No army officer held for Times Square plot: Pakistan

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 20 (IANS) No Pakistani Army officer has been held for involvement in the attempted Times Square car bombing for which Pakistani American Faisal Shahzad has been arrested, the military said Thursday.

‘No Pakistan Army officer has been arrested for having links’ with Shahzad, Online news agency quoted Inter-Services Public Relations chief Maj. Gen Athar Abbas as saying.

‘Western media reports in this regard are baseless concocted and devoid of facts,’ he said, adding: ‘There is no truth to such news and no army officer, retired or in service, has been taken into custody for links with Faisal Shahzad.’

He clarified that last month, a retired major was sacked and arrested for violating discipline but he has no link with Shahzad case.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that investigators had arrested a Pakistani Army major linked to Shahzad.

Abbas’s remarks come a day after Pakistan and the US Wednesday pledged to enhance cooperation to foil future terrorist attacks as senior US officials briefed Pakistan’s political and military troika on the probe into the Times Square attempt.

US National Security Advisor James Jones and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief Leon Panetta met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ‘provided an update on the ongoing investigation into the Times Square terrorist incident’, a joint statement issued from the presidency said.

‘The talks covered measures that both countries are, and will be, taking to confront the common threat we face from extremists and prevent such potential attacks from occurring again,’ the statement added.

On Tuesday, Shahzad was arraigned before a federal magistrate in Manhattan on five felony counts two weeks after his arrest.

Appearing before Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV Tuesday evening, Shahzad, 30, did not enter a plea, simply answering ‘yes’ when the judge asked whether an affidavit attesting to his finances was accurate.

He was then charged with one count each of attempting terrorism by attempting to kill people; attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction; using a destructive device in connection with an attempted crime of violence; transporting explosives; and attempting to destroy property with fire and explosives. Attempted terrorism carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Shahzad, a Pakistani immigrant who lived in Connecticut and had worked as a financial analyst, was taken into custody May 3 as he tried to flee to his native Pakistan on a flight out of John F. Kennedy International Airport minutes before the plane was to leave for Dubai.

Prosecutors said he had left a Nissan Pathfinder rigged with makeshift, defective explosives in Times Square on May 1. The suspect who has been kept in an undisclosed location since he was taken into custody immediately began cooperating with federal investigators.

Three other Pakistanis were taken into custody in New England after a series of raids last week, and three others were arrested in Pakistan. None face criminal charges in connection with the plot.

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Civil Service Examination topper gets a warm welcome in J-K

May 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Srinagar, May 8 (ANI): Dr. Faesal Shah, the topper of the 2009 Civil Service Examination, was given a warm welcome at his hometown in Jammu and Kashmir.

People from the neighbourhood as well as far-flung areas of the city gathered at his residence to welcome him amid drumbeats, flowers and garlands.

The 26-year-old MBBS graduate, who topped the list of 875 successful candidates, expressed his delight at the hearty welcome, and said he is happy to have proved the myth of indiscrimination for Kashmiris in the Indian Civil Services to be a wrong conception.

“There are many myths circulating in Kashmir. One of the myths is that we are getting discriminated; one of the myths is that we don”t have exposure, we don”t have talent; I think we will have to deal with inferiority complex that is inside us,” said Dr. Faesal Shah.

“I have proven today that a Kashmiri can do it in the first attempt and do it without coaching and he can do it from Srinagar only,” he added.

The locals lauded his success and termed it as the pride of Kashmir.

“We have talent as shown by Faesal Saheb. He has made Kashmir proud. We lack exposure that is the only problem. Rest is okay,” said Athar Sayed, a resident of Srinagar.

Transforming a hurdle into an opportunity, Dr. Faesal Shah coped with personal tragedy to become the first from Kashmir to top the Union Public Service Commission 2009 examinations.

The untimely death of his father in 2002 at the hands of “unidentified militants” days before his pre-medical test did not deter Dr. Faesal from clearing the examination or becoming the first candidate from Kashmir in several years to be selected to the Indian Administrative Service through open merit.

