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  • Afghanistan must extradite Fazlullah, Grossman told

    Afghanistan must extradite Fazlullah, Grossman told

    By: Maqbool Malik | October 22, 2012


    ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has forcefully taken up the issue of cross-border attacks from Afghanistan with US special envoy Marc Grossman, and sought his help in persuading the Afghan government and ISAF to quell insurgents’ infiltrations into Pakistan side, diplomatic sources said on Sunday. “The civil and military leadership made clear to the US that militants, who had fled the country during the Swat military operation and were operating from Afghanistan’s Kunar and Nuristan provinces, should be extradited to Pakistan,” the sources confided to The Nation. The authorities impressed upon Grossman to take the matter seriously, as cross-border attacks, led by former TTP Swat commander Maulvi Fazalullah and his fighters, were destabilising Pakistan. The US diplomat praised Pakistan’s role in stabilising the political process in Afghanistan, saying that Pak-US cooperation should continue on the matters of anti-terrorism. “We have many shared interests - including terrorism, supporting a stable and secure Afghanistan, increasing market access and economic opportunity, and supporting civilian democracy, tolerance, pluralism, and civil society,” Grossman was quoted as having said in a statement issued by the US Embassy at the conclusion of his two-day visit to Pakistan on Sunday.Grossman appreciated Pakistan’s support for an Afghan political process through the US-Afghanistan-Pakistan Core Group, and noted that “we want to continue our important coordination on the border and to counter terrorism in the region. We want to work together to find ways to cooperate to make Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the region secure, stable, and prosperous”. “The frank, honest, and respectful conversations we had are essential to furthering the vital relationship between the United States and Pakistan and to ensuring our shared security and economic prosperity,” he added.The US top diplomat headed into talks with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Islamabad on how the United States and Pakistan could work together to identify shared interests and act on them jointly. Grossman’s visit follows recent engagements, including Secretary Clinton’s meetings with Foreign Minister Khar in Washington and President Zardari in New York in September, as well as the recent Pakistan-US Law Enforcement and Counterterrorism agreement.

    Afghanistan must extradite Fazlullah, Grossman told | The Nation

    =============

    Well, Musharraf demanded the extradition of the terrorist leader Brahamdegh Bugti and his 'band of merry terrorists' from Afghanistan as well, and was met with repeated denials that 'Bugti was not present in Afghanistan and that Pakistan was paranoid' etc.

    Given that the terrorist Bugti ended up being sheltered in Afghanistan by the GoIRA and the US, and then facilitated in escaping to apply for asylum in Switzerland, perhaps the terrorists can start a new marketing campaign:

    "Is a life in the Swiss Alps your dream?

    Form or join an anti-Pakistan terrorist group and get the GoP's attention through acts of violence and carnage and the West will facilitate your flight for asylum to Switzerland!"
    Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission - Jinnah
    https://twitter.com/AgnosticMuslim

  • #2
    I'm sure that is perfectly possible and interesting Pakistan should ask.
    In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

    Leibniz

    Comment


    • #3
      And here is yet another account of a terrorist leader hiding in, and operating from, Afghanistan:

      Fugitive Sindhudesh chief operating from Kabul


      By Amir Mir
      Wednesday, October 17, 2012
      From Print Edition

      ISLAMABAD: Wanted for his alleged role in several terrorist activities across Sindh, Shafi Burfat, the fugitive chief of the Jeay Sindh Muttahida Muhaz (JSMM) who is also the moving spirit behind the Sindhudesh Liberation Army (SLA), is now well beyond the reach of the Pakistani agencies, having already fled to Afghanistan and established his control centre in Kabul.

      Well-placed officials in security agencies which are investigating the November 9, 2012 bomb attacks targeting the houses of six PPP leaders in different towns of Sindh, have concluded that the attacks were carried out by the Sindhudesh Liberation Army under instructions from Shafi Burfat, one of the most wanted terrorists, being sought by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sindh for years. Burfat carries head money of Rs5 million.

      Although the pamphlets left behind by saboteurs at several sites of low-intensity bomb explosions, were signed by Dilawar Khan, the investigating agencies say Burfat had ordered these attacks from his control centre in Kabul. They also claim that the Burfat-led JSSM and SLA were being funded by the Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) which has a heavy presence in Afghanistan and which also funds some of the Baloch separatist groups.

      According to the information collected by the Pakistani security agencies, besides using satellite phones and email to communicate with his JSSM and SLA operators in Sindh, the renegade Sindhi nationalist-turned-militant boss openly uses Face Book and Twitter to spread his message. Burfat’s Face Book account introduces himself as “a Guevarian leader who struggles for the freedom of Sindhudesh from the occupation of Pakistan.” In his latest tweet on October 10, 2012, Burfat refers to the previous independent status of Sindh which had a liberal society and asks as to how the state of Pakistan can support the current war against terror when its own foundation is laid on religious fanaticism. “We are ready to be burnt alive and die fighting but we would neither surrender nor abandon our goal of freedom”, he tweets.

      In another tweet, Shafi Burfat claims to be leading a non-violent political movement for the liberation of Sindh through peaceful means.

