$7.5 billion aid to Pak runs into serious trouble: Report

August 5, 2011 By

The whopping $7.5 billion American aid to Pakistan has run into serious trouble as only a fraction could be spent due to differences in priorities, even as remaining money is under scrutiny.

In 2009, Congress passed with fanfare the five-year aid plan intended to prove Washington's long-term commitment to Pakistan's weak civilian government.

Both countries touted the package as a way to reset relations long centred on military ties.

But two years later only $500 million has been spent as the programme has run into bureaucratic delays, disagreements over priorities and fears about corruption.

Now the remainder of the funding is under scrutiny in the Republican-led House where two panels h

ave approved broad cuts in foreign aid and stringent conditions on assistance to a number of countries, including Pakistan, the Washington Post reported.

Although the Obama administration is fighting the cuts, US officials say they expect lawmakers to shrink the aid package while requiring greater evidence that Pakistan is fighting terrorism and that the funding is reaping benefits.

The debate over civilian aid has transformed it from a potential tool for healing the deep rift between the United States and Pakistan to yet another flash point in a relationship that has reached new lows in the three months since US Navy SEALs killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.

zp8497586rq
Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

US ran fake vaccine project in hunt for bin Laden: Report

July 11, 2011 By

LONDON: US intelligence launched a fake vaccination drive in the Pakistan town where it believed Osama bin Laden was hiding in an effort to gather DNA from members of his family, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

CIA officials recruited a senior local doctor to organise the campaign after it tracked down a bin Laden courier to what turned out to be the al-Qaida fugitive's compound in the town of Abbottabad, the British newspaper said.

Before launching the high-risk operation against bin Laden, US officials wanted to test DNA samples from people living at the compound with a sample that they had from his sister.

Doctor Shakil Afridi, who has since been arrested by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, launched the pr

ogramme in Abbottabad's poorest area to make it appear more credible.

The project then moved swiftly to the Bilal Town suburb, where bin Laden was residing.

“The whole thing was totally irregular,” a Pakistani official told the newspaper. “Bilal Town is a well-to-do area. Why would you choose that place to give free vaccines?”

A nurse managed to gain access to the compound but Pakistani sources claim she failed to obtain any DNA samples, the Guardian reported.

Bin Laden was killed on May 2 in a raid that soured US-Pakistan relations.

The Pakistani military on Monday insisted it was capable of fighting Islamic militants without US assistance, hitting back after Washington said it would suspend $800 million worth of security aid.

zp8497586rq
Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Factbox: Key facts in U.S.-Pakistan relations

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Islamabad on Sunday, hoping to bolster shaky U.S. relations with a close ally in the struggle against militant insurgents in both Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan.

Here are some facts about the importance and problem areas of the relationship, what aid has been given, what Pakistan wants and what is to come:

STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE

Pakistan is of huge strategic importance and a main ally for the United States as it seeks to defeat al Qaeda and cripple the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 2001 attacks on the United States, is believed to be hiding somewhere along the lawless border with Afghanistan. The leaders of the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan are also believed to be hiding in Pakistan.

Washington is also pressing for Pakistan to step up the fight against its own homegrown Taliban militants, which U.S. officials believe were behind the attempted bombing in New York’s Times Square on May 1.

Washington needs Pakistan as it seeks to stabilize Afghanistan as U.S. President Barack Obama sends in an extra 30,000 troops in the coming months.

SECURITY COOPERATION

Much of Clinton’s meetings will focus on how to improve security cooperation, from intelligence-sharing to more equipment from the United States for its ally.

The two sides held an earlier round of talks in March and agreed to fast-track pending Pakistani requests for military equipment including helicopters, fighter jets and pilotless drones.

Washington has also pledged to deliver 1,000 laser-guided bomb kits to Pakistan and is considering more weapons sales to help Pakistan with insurgents in the Afghanistan border region.