Dr.Faesal was born in Sogam village of Jammu and Kashmir”s Kupwara District. (ANI)

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It’s ‘premature’ to say if Shehzad had links with Pak Taliban: Pak Army

May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, May 6 (ANI): While US officials have said that Faisal Shehzad, the main accused behind the foiled Times Square bombing plot, received bomb making training in Pakistan’s restive tribal region of Waziristan, the Pakistan Army has said it is premature to say that he had visited the region unless a link between him and the Taliban is established.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Major General Athar Abbas said those links are yet to be established.

“Unless a link is established, it will be premature to say that he had gone there,” The Daily Times quoted Abbas, as saying.

According to US officials privy to the investigations Shehzad, son of a former Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Chief Air Vice Marshal Baharul Haq, has already admitted to receiving terror training in Waziristan during his five-month trip to the country earlier this year.

When asked about the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) taking the responsibility for the botched up bombing plot, Abbas said : “As for the TTP claim, anybody can claim anything.” (ANI)

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With three killings in 10 days Taliban haunts Swat Valley again

April 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Apr.30 (ANI): Months after the Pakistan Army declared the Swat Valley safe claiming that the Taliban has been flushed out of the region, the extremists have resumed their activities killing at least three local leaders in ten days.

Pakistani officials also confirmed the target killings, but added that the recent murders does not mean the Taliban is re-entering the valley.

“There have been three incidents of targeted killings. But these incidents do not mean that the Taliban can return in any organised form to the Swat valley. The army is confident of this,” The BBC quoted Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Major General Athar Abbas, as saying.

He said the militants who carried out the killings, have been “dealt with.”

“We carried out an operation after a tip-off and killed the four of them,” Abbas said.

Local residents, however, presented a different story, saying at least one militant had escaped after a gun battle with security forces.

Residents complained that though the Army claims that peace has returned to the valley, things have not improved much, and added that tourism, which once contributed a major chunk to revenue generated in the valley, still remains affected.

“Things have not improved and business is not good. We cannot even imagine that tourists will come here,” said Khalid, a local restaurant owner.

“How can things be better if there are still suicide bombings and people are being killed every few days?” he asked. (ANI)

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Pak sets free six top Taliban commanders: Report

April 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, Apr.29 (ANI): Pakistan has set free at least six top Taliban militants, including the extremist outfit’s second-in command Mullah Abdul Ghani Barader’s close aide Abdul Qayum Zakir, a report in a magazine has claimed.

According to Newsweek magazine, Zakir, who was nabbed days after Barader was picked up from Karachi, was among the six Taliban commanders who were released by the Pakistani authorities recently.

Zakir was Baradar’s top military commander and one of the Taliban chieftain Mullah Omar’s most effective and most feared commanders during the Taliban’s fight to defeat the resisting Northern Alliance 10 years ago, the magazine said.

It said that several Taliban sources have also confirmed the arrest and his subsequent release.

However, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told said he has no information about the arrest and release of these militant leaders.

The incident has also been confirmed by a US official, who declined to be identified, who said that there was nothing surprising about it.

“It’s not a surprise that in a country where politics is often messy, competing interests are carefully balanced, and relationships are complex, some of those people have been let go,” the official said.

“We know they don’t have a consistent policy that they apply consistently, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work with them. Quite frankly, we have to,” he added.

The report regarding the release of Taliban commanders by Pakistan comes days after The Washington Post reported that US officials believe at least two of the arrested Taliban commanders were released by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) recently.

U.S. military and intelligence officials said the releases, detected by American spy agencies but not publicly disclosed, are evidence that parts of Pakistan’s security establishment continue to support the Afghan Taliban. (ANI)

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Pak inaction over captive militants to hit war on terror efforts: US

April 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr.22 (ANI): The holding of thousands of suspected militants by the Pakistan Army for an indefinite period could not only sway public sentiment towards their movement, but also impact US military and financial aid to Pakistan, officials have revealed.

The extremists are being held captive by the military on the plea that Pakistan’s civilian justice system does not have the power and is too weak to prosecute the largenumber of alleged militants, and that they cold walk free if handed over to the civilian set-up.

Pakistan Army spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas, stressed that the military is “extremely concerned” that the detainees will be allowed to go free if they are turned over to the civilian government.