      While refuting his followers’ involvement in some recent acts of violence and terrorism in various parts of Sindh, Shafi Burfat accuses the state agencies of involvement in the disappearance and killings of dozens of the JSSM workers and leaders in recent years. While accusing the state agencies of killing the JSSM secretary general Muzaffar Bhutto, Burfat tweets that the growing atrocities of the state agencies against Sindhi nationalists would plunge Sindh into Balochistan-style mayhem. The bullet-riddled body of Bhutto, who was one of Burfat’s most-trusted men, was recovered from Hyderabad on May 22, 2012, almost 15 months after his February 23, 2011 abduction. Although such incidents are common in Balochistan, Bhutto’s case was the first one in Sindh in which a missing nationalist leader’s bullet-riddled body was found. Following his abduction, Saima Muzaffar, wife of Muzaffar Bhutto, told Asma Jahangir, the chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), that her husband might be murdered by the agencies in captivity. In a May 23, 2012 press release, the HRCP had described Muzaffar Bhutto as one of the many victims of enforced disappearance by the state agencies in Sindh. “The abduction and subsequent murder of nationalist leader Muzaffar Bhutto is the latest manifestations of violent suppression of political debate. The Pakistan government must ensure that the state agencies are reined in and dissent and struggle for political rights are not countered by violence or strong-arm tactics”, the HRCP statement added.

      On May 25, 2012, two days after Muzaffar’s dead body was found, the Sindhudesh Liberation Army, the military wing of the Jeay Sindh Muttahida Muhaz, claimed responsibility for the gruesome killing of seven passengers of a Kohat-bound bus that was sprayed with bullets by masked gunmen of the SLA on the National Highway near Nawabshah, the hometown of President Asif Ali Zardari. Likewise, the SLA also conducted a series of 16 low-intensity blasts targeting the railway tracks in Sindh and suspending train traffic on February 25, 2011.

      Following Muzaffar Bhutto’s killing, Burfat had written a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon, asking him to take notice of the growing human rights violations against the people of Sindh. He had alleged in his letter that many of the JSSM workers remain missing like the nationalists of Balochistan; they are kept incommunicado and never produced in courts.

      However, well-placed officials of security agencies have strongly refuted allegations of involvement in the abductions and killings of the JSSM activists. “Shafi Burfat, who himself is a fugitive from the law, is only trying to tarnish the image of the Pakistani security agencies at the behest of his foreign masters who fund him and pull his strings to carry forward their anti-Pakistan agenda”, a senior security official added.

      Fugitive Sindhudesh chief operating from Kabul - thenews.com.pk
      Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission - Jinnah
      https://twitter.com/AgnosticMuslim

      Comment


      • #4
        Classic deflecting tactics designed to shift the attention from the white elephant in the room. The active and continuing support of Taliban which allows Taliban to be a decisive factor in any strategic deliberations.

        Comment


        • #5
          Pot calling the kettle black

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Blademaster View Post
            Classic deflecting tactics designed to shift the attention from the white elephant in the room. The active and continuing support of Taliban which allows Taliban to be a decisive factor in any strategic deliberations.
            How is pointing out Afghan/US support for terrorists operating out of Afghanistan against Pakistan a 'deflection tactic'?

            Afghanistan feels pressure in hunt for Swat Taliban chief

            By Andrew North
            BBC News, Kabul

            President Karzai argues that Malala Yousafzai's shooting heightens the need for Afghanistan and Pakistan to co-operate in the fight against extremism

            More than a week since Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai was shot by suspected Taliban gunmen on her way to school, the pressure to bring those behind the attempted murder to justice is not just on Pakistan but also on neighbouring Afghanistan.

            The Pakistani government says Mullah Fazlullah - leader of the Taliban group which has claimed responsibility for the shooting - is hiding in the mountainous Afghan border regions - and has called for him to be handed over.

            Pakistan has been shelling Afghan border villages for months, in response to what it says are cross-border raids by Fazlullah's men, including an attack in which 17 Pakistani police were beheaded.


            Usually, it is the other way round - with Kabul accusing Pakistan of giving sanctuary to Taliban who carry out assaults inside Afghanistan.

            Military offensive

            But there are suspicions that any action against Fazlullah - the leader of the Swat faction of the Pakistani Taliban - could become entangled in the bitter relationship between the two neighbours.

            The shooting has been widely condemned in Pakistan and in Afghanistan
            There are even reports Afghanistan is using him as a bargaining tool against Pakistan.

            Officially, the Afghan government rejects Pakistani claims that the man also known as Mullah Radio is still on its soil - three years since he fled a Pakistani military offensive that forced him out of Swat, Malala Yousufzai's home.

            But in private, there is no such denial.

            An Afghan security source who asked not to be named said that there were "reports that Fazlullah was in Kamdesh or Chapa Dara" - two districts in the border provinces of Nuristan and Kunar.


            But the source rejected claims the Afghan intelligence service, the NDS, is backing the Pakistani Taliban leader - who is also known as the FM Mullah for the sometimes lyrical broadcasts he used to make when he was in control of Swat valley.

            When asked however if any action against him was likely, the security source answered: "Fazlullah does not attack any Afghan security forces."