KEY IRRITANTS

There is mistrust on a range of issues, from security cooperation to how aid is delivered. Most opinion polls show a majority of Pakistanis hold an unfavorable view of the U.S. government and are suspicious of its intentions. Pakistan’s government bristles when Washington complains it has not done enough to tackle militants in a war that has killed more than 2,000 soldiers and weighed on the economy.

Civilian deaths from drone strikes are also unpopular in Pakistan, although the civilian government is believed to privately support them.

A recent source of U.S. irritation has been delays in granting visas for U.S. officials wanting to audit how aid is spent while Pakistan complains about increased security checks for its citizens visiting the United States.

Clinton, in a visit to Pakistan in October, publicly expressed puzzlement that its government had been unable to find scores of al Qaeda leaders including Osama bin Laden who are believed to be hiding in rugged border territory that divides Pakistan and Afghanistan.

AID PROGRAMME

The United States is Pakistan’s biggest aid donor and has given about $15 billion in direct aid and military reimbursements since 2002, about two-thirds of it security related.

While Pakistan is being propped up by an $11.3 billion International Monetary Fund loan, a new U.S. aid package triples non-military assistance to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year over the next five years.

The flow of money is being held up, however, as the Obama administration changes how it distributes that aid. Instead of largely using U.S. contractors and non-governmental organizations, it wants to funnel much of the aid via the Pakistani government and domestic NGOs in the hope this will bolster local capacity.

NUCLEAR COOPERATION

Pakistan would like a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with the United States, similar to the one Washington has with India, but there were scant signs of progress on this front during the March meetings.

The United States is leery of such a deal out of concern for how it might affect ties with New Delhi.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari recently visited China amid signs that Chinese companies were ready to move ahead with plans to build two nuclear reactors for Pakistan, which could raise concerns in both Washington and New Delhi about nuclear proliferation.

(Editing by John O’Callaghan and Chris Allbritton)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Q+A: Who was al Qaeda’s operations chief Sa’id al-Masri?

June 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Al Qaeda’s operations chief and third-in-command, Sheikh Sai’d al-Masri, is believed to have been killed in a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan last month, U.S. and Pakistani officials said.

World

Al Qaeda has confirmed the death of Masri, who is also known as Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, in a statement on an Islamist website but gave no details.

U.S. and Pakistani intelligence officials believe Masri was killed, along with members of his family, in a strike by a pilotless CIA-operated drone in tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan in late May.

Following are some facts about him.

WHO IS SAI’D AL-MASRI?

He was born on December 17, 1955, in Egypt and became a militant Islamist in his youth, spending three years in prison.

Masri was a founding member of al Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri’s branch of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, one of the original groups that merged to form al Qaeda. Following the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981, Masri was implicated in the killing along with Zawahiri and others, and they spent time in jail together.

He left Egypt for Afghanistan in 1988 and was subsequently convicted in absentia for militant offences in several trials in Egypt, and was sentenced to both life imprisonment and death.

Masri accompanied Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan to Sudan in 1991. While there he served as an accountant for bin Laden’s Sudan-based businesses before returning to Afghanistan with bin Laden in 1996.

Masri is reported to have supplied funding for Mohammed Atta, the leader of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

WHAT WAS HIS ROLE IN AL QAEDA?

Masri was one of al Qaeda’s most important and trusted leaders. He was al Qaeda’s leader in Afghanistan and in what the group refers to as the Khorasan, a region encompassing large areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Iran.

The Khorasan is considered by jihadists to be the place where they will inflict the first defeat against their enemies in the Muslim version of Armageddon.

He also served as a top propagandist for al Qaeda and the Taliban. Bespectacled Masri, wearing a white turban, often appeared on propaganda tapes with senior Taliban leaders.

As one of the founding members of al Qaeda in the late 1980s, Masri was a close associate of bin Laden. He also was a member of al Qaeda’s Shura Council, its core leadership forum.

Among Islamist groups, Masri was reputed to be a diplomatic personality who had good relations among local militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His appointment as the leader of Afghan operations in May 2007 was seen by experts as a bid by al Qaeda to boost its ties to local insurgents.