“More than 300 suspected militants who had been detained in the military’s 2007 operation in the Swat Valley were later released under a peace deal. Many returned to the Taliban, making the army’s task harder when it again rolled into Swat last spring,” Abbas said.

However, U.S. officials said they are worried that the arrests could further inflame local sentiment thereby creating sympathy for the militants.

“They’re treating the local population with a heavy hand, and they’re alienating them,” The Washington Post quoted a US official, as saying.

“As a result, it’s sort of a classic case going back to Vietnam; it risks actually creating more sympathy for the extremists,” the official, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, said.

U.S. officials are also concerned that by holding thousands of people without trial, Pakistan risks violating the Leahy Amendment, which requires recipients of U.S. military assistance to abide by international human rights laws and standards, the newspaper said.

“Obviously, you don’t want the Pakistanis to do anything to complicate a relationship that requires support from Congress,” another Obama Administration official said.

It is worth mentioning that Washington has provided Islamabad with nearly 18 billion dollars in military and development aid since 2002. (ANI)

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Pakistan hands over 56-page wish list to US before strategic dialogue

March 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar.24 (ANI): Unmanned Predator drones, helicopter gunships, more financial aid, a civil nuclear accord, and a direct role of the White House in reviving the stalled Indo-Pak composite dialogue are some of the ‘marked’ requirements in the 56-page wish list that Pakistan has handed over to the United States just ahead of the strategic dialogue.

The document also requests for greater cooperation between Pakistani spy agency (the ISI) and US intelligence outfits.

Islamabad also wants a role in any future talks between the West backed Afghanistan and the Taliban.

According to a Pakistani official, who refused to be named, Islamabad’s fears of being outflanked by New Delhi, which has forged close ties with Kabul, are reflected in the document’s ‘indirect’ language about regional security issues.

The wish list also raises concerns about India’s effort to modernise its military, in part through buying US equipment and weapons, The Nation reports.

When asked about the details of the wish list, the Pakistan military’s spokesperson, Major General Athar Abbas confirmed its presence but refused to divulge any detail regarding it.

Commenting on the reports, spokesman for the National Security Council, Michael Hammer said the White House is looking forward to Wednesday’s (March 24) dialogue but denied to comment on Pakistan’s specific proposals, which were made during a series of meetings between Pakistani and US officials in the recent past.

“During the course of those discussions, a considerable number of ideas, initiatives, and opportunities have been brought up by both sides,” Hammer said, adding: “We are not prepared to comment on any one set of ideas other than to say that we are encouraged by an open and robust dialogue.”

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has played down the chance of any big announcement of fresh aid at the end of the talks, saying the dialogue would focus on strengthening long-term bilateral ties.

“I would not look to this, at the end of it, for there to be some great announcement about any hard items that are being produced as a result of the conversations,” Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.

“This is a dialogue designed to produce a better long-term strategic relationship … this is not simply about asking and receiving items,” Morrell added. (ANI)

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Kayani’s key role in strategic talks with US shows who calls the shots in Pak: NYT

March 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Karachi, Mar. 22 (ANI): While Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is leading the Pakistani delegation for the Pak-US strategic talks beginning on Wednesday, it is Pak Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani who is actually in-charge of running the show.

It is well known in Pakistan that Qureshi is just the nominal head of the Pakistani delegation, and it is General Kayani who has been calling the civilian heads of major government departments, including finance and foreign affairs, to his army headquarters to discuss final details, the New York Times reports.

General Kayani’s role in organizing agendas for talks has raised alarm in Pakistan, a country with a long history of military juntas.

Pakistan’s’ leading financial newspaper, The Business Recorder, wrote: “The government needs to consolidate civilian rule instead of handing over its responsibilities, like coordination between different departments, to the military.”

“General Kayani is in the driver’s seat. It is unprecedented that an army chief of staff preside over a meeting of federal secretaries,” Rifaat Hussain, a professor of international relations at Islamabad University, was quoted as saying.

A spokesman at the American Embassy in Islamabad said that General Kayani will attend meetings at the Pentagon with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Monday.

He will also attend the opening ceremony of the talks between Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Qureshi at the US State Department on Wednesday.

The most pressing issues in the talks are likely to be the eventual American pullout from Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s concerns about India, the editorial says.

