration has had a sharp change of mind.”
            http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...11-2006_pg7_23
            Last edited by Ray; 02 Nov 06,, 22:30.


            "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

            I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

            HAKUNA MATATA

            Comment


            • #7
              Riots against air strike in Mohmand Agency



              By Shams Mohmand


              GHALANAI (Mohmand Agency), Nov 1: Riots broke out here on Wednesday as protesters assembled in the Mohammad Gat area, the entry point to Bajaur Agency, for a demonstration against the Monday air strike on a seminary in Bajaur.

              Protesters ransacked public property, damaged a grid station and an under-construction Khasadar post in the area.

              The demonstration, which turned into a public meeting, was addressed by Jamaat-i-Islami leader Haroonur Rashid, who had resigned from the National Assembly over the air strike, Mohmand Agency MNA Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq, JI’s agency amir Saeed Khan and others.

              The speakers condemned the massacre of innocent people and said: “It is a sheer cruelty to bomb unarmed and innocent students and the Musharraf’s regime will see the reaction.”

              They said that President Pervez Musharraf was spilling the blood of innocent people just to please his foreign masters. They urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of the massacre.

              Anwarullah Khan adds from Khaar: Tense calm prevailed across the tribal agency on the third day of the seminary attack as all educational institutions and business places remained closed, creating a severe shortage of foodstuff.

              However, traders, who observed shutter-down strike on the call of Anjuman-i-Tajiran Bajaur, opened shops for a short time to facilitate availability of essential commodities to people.

              Very thin traffic was witnessed on the roads in the agency.

              Bajaur’s political authorities had taken stringent measures to stop journalists and political leaders from entering into the area, while common people faced difficulties to reach their destinations.

              The Mohmand Agency administration also stopped tribesmen going to Bajaur for several hours at the Yakka Ghund checkpost.

              Meanwhile, the Bajaur Political Alliance, an umbrella organisation of all political parties in the agency, and the business community announced to launch an effective movement to protest the seminary attack.

              Speaking at a joint press conference here on Wednesday, alliance’s representatives demanded an inquiry tribunal headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan to probe the incident and fix responsibility for the killing of 80 innocent people.

              They termed the seminary bombing the worst kind of terrorism, saying that Gen Musharraf had owned the attack only please the US. “Gen Musharraf’s claim is a pack of lies as we know that the strike was carried out by the Americans,” they said.

              They denied the presence of foreign elements or Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in the Bajaur Agency and said that Gen Musharraf was killing innocent people to prolong his unconstitutional rule in the country.

              They announced to hold demonstrations and wheel-jam strike in the agency and observe a black day in the agency on Friday to condemn the attack.

              Our Correspondent from Mingora adds: The lawyers community here boycotted court proceedings and took out a rally in protest against the Bajaur air strike.

              Lawyers marchttp://www.dawn.com/2006/11/02/top3.htmhed on different roads, raising slogans against the government and the Bush administration.

              http://www.dawn.com/2006/11/02/top3.htm


              "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

              I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

              HAKUNA MATATA

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Ray View Post
                Riots against air strike in Mohmand Agency



                By Shams Mohmand


                GHALANAI (Mohmand Agency), Nov 1: Riots broke out here on Wednesday as protesters assembled in the Mohammad Gat area, the entry point to Bajaur Agency, for a demonstration against the Monday air strike on a seminary in Bajaur.

                Protesters ransacked public property, damaged a grid station and an under-construction Khasadar post in the area.

                The demonstration, which turned into a public meeting, was addressed by Jamaat-i-Islami leader Haroonur Rashid, who had resigned from the National Assembly over the air strike, Mohmand Agency MNA Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq, JI’s agency amir Saeed Khan and others.

                The speakers condemned the massacre of innocent people and said: “It is a sheer cruelty to bomb unarmed and innocent students and the Musharraf’s regime will see the reaction.”

                They said that President Pervez Musharraf was spilling the blood of innocent people just to please his foreign masters. They urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of the massacre.

                Anwarullah Khan adds from Khaar: Tense calm prevailed across the tribal agency on the third day of the seminary attack as all educational institutions and business places remained closed, creating a severe shortage of foodstuff.

                However, traders, who observed shutter-down strike on the call of Anjuman-i-Tajiran Bajaur, opened shops for a short time to facilitate availability of essential commodities to people.

                Very thin traffic was witnessed on the roads in the agency.

                Bajaur’s political authorities had taken stringent measures to stop journalists and political leaders from entering into the area, while common people faced difficulties to reach their destinations.

                The Mohmand Agency administration also stopped tribesmen going to Bajaur for several hours at the Yakka Ghund checkpost.

                Meanwhile, the Bajaur Political Alliance, an umbrella organisation of all political parties in the agency, and the business community announced to launch an effective movement to protest the seminary attack.

                Speaking at a joint press conference here on Wednesday, alliance’s representatives demanded an inquiry tribunal headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan to probe the incident and fix responsibility for the killing of 80 innocent people.