The U.S. September 11 Commission described Masri as the network’s “chief financial manager”. He was also believed to have opposed the September 11 attacks prior to their execution, but he remained loyal to al Qaeda and bin Laden.

HOW SIGNIFICANT IS HIS DEATH?

Security experts say his death would be a blow. Al Qaeda has suffered a steady erosion of its leadership and ability to mount attacks since the United States stepped up its campaign of missile strikes by unmanned aircraft in Pakistan’s tribal region.

His death could also hamper al Qaeda’s ability to raise and distribute funds because he was in charge of the group’s “bayt ul mal”, or treasury. Because of his seniority he will be difficult to replace, security experts say.

Masri, which means “the Egyptian”, was the most senior al Qaeda leader killed in Afghanistan since military commander Mohammad Atef died in a U.S. air strike on his home in Kabul in November 2001.

He was also the highest ranking al Qaeda operative to have been killed in Pakistan’s tribal belt this year. In 2008, Pakistani security officials had said he was killed in military clashes in the northwestern Bajaur tribal region but that was later proved incorrect.

WHAT DID HE SAY WHEN HE WAS ALIVE?

One of the few recognizable faces of al Qaeda, Masri issued warnings and threats to countries and leaders the group considers itself waging holy war, or jihad, against.

In an interview aired on Al Jazeera television in June 2009, Masri said al Qaeda would use Pakistan’s nuclear weapons in its fight against the United States if it were in a position to do so. When asked about the whereabouts of bin Laden and Zawahiri, he said they were “safe”.

In a video seen by Reuters in 2009, Masri warned India of more attacks like the 2008 operation in its financial capital Mumbai and said India’s economic interests would be targeted if it retaliated against Pakistan.

Masri also told Pakistan’s Geo television in an interview aired in 2008 that a suicide bomber who attacked the Danish embassy in Islamabad that year came from the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

In a June 2009 audio message, Masri said militants were short of food, weapons and other supplies and appealed for funding. In a January 2010 message, he praised a December 30, 2009, attack at a U.S. base in Afghanistan in which a Jordanian double agent turned suicide bomber killed seven CIA officers.

(Additional reporting by William Maclean in LONDON; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Miral Fahmy)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Q+A-Who was al Qaeda’s operations chief Sa’id al-Masri?

June 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ISLAMABAD/KABUL, June 1 (Reuters) – Al Qaeda’s operations chief and third-in-command, Sheikh Sai’d al-Masri, is believed to have been killed in a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan last month, U.S. and Pakistani officials said.

Al Qaeda has confirmed the death of Masri, who is also known as Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, in a statement on an Islamist website but gave no details.

U.S. and Pakistani intelligence officials believe Masri was killed, along with members of his family, in a strike by a pilotless CIA-operated drone in tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan in late May.

Following are some facts about him.

WHO IS SAI’D AL-MASRI?

He was born on Dec. 17, 1955, in Egypt and became a militant Islamist in his youth, spending three years in prison.

Masri was a founding member of al Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri’s branch of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, one of the original groups that merged to form al Qaeda. Following the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981, Masri was implicated in the killing along with Zawahiri and others, and they spent time in jail together.

He left Egypt for Afghanistan in 1988 and was subsequently convicted in absentia for militant offences in several trials in Egypt, and was sentenced to both life imprisonment and death.

Masri accompanied Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan to Sudan in 1991. While there he served as an accountant for bin Laden’s Sudan-based businesses before returning to Afghanistan with bin Laden in 1996.

Masri is reported to have supplied funding for Mohammed Atta, the leader of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

WHAT WAS HIS ROLE IN AL QAEDA?

Masri was one of al Qaeda’s most important and trusted leaders. He was al Qaeda’s leader in Afghanistan and in what the group refers to as the Khorasan, a region encompassing large areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Iran.

The Khorasan is considered by jihadists to be the place where they will inflict the first defeat against their enemies in the Muslim version of Armageddon.

He also served as a top propagandist for al Qaeda and the Taliban. Bespectacled Masri, wearing a white turban, often appeared on propaganda tapes with senior Taliban leaders.