The spokesman for the Pakistani military, Gen. Athar Abbas, said that Pakistan would be “conveying very clearly” its displeasure with India’s offer to help train the Afghan Army at the behest of American and NATO forces.

Another key agenda on General Kayani’s priority list would be to successfully renegotiate an aid package of 30 billion dollars with the US, the paper says. (ANI)

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Kayani’s key role in strategic talks with US shows who calls the shots in Pak: NYT

March 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Karachi, Mar. 22 (ANI): While Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is leading the Pakistani delegation for the Pak-US strategic talks beginning on Wednesday, it is Pak Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani who is actually in-charge of running the show.

It is well known in Pakistan that Qureshi is just the nominal head of the Pakistani delegation, and it is General Kayani who has been calling the civilian heads of major government departments, including finance and foreign affairs, to his army headquarters to discuss final details, the New York Times reports.

General Kayani’s role in organizing agendas for talks has raised alarm in Pakistan, a country with a long history of military juntas.

Pakistan’s’ leading financial newspaper, The Business Recorder, wrote: “The government needs to consolidate civilian rule instead of handing over its responsibilities, like coordination between different departments, to the military.”

“General Kayani is in the driver’s seat. It is unprecedented that an army chief of staff preside over a meeting of federal secretaries,” Rifaat Hussain, a professor of international relations at Islamabad University, was quoted as saying.

A spokesman at the American Embassy in Islamabad said that General Kayani will attend meetings at the Pentagon with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Monday.

He will also attend the opening ceremony of the talks between Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Qureshi at the US State Department on Wednesday.

The most pressing issues in the talks are likely to be the eventual American pullout from Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s concerns about India, the editorial says.

The spokesman for the Pakistani military, Gen. Athar Abbas, said that Pakistan would be “conveying very clearly” its displeasure with India’s offer to help train the Afghan Army at the behest of American and NATO forces.

Another key agenda on General Kayani’s priority list would be to successfully renegotiate an aid package of 30 billion dollars with the US, the paper says. (ANI)

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Pak intelligence calls for Afghan border to be closed

March 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Mar. 15 (ANI): Pakistan”s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has called for tighter control of the Afghan border by NATO troops to stop Taliban fighters from escaping its operations in the North West Frontier.

Major General Athar Abbas, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), claimed that a cross-border flow into Afghanistan was hampering its campaign to crush the Taliban.

“We are at full stretch. I have to say that the border is a joint responsibility,” The Telegraph quoted Major General Athar Abass, as saying in a presentation to the Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank.

“NATO must stop the cross border flow,” he said.

Pakistan has rapidly expanded its presence along the Afghanistan border, which crosses mountains and deserts, after years of complaints from NATO that it was not doing enough to stop Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters finding safe haven in its territory.

According to Major General Abbas, there are now 821 Pakistan army checkpoints on the border, but just 112 Afghan Army or NATO posts.

Pakistan officials have proclaimed the success of its operations in the autonomous territories dominated by Pashtun tribes that have sheltered the Taliban. (ANI)

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Pak military involved in mass ‘extra judicial’ killings in Swat ?

September 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New York, Sep.15 (ANI): While the Pakistan Army has claimed success in its offensive against the Taliban in the Swat and Malakand Divisions by killing scores of militants, human rights activists and local residents have blamed the security forces of carrying out indiscriminate killings in the region.

Recently hundreds of bodies were dumped onto the streets in Mingora. Eye witnesses said it appeared that those who were killed were subjected to torture, which has raised questions over the Pakistan military’s actions, The New York Times reported.

While the military has admitted that the bodies have turned up, it has vehemently denied its role in ‘extra judicial’ killings.

“There are no extrajudicial killings in our system.If something happens, we have a foolproof accountability system,” said Army spokesman Colonel Athar Abbas.

The Army has termed the whole issue as ‘revenge killings’ by civilians, but Swat residents denied such claims, the report said.

“There have been reports of extrajudicial killings by the military that are of concern,” This will not help bring peace,” said former Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao.

The Human Rights Commission, a non-governmental organization, argued that all the victims had not been killed by civilians, saying there are credible reports of retaliatory killings by the military, it added.