                They termed the seminary bombing the worst kind of terrorism, saying that Gen Musharraf had owned the attack only please the US. “Gen Musharraf’s claim is a pack of lies as we know that the strike was carried out by the Americans,” they said.

                They denied the presence of foreign elements or Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in the Bajaur Agency and said that Gen Musharraf was killing innocent people to prolong his unconstitutional rule in the country.

                They announced to hold demonstrations and wheel-jam strike in the agency and observe a black day in the agency on Friday to condemn the attack.

                Our Correspondent from Mingora adds: The lawyers community here boycotted court proceedings and took out a rally in protest against the Bajaur air strike.

                Lawyers marchttp://www.dawn.com/2006/11/02/top3.htmhed on different roads, raising slogans against the government and the Bush administration.

                http://www.dawn.com/2006/11/02/top3.htm
                attacks on Madrassas are likely to increase in future. there was a time when Mr Musharraf was trying to hide activities of these Madrassas and ISI and now he has to give reasons why aircraft of US are attacking on them. and this way, more he will try to justify these attacks by giving proof, there will be more attacks on these madrassas and on other areas of pakistan whese terrorists are having control and support of locals. scene is something like, on one hand half of the population of Pakistan support these jehadies and on the other hand all these attacks are causing death of few innocent people of also. Mr Musharraf is going to face the toughest time of his life. he is no democratic leader, he is ruling on pakistan by force. the time he will lose support from his people, all these jahadies may try to take control on the different parts of pakistan. pakistan is moving towards time out. a time bomb is waiting for explosion. ISI and few military personnel have already done Talibanisation of half of the pakistan. only the final result is awaiting.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Musharraf has a death wish in the land of illiterate, obscurantist people.

                  Pray for him!

                  Technically, he is our boy.


                  "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                  I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                  HAKUNA MATATA

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Ray View Post
                    Musharraf has a death wish in the land of illiterate, obscurantist people.

                    Pray for him!

                    Technically, he is our boy.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Ray View Post
                      It was agreed at that meeting that NATO forces operating in Afghanistan would be allowed to conduct hot-pursuit operations across the border into Pakistan.
                      This is good news indeed. It puts a slightly different color on the "Pakistani Surrender to the Taliban." Mushie is playing a desparate, tricky game, just to keep his head on. We ain't seen the last of the machinations in Pakistan.
                      - Dennis
                      --
                      Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.
                      -Sir Winston Churchill

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Musharraf is a greater politician than a General.

                        He is playing his political cards close to his chest and always being ambiguous in intent.

                        Hot pursuits or going after the big fish alone will not yield results.

                        What is required is positioning troops along the border to sanitise it and prevent the influx from Pakistan and having a separate force inside Afghanistan to clear it segment by segment.

                        The infiltration may not be totally curbed, but after the clearing of the interior, the menace will be much less.

                        However, it takes up a lot of troops and unless the US allows countries like India to come forth (which she wanted to do), it will not be feasible since the NATO and the US has very little troops in the kitty.

                        Pakistan of course would object vehemently and with good reason too!


                        "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                        I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                        HAKUNA MATATA

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Saturday, November 04, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

                          Predator carried out Bajaur strike

                          By Khalid Hasan

                          WASHINGTON: The Bajaur airstrike, which occurred around dawn, as people in the camp were preparing for their morning prayers, was conducted by a US Predator and also involved the use of helicopters, according to the well-informed and generally reliable blog, Counterterrorism.org.

                          Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a contributor, writes that his information is based on a “military intelligence source” that he does not identify. He writes, “My source is sceptical of speculation that Zawahiri may have been killed in the strike, saying that Zawahiri sightings are a dime a dozen. He says it’s possible that Matiur Rehman was killed, but is also sceptical of that. The strike came just as the Bajaur accords were supposed to take place (similar to the Waziristan deal). Officials within the Pakistani government were supposedly worried when early reports surfaced that Faqir Mohammed may have been killed. Faqir Mohammed is a Taliban leader in the region who would have been a major signatory to the accords: if he were killed, the Pakistanis wouldn’t know who could enter into the accords with them (or, to put it cynically, with Faqir Mohammed dead they wouldn’t know who they were supposed to surrender to). However, Mohammed survived. He apparently felt so confident in his safety that he gave an interview to NBC News near the blasted school (and) also attended and spoke at the funeral for the 80 who died in the strike.”

                          According to the correspondent, “At this point, the Bajaur Accords are on hold. While we will probably see some payback from Al Qaeda and the Taliban, my source noted that there’s not a whole lot more they can do: these groups tried to kill Musharraf less than a month ago, and are already carrying out terrorist attacks in Pakistan. It’s worth noting that Faqir Mohammed also hosted Zarqawi when the US strike missed him back in January, and left before that strike as well. It’s unlikely that Mohammed had advance warning of either the Damadola strike or this one (too many high-value terrorists were killed at Damadola, and Mohammed almost certainly would have alerted them). Some guys are apparently just that lucky.”
                          http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-11-2006_pg1_1
                          Though a blog, yet it has details!