As one of the founding members of al Qaeda in the late 1980s, Masri was a close associate of bin Laden. He also was a member of al Qaeda’s Shura Council, its core leadership forum.

Among Islamist groups, Masri was reputed to be a diplomatic personality who had good relations among local militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His appointment as the leader of Afghan operations in May 2007 was seen by experts as a bid by al Qaeda to boost its ties to local insurgents.

The U.S. September 11 Commission described Masri as the network’s “chief financial manager”. He was also believed to have opposed the September 11 attacks prior to their execution, but he remained loyal to al Qaeda and bin Laden.

HOW SIGNIFICANT IS HIS DEATH?

Security experts say his death would be a blow. Al Qaeda has suffered a steady erosion of its leadership and ability to mount attacks since the United States stepped up its campaign of missile strikes by unmanned aircraft in Pakistan’s tribal region.

His death could also hamper al Qaeda’s ability to raise and distribute funds because he was in charge of the group’s “bayt ul mal”, or treasury. Because of his seniority he will be difficult to replace, security experts say.

Masri, which means “the Egyptian”, was the most senior al Qaeda leader killed in Afghanistan since military commander Mohammad Atef died in a U.S. air strike on his home in Kabul in November 2001.

He was also the highest ranking al Qaeda operative to have been killed in Pakistan’s tribal belt this year. In 2008, Pakistani security officials had said he was killed in military clashes in the northwestern Bajaur tribal region but that was later proved incorrect.

WHAT DID HE SAY WHEN HE WAS ALIVE?

One of the few recognisable faces of al Qaeda, Masri issued warnings and threats to countries and leaders the group considers itself waging holy war, or jihad, against.

In an interview aired on Al Jazeera television in June 2009, Masri said al Qaeda would use Pakistan’s nuclear weapons in its fight against the United States if it were in a position to do so. When asked about the whereabouts of bin Laden and Zawahiri, he said they were “safe”.

In a video seen by Reuters in 2009, Masri warned India of more attacks like the 2008 operation in its financial capital Mumbai and said India’s economic interests would be targeted if it retaliated against Pakistan.

Masri also told Pakistan’s Geo television in an interview aired in 2008 that a suicide bomber who attacked the Danish embassy in Islamabad that year came from the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

In a June 2009 audio message, Masri said militants were short of food, weapons and other supplies and appealed for funding. In a January 2010 message, he praised a Dec. 30, 2009, attack at a U.S. base in Afghanistan in which a Jordanian double agent turned suicide bomber killed seven CIA officers.

(Additional reporting by William Maclean in LONDON; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Miral Fahmy) (For full coverage of Pakistan and Afghanistan, click on [ID:nAFPAK] (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: here)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

‘Detained Pak taxi driver being treated like Osama bin Laden by US authorities’

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New York, May 20 (ANI): A Pakistani civilian, who was arrested last month along with three other persons in connection with the botched Times Square bombing plot, is being “treated like Osama bin Laden” by American agencies, Pakistan’s Consul-General in Boston Barry Hoffman has said.

Hoffman said Pir Khan, a taxi driver, is being held in maximum security at the Plymouth County House of Correction.

Hoffman, who visited Khan at the jail earlier this week, said he has been wearing leg irons, chains and is handcuffed.

“It seems kind of excessive for someone who has never been in jail before and lived in the US for almost 20 years and has an American wife,” The Boston Globe quoted Hoffman, as saying.

Hoffman also criticised the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities for putting Khan, 43, under such tight security despite the fact that he has not being charged criminally.

“He’s bewildered by the whole thing and I’m wondering why he has to be in maximum security,” he said.

Khan along with other two men, who were arrested in raids across north west United States, are suspected to have provided money to Faisal Shahzad, the confessed New York bomb plotter. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NY man said to use computer skills to aid al Qaeda

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A New York man accused of helping al Qaeda with computer systems and cash was denied bail on Monday in a New York court.