However, some people have other views regarding the killings.her Shah Khan, a well known landlord of the region, said people would hardly raise any objection to the killings as the Taliban also used to massacre innocent persons in the same manner.

“If the security services kill in the same manner as the Taliban killed, people have no problem,” Khan said. (ANI)

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Fazlullah vows Taliban will ‘bounce back’ from current state of ‘illness’

September 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Peshawar, Sep.12 (ANI): Following the confirmation of the arrest of five of its important Shura members including the spokesperson Muslim Khan, Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah has admitted that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been weakened in the region.

In a pre-recorded message conveyed by TTP’s makeshift spokesman Salman, Fazlullah said Taliban’s movement was in a state of ‘illness’, but vowed that the banned out fit will continue its struggle and will bounce back.

“The Taliban movement is presently in a state of illness. When you are ill, your activities are curtailed. That is what has happened to Taliban organisation, but it would bounce back,” The News quoted Fazlullah, as saying.

He said each of the Taliban operatives are ready to ‘embrace martyrdom’ like their slain chief Baitullah Mehsud.

“Like Baitullah Mehsud, all Taliban fighters want to embrace martyrdom. Getting arrested while fighting for a cause is no big deal for the Taliban,” Fazlullah said.

He also said that the Taliban now does not trust the Pakistan Army, as it arrested its members after calling them for ‘peace talks’.

Earlier, ISPR Director General Major Athar Abbas rejected reports regarding initiating a peace process with the Taliban.bbas said there could be no talks with the terrorists.

“We have already declared that no talks will be held with any terrorist. If they want to surrender, they should lay down their arms and hand themselves over to the law-enforcement agencies,” an ISPR spokesman added. (ANI)

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Pak Taliban spokesman arrested

September 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Peshawar, Sep.11 (ANI) The Pakistan Government on Friday announced that it had arrested the chief spokesman of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Muslim Khan.

Khan was formerly a commander and spokesman of the Swat Taliban.

“Muslim Khan and Mahmood Khan with head money of 10 million rupees (120,482 US dollars) have been arrested by security forces in a successful operation in Swat,’ military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said in a statement.

Muslim Khan was second on the most-wanted list behind Mullah Fazlullah. He earned notoriety as the hardline Taliban spokesman in Swat but was largely impossible to reach after the military launched its summer ground and air assault.

Mahmood Khan was number four on the most-wanted list, described as commander of Kuza Banda in northern Swat.

“Along with them, three other terrorist leaders Fazle Ghaffar, Abdul Rehman and Sartaj have been also been apprehended,” the Dawn quoted Major General Abbas, as saying.

Pakistan says more than 1,900 militants and over 167 security personnel were killed in the offensive but the tolls are impossible to verify independently.

Answering a question on Muslim Khan’s arrest, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said it should be seen as a national success. (ANI)

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Military rule damaged Pak Army’s image: General Abbas

August 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Rawalpindi, Aug 24 (ANI): The rule of former Pakistan army chiefs-General Ayub Khan, General Yahya Khan, General Zia-ul-Haq and General Pervez Musharraf had badly damaged the image of the armed forces, according to Director-General Inter Services Public Relations Major- General Athar Abbas.

The views of Major- General Abbas were expressed in an article available on ISPR’s website.

“The founding father envisaged Pakistan as a sovereign, modern and democratic state based on the principles of equality and justice. The failure of successive governments to establish a tolerant political culture, viable political system and good governance has driven people to a state of disillusionment,” he writes.

“In the past we have tried various systems but have not succeeded. The stunted development of our political system is mainly due to the fact that initially our state developed as a ‘security state’ due to incomplete partition and no urgency was felt to have a constitution.

“Subsequent corruption and incompetence led to frequent near collapse situations making way for military interventions. As soon as military took over, realising that it could do better, it tended to prolong the stay in power. This led to concentration of power in one hand and eroded the system of checks and balances,” Major General Abbas adds.

The unfortunate death of Quaid-e-Azam soon after partition left a political vacuum and chaos. Commander-in-Chief General Ayub Khan’s appointment as the Defence Minister, while he was serving, was the instance of the political government voluntarily ceding authority to the army.