            If he is hiding in the mountains of Kunar and Nuristan, they make a perfect hiding place.

            Stretching along the ill-defined Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier, they have long been a haven for militants, who move between isolated mountain hamlets and caves that were first used by Mujahideen fighters battling Soviet troops in the 1980s.

            Extremism 'as a tool'

            Despite years of US and Afghan military offensives - and just two years before Nato forces are due to pull out from Afghanistan - the two provinces remain largely outside government control.

            The Americans have withdrawn from Kunar and Nuristan provinces

            The Americans lost dozens of troops in battles with insurgents as they tried to pacify the region, before closing down their bases there two years ago.

            There are also reports of Fazlullah being in Nuristan's Kamdesh district, where one US post was nearly over-run by insurgents in 2009.

            At a press conference with the Nato secretary general, President Hamid Karzai was asked about Pakistani claims that Mullah Fazlullah was still in Afghanistan.

            But he did not directly answer, saying instead that he hoped the shooting of the schoolgirl would convince Islamabad that using extremism as "a tool against others" was not in its interest.

            One of the president's advisers, who asked not to be named, took a different line saying the Afghan government "does not have the power to use Fazlullah as a tool."

            But he said it was up to the Americans to take action against him.

            "They have the technology."


            American special forces still make forays into the lawless north-eastern border region, and are believed to have been involved in a strike in Kunar in August which killed Mullah Dadullah, another Pakistani Taliban leader.

            Asked if any action was planned against Fazlullah, the US military in Afghanistan declined to comment.

            BBC News - Afghanistan feels pressure in hunt for Swat Taliban chief
            Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission - Jinnah
            https://twitter.com/AgnosticMuslim

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
              Pot calling the kettle black
              Of late the smear campaign has been pretty one sided against Pakistan, with Pakistani concerns dismissed as 'paranoia and conspiracy theories', so it is about time that the Afghans and US support for terrorists is highlighted.
              Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission - Jinnah
              https://twitter.com/AgnosticMuslim

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Agnostic Muslim View Post
                Of late the smear campaign has been pretty one sided against Pakistan, with Pakistani concerns dismissed as 'paranoia and conspiracy theories', so it is about time that the Afghans and US support for terrorists is highlighted.
                Yes, but in this case you are just adding to it, instead of distinguishing yourself from it.

                Why not try the latter.

                Basic Con 101 - I see this in work on a regular basis at a personal level.
                Accuse the others of what you yourself are guilty of. When they do not comply, absolve yourself of any previous obligations or commitments. See, they will not do it then how they can accuse us of anything.
                I see this as a balm to sooth the hurt sentiments of your people that is its only purpose. For domestic consumption. Its a ready made reply to give when the opposition asks in parliament what is the govt doing about this.

                Its a ploy, nobody abroad including your own leaders expects it to be taken seriously.
                Last edited by Double Edge; 23 Oct 12,, 15:42.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                  I see this as a balm to sooth the hurt sentiments of your people that is its only purpose. For domestic consumption. Its a ready made reply to give when the opposition asks in parliament what is the govt doing about this.

                  Its a ploy, nobody abroad including your own leaders expects it to be taken seriously.

                  As for outsiders, it's almost impossible to sympathize with Pakistan. Notice the liberal use of the word "terrorist" when it comes to Baloch and Sindhi secessionists, and other Pakistani adversaries. Yet, Mullah Omar, Afghan Taliban and the Kashmiri militants are embraced by Pakistanis in a tight bear hug. Case in point, PTI and Imran Khan. In that backdrop, I tip my hat to Baloch and Sindhi secessionists any day.
                  Cow is the only animal that not only inhales oxygen, but also exhales it.
                  -Rekha Arya, Former Minister of Animal Husbandry

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    You're playing straight into his hands.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Agnostic Muslim View Post
                      How is pointing out Afghan/US support for terrorists operating out of Afghanistan against Pakistan a 'deflection tactic'?
                      What exactly do you mean by support? Trying and failing to capture is now support???

                      So till the time the US finally managed to knock down Bin Laden, I guess they were supporting him...
                      "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" ~ Epicurus

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Gents, it's a win-win. Without doubt there are Talibunnies within the boundaries who attack Pakistan. I'm sure a prisoner exchange can be arranged with TTP Swat commander Maulvi Fazalullah and his fighters being swapped one way and the planners and trainers of the Mumbai massacre going the other. Quid pro quo.....
                        In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

                        Leibniz

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                          Pot calling the kettle black
                          Indeed. Peshawar openly hosts Mullah Omar/Afghan Taliban Shura Council.
                          sigpic

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Zain,

                            Vous êtes un provocateur et un premier comedian. D'accord?

                            Etienne.
                            "This aggression will not stand, man!" Jeff Lebowski
                            "The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." Lester Bangs

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by S2 View Post
                              Zain,

                              Vous êtes un provocateur et un premier comedian. D'accord?

                              Etienne.
                              Hélas Etienne, en dehors de votre bonne auto il semble y avoir des perles devant les pourceaux
                              In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

                              Leibniz

                              Comment

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