Sabirhan Hasanoff, 34, a dual U.S. and Australian citizen who owns a home in Brooklyn, New York, was arrested on April 30 and charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network, according to a U.S. District Court indictment.

Another New York man, Wesam El-Hanafi, was arrested and charged in the same indictment, and is currently detained pending an appearance in Manhattan federal court later this week. Both men are accused of pledging allegiance to al Qaeda and using their computer expertise to aid the group.

After hearing from prosecutors and Hasanoff’s attorney Anthony Ricco, U.S. Magistrate Judge James Francis placed Hasanoff in detention without bail, deeming his “level of sophistication” too big a risk.

Hasanoff pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Al Qaeda was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States that included strikes on the World Trade Centre in New York with hijacked airliners that killed almost 3,000 people. Another hijacked plane hit the Pentagon in Washington and a fourth was brought down in a Pennsylvania field.

PRIME ASSET

Ricco said his client, an accountant, had been a group chief financial officer for a Dubai-based company for 3-1/2 years and that his extensive travel was strictly business.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Cronan argued Hasanoff “turned to al Qaeda in this very city where he lived and embraced its extremist ideology and radical goals.”

Prosecutors said they had a witness who would testify against Hasanoff if the case goes to trial.

Hasanoff’s “advanced computer knowledge,” as well as his two passports, made him a prime asset to the radical network, Cronan said.

Among Cronan’s accusations were that Hasanoff held coded online chats with El-Hanafi discussing fighting overseas, bought e-mail encryption software and made international wire transfers to al Qaeda militants.

He visited Yemen, Syria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey among other places, Cronan said.

(Reporting by Basil Katz; Editing by Michelle Nichols and Cynthia Osterman)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Spanish judge who indicted bin Laden suspended

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Spanish judge who became an international hero by going after Augusto Pinochet and Osama bin Laden was suspended for allegedly abusing his authority by investigating what is arguably Spain’s own biggest unresolved case: atrocities committed during and after its ruinous Civil War.

The punishment could effectively end Judge Baltasar Garzon’s career.

The unanimous decision by a judicial oversight board, the General Council of the Judiciary, was made yesterday during an emergency meeting about Garzon, said its spokeswoman, Gabriela Bravo.

Supporters chanted, cheered and clapped later as Garzon emerged from the nearby National Court, where he works. He hugged co-workers and appeared to be holding back tears before getting into a bulletproof limousine and riding away.

Garzon, 54, famous worldwide for his cross-border justice cases, has been removed from his post pending his trial on charges of knowingly going beyond the limits of his jurisdiction in 2008 by investigating the execution or disappearance of more than 100,000 civilians at the hands of supporters of Gen. Francisco Franco during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War or in the early years of the Franco dictatorship.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US will not allow terrorist ‘safe havens’ in Pakistan: Obama

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 13 (IANS) US President Barack Obama has warned Pakistan that his administration would not allow ‘safe havens’ for militants in its tribal region bordering Afghanistan or let Osama bin Laden operate with impunity.

‘My bottom line is that we cannot allow Al Qaeda to operate,’ he said. ‘We cannot have those safe havens in that region,’ he said Wednesday at a joint White House news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

‘I’m not going to allow Al Qaeda or Osama bin Laden to operate with impunity, planning attacks on the US homeland,’ he said, adding his envoy to the region, Richard Holbrooke, will convey his message to Islamabad.

‘We’re going to have to work both smartly and effectively, but with consistency in order to make sure that those safe havens don’t exist.’

Obama said he had appointed Holbrooke as a special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan to give a new focus to dealings with terrorism.

‘I’ve sent over Richard Holbrooke – one of our top diplomats – to evaluate a regional approach,’ he said. ‘We are going to need more effective coordination of our military efforts with diplomatic efforts, with development efforts, with more effective coordination with our allies in order for us to be successful.’