The result was a bloodless coup in 1958. His initial period, 1958-1961 was known as golden era. Yahya Khan’s brief period from 1969-1972 resulted in separation of East Pakistan.

During Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s regime 1972-1977 the army stayed out of politics. The rigging of 1977 elections brought the army back in politics. General Zia’s era (1977-1988) fully entrenched the army in politics and started the era of Islamisation of the society.

During the period from 1988-1999, power kept shuttling between Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. The era where the government functioning came to a grinding halt several times and governance suffered badly due to infighting of politicians.

General Musharraf ruled from 1999-2008. It was a military cum quasi-military rule that achieved many things but resulted in a severe political turmoil and badly affected the image of Army. (ANI)

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ISPR rejects HRCP’s ‘mass grave’ allegations

August 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Aug.19 (ANI): The Pakistan Army has rejected the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s (HRCP) report alleging that the security forces are involved in extra-judicial killings and human rights abuses in the war ravaged Malakand Division.

Speaking in a television programme, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Athar Abbas said the army has a strong chain of command and it always carries out its work in a professional manner.

“It can never respond to terror with terror and has to conduct in a professional and legal way,” Major General Abbas said.

Responding to queries about the mass graves found in the Malakand Division, he said the security forces had nothing to do with it and claimed that the militants had themselves buried their associates killed in clashes during operation Reh-e-Rast.

When asked why the Taliban would bury their men in mass graves, Abbas said they had been doing so because they were in a hurry while retreating.

He said the army is ready for a full-scale investigation in the presence of independent journalists over the issue, The Dawn reports.

Speaking in the same programme, HRCP chairperson Asma Jehangir said that the commission had documented accounts of ‘extra-judicial killings’ by security forces and the ‘mass graves’ found in the Swat valley where the army was battling the Taliban.

Jehangir said a number of Swat residents had reported ‘sighting mass graves in the area’, including at least one in Kookarai village in Babozai tehsil and another in an area between Dewlai and Shah Dheri in Kabal tehsil. (ANI)

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No talks with Taliban until it ‘repudiates al-Qaeda publicly’: US

July 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, July 12 (ANI): The United States has ruled out any negotiations with the Taliban until it lays down arms and severe all its ties with Al-Qaeda.

When enquired about the statement of the Pakistan Army’s spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas, that the Pakistan military can bring the Taliban to the discussion table with the United States, the US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, said such a possibility can only occur when the Taliban ‘repudiates al-Qaeda publicly’.

“No, I don’t know what he’s talking about. The Taliban and al-Qaeda are linked like this. And, unless the Taliban repudiates al-Qaeda publicly, this is a nonstarter,” Holbrooke said during a television interview.

He said until the Taliban and Al-Qaeda shun their violent activities the ‘war against terror’ against these outfits in Afghanistan would continue.

“This war is not going to end on the decks of the USS Missouri, like World War II did. This war is going to end when the Taliban lay down their arms and reintegrate into society,” The Nation quoted Holbrooke, as saying.

“The United States and President Hamid Karzai have long said that Taliban reconciliation is part of our programme, people who work with the Taliban, who support them, who want to lay down their arms and participate, the door is always open,” he added. (ANI)

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Taliban rejects reports about Fazlullah being on ‘death bed’

July 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, July 12 (ANI): The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has rejected government claims about Mullah Fazlullah fighting for life.

TTP spokesperson Maulvi Umar said over the phone that all reports about Fazlullah were false and ‘baseless’.

He claimed that Fazlullah was safe and that the Taliban leadership had gone underground in Buner, Dir and Swat as part of a long term strategy.

He also denied reports about top commander Shah Duran being killed in an airstrike.

Earlier, the Daily times quoted the Army as claiming that Fazlullah was hit, but that it could not confirm the report.

“Maulana Fazlullah has been hurt in an airstrike.But we cannot confirm his exact condition at the moment,” ISPR spokesperson Major General Athar Abbas said.

The BBC reported that he (Fazlullah) had been seriously injured in the ongoing military offensive, and was on his ‘death bed’.

“Maulana Fazlullah was actually hit in two airstrikes, and is critically wounded. He is now stranded in Imam Dehri without any access to medical assistance and is close to death,” the BBC quoted Mingora resident Wasif Ali, as saying. (ANI)

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Swat Taliban chief Fazlullah seriously injured: Pak Army

July 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, July 9 (ANI): The Pakistan Army has claimed that Mullah Fazlullah, the chief of the Taliban’s Swat chapter, has been grievously wounded in an attack by security forces.

Addressing a joint press conference with Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Athar Abbas said the Army has obtained information through reliable sources that Fazlullah has been injured.

“We have received credible information about his sustaining critical injuries following an attack by security forces,” The News quoted Major General Abbas, as saying.

He said that operation in Swat and Buner has been completed and claimed that these areas have been cleared of militants. aira said that the area has been cleared of “terrorists”, but a military statement issued on Wednesday said that some pockets of resistance remained.
The military claims to have killed about 1,600 militants in their northwest operation, but such tolls are impossible to verify.
As Swat operations wrap up, military and government officials have vowed to open up a second front against Pakistan’s main Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who is holed up in the lawless tribal areas along the Afghan border.
Major General Athar Abbas said that there are terrorists in some areas conducting activities, adding the extremists are being chased and their training centers have been razed.
He added the process of targeting the hideouts of extremists will continue for some time and the Pak Army will stay in Swat.
When enquired about the expansion of the military offensive in North Waziristan from South Waziristan, Major General Abbas said the military has no such plans. (ANI)

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Pak Army claims Swat, Buner cleared of Taliban militants

July 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, July 8 (ANI): The operation in Swat and Buner has been completed and these areas have been cleared of militants, the Pakistan Army claimed today.

Addressing a press conference accompanied with Federal Information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said a meeting with Army chief Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani was held to discuss the issue of IDPs.

Kaira said that the area had been cleared of “terrorists”, but a military statement issued Wednesday said that some pockets of resistance remained, The News reported.

The military claims to have killed about 1,600 militants in their northwest operation, but such tolls are impossible to verify.

As Swat operations wrap up, military and government officials have vowed to open up a second front against Pakistan’s main Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who is holed up in the lawless tribal areas along the Afghan border.

Major General Athar Abbas said that there are terrorists in some areas conducting activities, adding the extremists are being chased and their training centers have been razed.

He added the process of targeting the hideouts of extremists will continue for some time and the Pak Army will stay in Swat.

He said the army had “credible” information that Fazlullah was hit; said Major General Athar Abbas giving no further details about the hardline cleric’s condition.

“In one of the strikes, Fazlullah has been injured,” he said, adding that the air strike wounding the commander hit two days ago in Swat.

Armed Taliban marched into the district of Buner in April, putting Fazlullah’s fighters within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the national capital Islamabad, and Pakistan unleashed its fresh military offensive.

Abbas said that the operation in Swat and two other northwest districts was almost over, but said the top leadership remained elusive, with many simply disappearing into the mountains of the rugged region, The News reported.

“We are constantly targeting militant leaders. They always keep themselves protected,” Abbas said. (ANI)

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Mehsud buying, selling children to use them as suicide bombers: Pak Army

July 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, July 8 (ANI): Pakistan, for the first time has admitted that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud is virtually running a factory of suicide bombers, and using small children for the purpose.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesperson, Major General Athar Abbas said that Mehsud buys and sells children as young as 11 years old to be used as suicide bombers to strike strategic locations across the country.

“He (Mehsud) has been admitting he holds a training center for young boys, for preparing them for suicide bombing. So he is on record saying all this, accepting these crimes,” Major General Abbas told CNN.

The Pakistan Army also released a chilling video showing young children being trained for carrying out suicide bombings, The Daily News reports.

Mehsud, the alleged mastermind behind former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, has managed to ditch the security forces, even as the Pakistan Army has launched an all out operation against him in South Waziristan after it failed to nab the warlord during Swat and Malakand surge.

The Pakistan military has been getting assistance from the United States also, as the US drones are continuously pounding the Taliban’s hideouts in the restive tribal regions along the Afghan border.

However, the United States has never confirmed that it is carrying out missile hits inside Pakistan’s geographical territory, and Islamabad too has been complaining about the drone attacks.

But it is believed that both countries are working closely to hunt down the Taliban chief. (ANI)

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