                          And Pakistan claimed they did it and then swerved and now this!

                          Pakistan won't dare take on the Taliban. It would be the end for Musharraf and his govt!


                          "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                          I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                          HAKUNA MATATA

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Saturday, November 04, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

                            NWFP PA echoes with jihad calls

                            Staff Report

                            PESHAWAR: Members of the NWFP Assembly on Friday marched from the Assembly Hall to the main entrance amid slogans of “Allah-o-Akbar” and “al-jihad, al-jihad” to protest against the army airstrike on a madrassa in Bajaur Agency and for showing solidarity with the people of the area.

                            The protesting MPAs, including the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) ministers Asif Iqbal Daudzai, Shah Raz Khan, Hafiz Akhtar Ali and Malik Zafar Azam, pledged to continue the war against the “imperialist United States”, which they said, was responsible for the killing of innocent Muslims across the world. The NWFP legislators shouted pro-Islamic revolution and anti-Musharraf and Bush slogans during the march.

                            The MMA’s Maulana Muhammad Idrees, Farid Khan and Amanat Shah denounced a statement by the White House spokesman lauding President Musharraf for taking action against the madrassa. “It’s like rubbing salt in somebody’s wounds,” said Idrees while criticising the government role in the war against terrorism. Traffic on Khyber Road where the assembly’s main entrance is located remained blocked for sometime as the protesting lawmakers made speeches.

                            Earlier, the MMA’s Nadir Shah demanded adjournment of the session for the day to express solidarity with the people of Bajaur Agency and the families of the 80 people killed in the air raid. Shah’s demand was backed by members of the Awami National Party (ANP).
                            http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-11-2006_pg7_7
                            If the provincial govt with its governmental appartus is for the Taleban, then how can the NATO win in Afghanistan?


                            "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                            I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                            HAKUNA MATATA

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Saturday, November 04, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

                              EDITORIAL: Government is not coming clean on Bajaur

                              At last Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that the government is collecting ‘more information’ regarding the Bajaur operation and it will be made public soon. He said the government would not tolerate elements that created hurdles in the development and progress of the country: “Every corner of the country is equally important for us and we are taking steps for peace at all places of the country”. He said this when Islamabad was abuzz with the rumour that the Bajaur strike was made to sabotage the ‘deal’ which the government was about to make following the one made in South Waziristan earlier.

                              It seems to us that the prime minister should not have underestimated the blowback from the Bajaur strike and therefore have had all manner of proof of potential terrorist activity ready to show the media immediately after the strike. Worse, if the media is unhappy with the scanty evidence shown to it so far, which has prompted the prime minister to say that more evidence was being collected and would be shown to the media later, then the government has already lost its case and we should all be worried about its lack of planning and efficiency even in such sensitive matters.

                              According to a statement made to the whole world after the incident by DG-ISPR, the government had discovered that the madrassa was imparting military training to terrorists and not teaching children. The DG said that after discovering that the madrassa was indulging in anti-state activity, its warden was warned and threatened with destruction of the seminary if he did not close it down. In the event, says the DG, the administrator of the madrassa did not cease his illegal actions, which then forced the government to take action.

                              If that is indeed how the matter unfurled, then surely the proof was already there before the strike and doesn’t have to be collected. The government should be able to show printed evidence of the warnings delivered, or a tape of the telephonic warning by the government to the cleric running the madrassa. The government should also have in its possession photographic proof of the military training being imparted at the madrassa. This activity is not something that can be undertaken inside a room; it is an open-air activity which can be easily photographed from the air. Apparently, the infra-red pictures shown to the media did not constitute sufficient evidence of the charges against the occupants of the madrassa. Even if it is true that that the men were being trained as suicide bombers and that is why the pictures show them to be unarmed, surely the government can provide evidence that enabled it to reach that weighty conclusion.

                              According to the prime minister the government is still collecting proof. But it is pertinent to ask: proof of what? The deed has been done, eighty people have been killed, some who were clearly not old enough to be trained as any sort of terrorist. Many Pakistanis are convinced that the Americans did it through one of their predator ‘drones’. Now the government isn’t allowing the media to go to the site and investigate the incident, which suggests that the government is covering up something or the other. *
                              http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-11-2006_pg3_1
                              The Pakistani govt is in a bind and cannot come clean.

                              If it admits that it was a US drone that killed the Talebans, it would mean that it has sold off its sovereignty to the US and is but a vassal state.

                              If it claims outright that Paksitani forces killed the Taleban, then it would be and act against its own countrymen and what will be unacceptable is that the government killed Moslems for the gains of the Kaffir! That will be blasphemous!

                              So, it is better to look at London and talk to Tokyo!


                              "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                              I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                              HAKUNA MATATA

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