Obama said he had no schedule for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

‘I do not have yet a timetable for how long that’s going to take…’

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hillary’s statement on bin Laden an insult to Pak: JeI chief

May 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, May 12 (ANI): Jamaat-e-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan has said that the allegations made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton against Pakistan regarding Osama bin Laden and Taliban supremo Mullah Umar amount to a blatant insult to the government, people and the armed forces.

Clinton had accused that there were people in the Pakistani Government who knew the whereabouts of bin Laden and Mullah Omar, and asked Islamabad to increase cooperation to capture or kill all the attackers of 9/11.

In a statement on Tuesday, the JI chief stressed upon Islamabad to protest against Hilary’s statements and also announce pulling out of this “crusade” against al-Qaeda and the Taliban, telling Washington that “enough is enough.”

Syed Munawar Hasan said former US President George W Bush had blamed bin Laden for the 9/11 tragedy without any investigation and had announced that Osama would be captured soon, dead or alive.

He said the US, despite its latest technology and resources, had failed to get hold of bin Laden during the last nine years and was now putting the blame on Pakistan only to hide its embarrassment, The News reports.

He also said that Faisal Shahzad’s drama was also staged to intensify pressure on Islamabad.

He said even if Faisal Shahzad was involved in the Time Square plot, there was no reason to blame Pakistan for an individual’s act and issue threats on this count. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Some Pak officials know where Osama is: Clinton

May 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Doing some tough talk on Pakistan, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said some people in its government are aware of the whereabouts of elusive al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban chief Mullah Omar.

“Some Pakistani officials are more informed about al-Qaeda and Taliban than they let on,” Clinton told CBS in an interview.

“I am not saying that they are at the highest levels but I believe that somewhere in this government are people who know where Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda is, where Mullah Omar and the leadership of the Afghan Taliban is, and we expect more cooperation to help us bring to justice, capture or kill, those who attacked us on 9/11,” she said.

Over the weekend, Clinton warned Pakistan that it would face “very severe consequences” if any terror plot like the failed Times Square bombing was traced to that country.

Asked if the US was not getting sufficient cooperation from Islamabad, she acknowledged a “sea change” in cooperation by Pakistan but said “we want more”.

Her comments came as US officials, including Attorney General Eric Holder, said they had evidence that the Pakistani Taliban was behind the attempt to set off a car bomb in Times Square.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pak envoy to US agrees that Times Square bomber acted `alone’

May 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New York, May 11 (ANI): Pakistan”s Ambassador to the United States Abdullah Hussain Haroon has told CBS’ “Face the Nation,” that he does not agree with Obama administration officials that the alleged Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad, was trained by Tariqi Taliban in Pakistan.

“General Petraeus had it right that this was the act of a lone man,” he said.

Petraeus stated (prior to the administration”s claims Sunday) that he did not believe that Shahzad worked with other terrorists. And although Haroon said that the Obama administration may have other evidence, he said, “All I am saying is that the evidence I have points in one direction. It does not have its signature of the Taliban.”

Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon also contested Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s claim that the Pakistan Government knew the location of Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders.

Ambassador Haroon said that if the Pakistani government knew where Osama Bin Laden is, they would have gone after him.

He said that the Pakistani army — not the U.S. military — will have to decide when and how to send forces to North Waziristan, where it is believed bin Laden is hiding. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Some people in Pakistan Government know where Osama and Mullah Omar are: Clinton

May 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 10 (ANI): U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that there are people in the Pakistan Government who know the whereabouts of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

“I”m not saying that they”re at the highest levels but I believe that somewhere in this government are people who know where Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda is, where Mullah Omar and the leadership of the Afghan Taliban is and we expect more cooperation to help us bring to justice, capture or kill, those who attacked us on 9/11,” Clinton revealed on the CBS 60 Minutes show.

Clinton also said that she was of the view that the Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad was connected to a Pakistani-based terrorist group.

“There are connections. Exactly what they are, how deep they are, how long they”ve lasted, whether this was an operation encouraged or directed, those are questions that are still in the process of being sorted out,” Clinton said.

On the bomb in Times Square, she said that the message to the Pakistan Government was: “It”s very clear. This is a threat that we share, we have a common enemy. There is no time to waste in going after that common enemy as hard and fast as we can and we cannot tolerate having people encouraged, directed, trained and sent from Pakistan to attack us.”

“I have to stand up for the efforts the Pakistani government is taking. They have done a very significant move toward going after the terrorists within their own country,” she added.

She also said that she was never in favour of President Barack Obama considering her for the Supreme Court, given her legal background and credentials. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sobbing Osama ex-aide demands end to police cavity search

May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New York, May 6 (ANI): A sobbing ex-bodyguard of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has threatened to boycott his own trial if he has to undergo a cavity search every time he comes to court.

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani”s lawyers say he has post-traumatic stress disorder because of how he was treated while in CIA custody.

According to the New York Daily News, Ghailani – charged with two East African embassy bombings in 1998 – freaked out last November when he was forced to get naked before a court hearing so officers at the Manhattan federal lockup could visually inspect his rear end.

He told his lawyers he would “no longer voluntarily appear in court” unless the feds promise he won”t be “humiliated” again, they wrote.

Ghailani was caught in Pakistan six years after the bombings that killed 200 people, and was held for almost five years in secret CIA prisons before being moved to Guantanamo Bay.

He was transferred to Manhattan last year to stand trial in civilian court.

Described as a master bomb-maker and one-time Bin Laden guard, he has pleaded not guilty.

Manhattan Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan scheduled a hearing to review Ghailani”s request that the searches stop. He wants Ghailani to be there. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Osama bin Laden in ping pong duel between US, Iran

May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 6 (ANI): Toying with America’s view on security seems to be the flavour of the month as far as Iran is concerned.

While Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told ABC “I heard that Usama bin Laden is in Washington, D.C.,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley jocularly retorted, “Over the past few hours, we””ve done an intensive search here at the Department of State — every nook and cranny, every rock, and we can safely report that Usama bin Laden is not here.”

Asked if a check had been done of the greater Washington area, Fox News quoted Crowley, relieved by the laughter elicited from the comment, as saying no, but that he was “pretty confident” Ahmadinejad is inaccurate.

Pressed about reports that bin Laden is in Iran, Ahmadinejad told ABC, “Maybe you know, but I don””t know.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Osama may be living comfortably in Iran

May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New York, May 4 (ANI): Elusive Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden may be leading a comfortable existence surrounded by his wives and children and protected by the Iran Revolutionary Guards.

According to a new documentary movie made by leading falconer, Alan Parrot titled ‘Feathered Cocaine’ Osama is not living in a dank cave nor is he looking for ways to evade his potential captors.

Parrot is one of the world’s top falconers and has worked for the Shah of Iran.

Owing to his rich experience as a falconer and proximity to the royal family, Parrot has cultivated influential contacts.

One of those contacts, described as a warlord from the north of Iran and disguised in a balaclava, reveals in the film that he has met Bin Laden six times on hunting trips inside Iran since March 2003 Fox News reports.

He claims Osama is relaxed and healthy and so comfortable that “he travels with only four bodyguards.”

Their last confirmed meeting was in 2008, “There may have been more since then, but I haven’t talked to my source since we left Iran,” says Parrot.

To prove his case, Parrot said he managed to get the telemetry setting for the falcons Bin Laden was flying, and he provided them to the U.S. Government.

“They could locate him to a one-square-mile area using those unique signals”’ he said. He says the government never contacted him for a follow up.

Former CIA agent Robert Baer, an outspoken critic of U.S. policy in the Middle East, seconds Parrot’s story in the documentary. He was a onetime Middle East operative.

He reaffirmed Parrot’s theory, pointing out that falconry is extremely important is to the vastly wealthy, and how Parrot’s position gave him a unique lens on that world. He also claimed that the proceeds from the falcon sales are used in a large part to fund Al Qaeda. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

EU court tells UK it cannot restrict ‘terror’ families’ benefits

April 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Apr.30 (ANI): Britain has been told that it is illegal for it to slap restrictions on benefits for families of terror suspects.

The controversial decision given by the European Court of Justice now allows families full access to state handouts worth tens of thousands of pounds a year, and is being seen as huge blow to Britain”s war on terrorism and violent extremists.

“The regulation ordering funds to be frozen applies only to assets that can be used to support terrorist activities,” the judges said.

They said benefits money was intended to meet “vital needs”.

The ruling came after the wives of three suspects linked to Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda and the Taliban launched a legal challenge.

Under current rules the Treasury can impose strict limits on how benefits are paid to families of suspects. They can order that a suspect”s wife can only withdraw 10 or 15 pounds a week in cash for each family member. Other payments can only be made via a debit card.

Families can also be ordered to give Treasury officials a detailed breakdown of how they spend their benefits. The restrictions target the spouses of people on the United Nation”s list of suspects who have had their bank accounts and assets frozen. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Osama Bin Laden used to dream of possessing nuclear weapons: Ex-bodyguard

April 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 29(ANI): A former bodyguard of Osama bin Laden has reportedly revealed that the Al-Qaeda leader sought and wanted to use nuclear weapons.

“Osama used to dream of possessing nuclear weapons, and I am sure that if he were to get his hands on a nuclear weapon, he would not have hesitated to use it,” The New York Post quoted Nasser al-Bahri, as having told the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi.

He also said that he was “proud to have worked as a guard for a great personality.”

Bahari further revealed that he was instructed to kill bin Laden if that was the only way to avoid his capture.

“If we were not able to protect Sheikh Osama bin Laden as his personal guards, we were supposed … to eliminate him … It was better he be taken dead rather than alive,” he said.

Bahri is reported to have served bin Laden in Afghanistan for six years prior to returning to Yemen in 2000

Earlier, the United States had identified Al-Qaeda’s interest in nuclear weapons, and said the risk of nuclear terrorism was serious.

“Al Qaeda has been engaged in the effort to acquire a nuclear weapon for over 15 years, and its interest remains strong today,” said John Brennan, U.S. President Barack Obama’s top anti-terrorism and Homeland Security adviser. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Osama Bin Laden grossly underestimated U.S. retaliation to 9/11: Ex-associate

April 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 28(ANI): A former Osama bin Laden associate has said that the Al-Qaeda leader did not expect the United States to strike back as hard as it has following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

“What happened after September 11 was beyond their imagination,” The New York Post quoted Noman Benotman, who was the head of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group in 2000, as having told the WTOP Radio.

Benotman said Al-Qaeda was overly confident based on the U.S. response to the attacks carried out by the group on their embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

“I’m 100 percent sure they had no clue about what was going to happen,” he added.

Meanwhile, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official also backed Bentoman’s claims.

“Several captured terrorists have said publicly that Al-Qaeda never expected the towers to fall. Their goal was to frighten people and impact the U.S. economy, so they really didn”t plan for the massive response the U.S. launched,” the official said.

On that morning of September 11, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists had hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners.

The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others.

The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, while the fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane.

At least 2,800 people, including the 19 hijackers were killed in the attacks, where overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians.

The U.S. responded to the attacks by launching the ‘War on Terrorism’, and invaded Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, who had harbored Al-Qaeda terrorists.

Bin Laden and fellow Al-Qaeda leaders are believed to be hiding near the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Facebook removes al Qaeda’s No.2 page on networking site

April 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Apr 26 (ANI): Facebook has axed a page of a second fugitive al-Qaeda leader after it appeared on the networking site to spread terror messages.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, who has a 16.5 million pound price on his head equal to Osama Bin Laden, was using Facebook to reach out to extremists, The Sun reports.

Egyptian Zawahiri’s page had a photo of him with a semi-automatic rifle in the background.

Videos included a truck bombing in Afghanistan. The page could be found via a Voice of Jihad site, which included film clips calling for attacks on UK and the US.

Experts say militant groups have been scrambling in recent weeks to get on sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Facebook said: “These pages have been removed.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts