Pakistani Role in Global Terrorism

[Prem]

Kenya: Iraq, Afghan, Pakistan Fighters in Somalia
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/07 ... .html?_r=1

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Veteran insurgents from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan have relocated to the chaotic country of Somalia in large enough numbers to spark worry inside the international community, Kenya's foreign minister said Thursday.
Calling the situation in Somalia ''very, very dire,'' Moses M. Wetangula said the militants have relocated to Kenya's northern neighbor because of the safehaven offered by a country with no functioning government. ''There have been Afghans, there have been Pakistanis, there have been certain Middle Eastern nationalities, quite a number. Intelligence reports indicate that there's quite a cocktail of them,'' Wetangula told The Associated Press.

[arun]

Islamic Republic of Pakistan based Islamic Terrorist group, LeT, is active in Afghanistan.

ISAF press release of July 3 discloses “the recent influx of Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT) insurgents” into Afghanistan’s Nangrahar province:

July 3: Afghan-ISAF Operations in Eastern Afghanistan
7/3/10 | ISAF Public Affairs Office

ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan

2010-07-CA-013
For Immediate Release

KABUL - An Afghan-international security force captured a Taliban commander, a facilitator and two other suspected insurgents in Nangarhar province last night.

The commander is directly linked to the Taliban emir of Khogyani district and assisted with the recent influx of Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT) insurgents into the province. LeT is the Pakistan-based terrorist organization responsible for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The security force captured the insurgents while searching a compound near the village of Khermane, Khogyani district. .......................

ISAF Press Release

[SSridhar]

It is several hours since the horrible bombing of those who were simply enjoying life watching the football final at Kampala. Whys hasn't a Pakistani involvement surfaced till now ? By Pakistani standards, this is unnatural.

[Lalmohan]

^^^ Somali's (who it will later transpire went on vacation to the purest land)

[SSridhar]

Remember the plot to bomb 'Trans-Atlantic Flights' from Heathrow in 2006 ? One more Pakistani sentenced to life

Three men, including one of Pakistani origin, were on Monday jailed for life and ordered to spend at least 20 years behind bars for their role in an alleged Al-Qaeda plot to blow up U.S.-bound planes using home-made liquid bombs four years ago.

The three — Ibrahim Savant, Arafat Khan and Waheed Zaman, all from East London — were among the eight arrested {Arafat Khan is the Pakistani. Apparently, this pious Muslim from the Land of the Purest was a hard-drinking & weed-smoking Believer}

[SSridhar]

Pakistan-trained terrorists now target Dubai.
Revealed: The Plot to Blow DragonMart

Two men who plotted to blow up the DragonMart retail complex in Dubai were only four weeks away from creating a powerful explosive using legal and easily obtained materials. Mayma Ytiming Shalmo, 35, and Wimiyar Ging Kimili, 31, both Uighurs from the minority Muslim ethnic community in the Xinjiang province of western China, were each jailed for 10 years last week for planning the bomb attack and being members of a terrorist organisation, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). Shalmo told the court he was recruited in Mecca in December 2007, when he met a Chinese pilgrim who spoke to him about jihad against their country’s government. He then travelled with the recruiter to Waziristan, Pakistan, where he joined an ETIM training camp. He received training on using weapons and creating explosives from commonly available substances. Shalmo entered the UAE through Dubai International Airport on July 28, 2007, from Islamabad.

[vijayk]

Pak special forces to crack down on 17 terror outfits

The groups against which action will be taken include the JuD, LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e- Sahaba, and Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi, among others.

About 4,000 people are currently under surveillance under the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act for alleged links with extremist groups.

They have to inform police stations in their areas about their movements.

What a joke - how can they afford to keep track of 4000 people at once?

But better late than never.

Kailashji - They are not going to track even a single one to curtail their operations.

Don't fall for the obvious Pukestan's game.

It is "NEVER". They will never intend to stop/reduce or even contemplate to do anything about containing terror. It started in 1947 and they have only morphed into more and more dangerous animals every year. It ain't going to stop in 2010.

[arun]

US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke tells the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee that "The western part of Pakistan, the lawless areas, are the epicentre of the issues that threaten our country":

Pakistan `epicentre' of terror threat: US

[Sudip]

Al-Qaeda branches out

Al-Qaeda announced the establishment of its Kashmir branch in a communiqué released to jihadist websites on 15 June. The statement took the form of an audio recording from Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, an Al-Qaeda leader killed in Pakistan in May


I dont have access to Jane's if someone cud post the whole article for us

[arun]

X Posted from the ISI thread.

Head of Iran’s Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, on the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s links to terrorism via that country‘s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) :

'Terrorists enter Iran via Pakistan'
Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:56:26 GMT

A senior Iranian lawmaker says terrorists enter Iran from Pakistan and other neighboring countries, urging Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence to reconsider its relations with militants. …………………….

On July 15, two bomb explosions in quick succession took place outside the Zahedan Grand Mosque. At least 27 people lost their lives and more than 100 others were injured in the terrorist attack, which has widely been blamed on extremist Wahabis and Salafis trained by US intelligence in Pakistan.

"The Pakistani government and the country's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) which have relations with terrorists must reconsider and take necessary measure to confront these criminals," Fars News Agency quoted Boroujerdi as saying. ………………

Press TV, Iran

[arun]

X Posted.

Citizen of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan arrested for suspected links to the twin bomb explosions that killed 76 fans who had gathered to watch the finals of the World Cup Football in Kampala, Uganda.

The links of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to acts of Islamic Terrorism is truly globe girdling:

Pakistani among 20 arrested in Uganda

KAMPALA: Inspector General of police in Uganda Kale Kayihura has said that about 20 suspects have been arrested in connection with the bomb attacks that killed 76 people watching the World Cup final on television.

He said that all those arrested have connections with al Shabaab, and include Ugandans, Somalis, Ethiopians and Pakistani nationals. Al Shabaab, Somalia’s most dangerous militant group, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

[SSridhar]

Citizen of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan arrested for suspected links to the twin bomb explosions that killed 76 fans who had gathered to watch the finals of the World Cup Football in Kampala, Uganda.

Though the incident was truly tragic, my anxious wait has not gone a waste. There was never any doubt, but after a few hours one begins to wonder why no TSP linkage emerged.

[arun]

X Posted from the ISI thread.

Head of Iran’s Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, on the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s links to terrorism via that country‘s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) :

'Terrorists enter Iran via Pakistan'
Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:56:26 GMT

A senior Iranian lawmaker says terrorists enter Iran from Pakistan and other neighboring countries, urging Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence to reconsider its relations with militants. …………………….

On July 15, two bomb explosions in quick succession took place outside the Zahedan Grand Mosque. At least 27 people lost their lives and more than 100 others were injured in the terrorist attack, which has widely been blamed on extremist Wahabis and Salafis trained by US intelligence in Pakistan.

"The Pakistani government and the country's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) which have relations with terrorists must reconsider and take necessary measure to confront these criminals," Fars News Agency quoted Boroujerdi as saying. ………………

Press TV, Iran

Iran tightens the screws on the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for fomenting terrorism. The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Ali Larijani, joins the chorus :

Pakistan must be held accountable for evil people presence: Larijani

[Raghavendra]

X Posted.

Citizen of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan arrested for suspected links to the twin bomb explosions that killed 76 fans who had gathered to watch the finals of the World Cup Football in Kampala, Uganda.

The links of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to acts of Islamic Terrorism is truly globe girdling:

Pakistani among 20 arrested in Uganda

KAMPALA: Inspector General of police in Uganda Kale Kayihura has said that about 20 suspects have been arrested in connection with the bomb attacks that killed 76 people watching the World Cup final on television.

He said that all those arrested have connections with al Shabaab, and include Ugandans, Somalis, Ethiopians and Pakistani nationals. Al Shabaab, Somalia’s most dangerous militant group, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Latest on that attack
5 Pakistanis among 20 held for Uganda blasts
KAMPALA: Security forces have arrested more than 20 people, including five Pakistanis, for two bombings last week that killed at least 73 people in the Ugandan capital, the police chief said.


Among them were five Pakistanis who had a shop in a Kampala suburb, Kayihura said. "They are being questioned.... They have to explain themselves," the police chief said.


One of the Pakistanis had been mentioned in an email sent by a presumed al-Shabab spokesman as having links with the Islamist group, Kayihura said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Worl ... 185007.cms

[arun]

^^^ AFP version of the same story about 5 citizens of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan having been arrested in Uganda on suspicion of involvement in the twin bombings targetting football fans that killed 76:

Five Pakistanis among 20 held for Uganda attacks

[arun]

X Posted; with a hat tip to Kati.

Christian Science Monitors on why citizens of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan may have been detained for a terrorist act committed by a Somali group in Uganda:

Why Pakistanis have been detained for Al Shabab's Uganda bombings

[arun]

Elements in Pak govt know where Osama is hiding’

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s terrorist sponsoring ways on display.

The above story by the News is based on Fox News interview of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the transcript is available here:

Clinton Says Pakistani Govt Knows bin Laden Whereabouts

[A_Gupta]

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market ... cts-report

Full item:

Pakistan Envoys Push For Release Of Uganda Terror Suspects - Report


KAMPALA Uganda (Dow Jones)-Pakistani diplomats held emergency talks with Uganda's Inspector General of Police Tuesday to push for the release of at least 15 Pakistanis arrested in the aftermath of the July 11 terror attacks in Kampala, the Daily Monitor Newspaper reports Wednesday.

The privately-owned daily reported that Manzoor Choudry, the Pakistan deputy ambassador to Kenya, flew into Uganda Tuesday and together with Parkistan's Honorary Consul to Uganda, Bonny Katatumba, held talks with the police chief for the release of the suspects.

"Uganda has a right to investigate the heinous and barbaric bomb attacks but we asked that the suspects who are found to be genuine Pakistanis be released immediately," Katatumba was quoted as saying.

Scores of suspects have been arrested since the attacks, including Pakistanis, Somalis, Ethiopians as well as Ugandans.

[A_Gupta]

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/726550

The investigators are now pursuing the lead after preliminary findings indicated that one of suspects, a Pakistani national, dealt with two Somali nationals linked to terror cells based in the neighbouring country.

“We are treating him as a high value suspect and the focus will be on him in the coming days,” a source said yesterday.

The suspect works with a telecom company and is among the Pakistanis arrested at the weekend from their residence in Bukoto, a Kampala city suburb.

[A_Gupta]

In another twist, Police last week arrested a manager of a leading telecom company in connection with the bombings, sources told us.

The manager, who is Pakistani, is believed to have been one of the financiers of the suspected terrorists who set off the bombs. We have been told that the police are in possession of phone records that indicate back and forth phone calls made between this manager and some of the suspected terrorists who are under arrest. Apparently, the same manager had also reportedly exchanged e-mails with an unnamed Al Shabaab spokesperson in Somalia, our sources told us.

The arrest of the manager came after security agencies failed to arrest another Pakistani, suspected to have been in cohorts with him. We have been told that in the aftermath of the twin bombings, the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) had been tasked to track the Pakistani and arrest him. But he fled after he was tipped off by an officer from the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force (JATT) in exchange for Shs 5 million. The Pakistani reportedly flew out of the country on July 15 at 4.00pm. The JATT operative who aided the escape is currently under detention. Police have also established that a day after he flew out, he tried to contact the arrested telecom manager by telephone.

His arrest brings to three the number of Pakistanis arrested so far. On Friday, Police arrested two Pakistani sheikhs in Pallisa, who said they were spreading Islam. But the police suspect they could have been engaged in subversive activities.

http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option ... &Itemid=59

[arun]

X Posted, with a hat tip to Vivek_A.

US military intelligence reports made available to the Guardian accuse the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency of “arming, training and financing the Taliban insurgency since 2004”:

Afghanistan war logs: Clandestine aid for Taliban bears Pakistan's fingerprints

Pakistan's ISI spy agency accused of poison beer plot against troops and scheme to kill Hamid Karzai

Declan Walsh
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 25 July 2010 22.11 BST

A stream of US military intelligence reports accuse Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency of arming, training and financing the Taliban insurgency since 2004, the war logs reveal, bringing fresh scrutiny on one of the war's most contentious issues.

At least 180 files contain allegations of dirty tricks by the powerful agency with accounts of undercover agents training suicide bombers, bundles of money slipping across the border and covert support for a range of sensational plots including the assassination of President Hamid Karzai, attacks on Nato warplanes and even poisoning western troops' beer supply.

They also link the ISI to some of the war's most notorious commanders. In April 2007 for instance, the ISI is alleged to have sent 1,000 motorbikes to the warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani for suicide attacks in Khost and Logar provinces.

But for all their eye-popping details, the intelligence files, which are mostly collated by junior officers relying on informants and Afghan officials, fail to provide a convincing smoking gun for ISI complicity. Most of the reports are vague, filled with incongruent detail, or crudely fabricated. The same characters – famous Taliban commanders, well-known ISI officials – and scenarios repeatedly pop up. And few of the events predicted in the reports subsequently occurred.

Excerpt on Islamic Terrorism fomented by the ISI against India in Afghanistan:

…………… plots to attack Indian facilities in Afghanistan provide some of the most plausible allegations in the files. One report from November 2007 said the ISI was plotting an attack on the Indian consulate in Jalalabad; another, titled "ISI order murder and kidnappings", has the agency offering between $15,000 and $30,000 for the assassination of Indian road workers.

Read it all:

The Guardian

[arun]

X Posted with a hat tip to JRJ Rao.

The New York Times on the links between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan‘s spy agency, the ISI and terrorism in Afghanistan:

Pakistan Aids Insurgency in Afghanistan, Reports Assert

By MARK MAZZETTI, JANE PERLEZ, ERIC SCHMITT and ANDREW W. LEHREN

Published: July 25, 2010

Americans fighting the war in Afghanistan have long harbored strong suspicions that Pakistan’s military spy service has guided the Afghan insurgency with a hidden hand, even as Pakistan receives more than $1 billion a year from Washington for its help combating the militants, according to a trove of secret military field reports made public Sunday.

The documents, made available by an organization called WikiLeaks, suggest that Pakistan, an ostensible ally of the United States, allows representatives of its spy service to meet directly with the Taliban in secret strategy sessions to organize networks of militant groups that fight against American soldiers in Afghanistan, and even hatch plots to assassinate Afghan leaders. ………………….

Behind the scenes, both Bush and Obama administration officials as well as top American commanders have confronted top Pakistani military officers with accusations of ISI complicity in attacks in Afghanistan, and even presented top Pakistani officials with lists of ISI and military operatives believed to be working with militants. ……………………….

New York Times

[arun]

X Posted.

Der Spiegel on the leak of 92,000 classified US documents regarding the Afghan insurgency which among other shows the Islamic Republic of Pakistan fomenting Islamic Terrorism in Afghanistan:

Explosive Leaks Provide Image of War from Those Fighting It

Der Spiegel has a specific section dealing with the role of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s ISI spy agency in fomenting Islamic Terrorism in Afghanistan. An excerpt:

The Secret Enemy in Pakistan

The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's secret service, originally helped to build up and deploy the Taliban after Afghanistan descended into a bitter and fratricidal civil war between the mujahedeen who had prevailed over the Soviets and forced their withdrawal. Despite all of the reassurances from Pakistani politicians that the old ties are cut, the country is still pursuing an ambiguous policy in the region -- at once serving as both an ally to the US and as a helper to its enemy.
There is plenty of new evidence to support this thesis. The documents clearly show that the Pakistani intelligence agency is the most important accomplice the Taliban has outside of Afghanistan. The war against the Afghan security forces, the Americans and their ISAF allies is still being conducted from Pakistan.

The country is an important safe haven for enemy forces -- and serves as a base for issuing their deployment. New recruits to the Taliban stream across the Pakistan-Afghan border, including feared foreign fighters -- among them Arabs, Chechnyans, Uzbekis, Uighurs and even European Islamists.

According to the war logs, the ISI envoys are present when insurgent commanders hold war councils -- and even give specific orders to carry out murders. These include orders to try to assassinate Afghan President Hamid Karzai. For example, a threat report dated August 21, 2008 warned: "Colonel Mohammad Yusuf from the ISI had directed Taliban official Maulawi Izzatullah to see that Karzai was assassinated."

Read the section:

The Secret Enemy in Pakistan

[Ambar]

Hope the Chinese are reading those documents as well..good old ISI piglets harboring Uighurs! About the rest,what the heck! This does not require a 'wikileaks' explosive,we've been screaming our skulls out about Pak running with the hares and hunting with the hounds since for a while now..

[Ambar]

About ISI's plots to attack Indian facilities in Afghanistan including Indian consulate in Jalalabad; and assassination of Indian road workers, isn't this what Zaid Hamid been openly advocating in his interviews for a while now? He has mentioned more than once that Indian consulates and corp of engineers in Afg should be targeted..

[Brando]

Funny thing, I've read the NYTimes article and they don't even make a SINGLE mention of any Indian intelligence inputs. I guess Indian intelligence inputs about ISI complicity are taken as "rhetoric". This is the best time for a massive PR campaign by the Indian government directly to the American people about ISI complicity and the disastrous policies of the CIA and the Pentagon that is funding the very people who want to kill them all. If the American people show sufficient awareness of their enemy and if Congress senses the public mood, the CIA and the White House will have little choice but to cut Pakistan off. Not to mention that the Republicans would have a credible national security issue to bash Obama and the Democrats over the head with in the up coming elections.

[arun]

Recognition accorded yet again for the demonstration of the “Jihad fi Sabilillah” or “Jihad in the path of Allah” portion of the motto of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The “cynical collusion” between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s military intelligence service and the Taliban demonstrated by the documents disclosed by WikiLeaks despite the billions of dollars the US has sent in aid to Pakistan triggers a New York Times editorial deploring Pakistani conduct:

Pakistan’s Double Game

[arun]

X Posted.

Excerpt from the White House press briefing of July 26th dealing with the malign role of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in fomenting Islamic Terrorism in Afghanistan disclosed by the release of classified US Intelligence documents by WikiLeaks:

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, 7/26/2010
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
1:07 P.M. EDT ………………..

Q Does the White House believe that the documents raise doubts about whether Pakistan is a reliable partner in fighting terrorism?

MR. GIBBS: Well, let’s understand a few things about the documents. Based on what we've seen, I don't think that what is being reported hasn’t in many ways been publicly discussed either by you all or by representatives of the U.S. government for quite some time. We have certainly known about safe havens in Pakistan; we have been concerned about civilian casualties for quite some time -- and on both of those aspects we've taken steps to make improvements.

I think just the last time General Petreaus testified in front of the Senate there was a fairly robust discussion about the historical relationships that have been had between the Taliban and Pakistan’s intelligence services.

Q So no doubts about Pakistan’s trustworthiness or reliability?

MR. GIBBS: No, no, look, I think the President was clear back in March of 2009 that there was no blank check for Pakistan, that Pakistan had to change the way it dealt with us, it had to make progress on safe havens. Look, it’s in the interest of the Pakistanis because we certainly saw last year those extremists that enjoy the safe haven there turning their eye on innocent Pakistanis. That's why you’ve seen Pakistan make progress in moving against extremists in Swat and in South Waziristan.

But at the same time, even as they make progress, we understand that the status quo is not acceptable and that we have to continue moving this relationship in the right direction.

Q On the WikiLeaks, one of the questions that this raises is whether it makes sense for the United States to continue to give billions of dollars of aid to Pakistan if they are helping the Taliban. And I’m wondering if that's a concern and what you think.

MR. GIBBS: Well, again, as I said a minute ago, on March 27, 2009, the President said, “After years of mixed results we will not and cannot provide a blank check. Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out al Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders.”

Again, I am not going to stand here on July the 26th and tell you that all is well. I will tell you that we have made progress in moving this relationship forward; in having the Pakistanis, as I said earlier, address the issue of safe havens, the issue of extremists operating in the country by undertaking operations, again, in Swat and in South Waziristan -- because over the course of the past more than year and a half, what the Pakistanis have found is that the extremists that once enjoyed complete save haven in parts of their country now threaten their country. So they’ve taken steps. We want to continue to work with them to take more steps.

We understand that we are in this region of the world because of what happened on 9/11; that ensuring that there is not a safe haven in Afghanistan by which attacks against this country and countries around the world can be planned. That’s why we’re there and that’s why we’re going to continue to make progress on this relationship.

Q A blank check is one thing, but is there enough progress there to justify the aid that is being given to them?

MR. GIBBS: Again, look, we -- I think it was -- even if you look at some of the comments the Secretary of State made just last week in Pakistan, our criticism has been relayed both publicly and privately and we will continue to do so in order to move this relationship forward.

Q And I know you’re unhappy about the leak, but could you talk about how that part of the issue was characterized in the memos and whether you think it’s accurate?

MR. GIBBS: Which –

Q In terms of Pakistan’s role.

MR. GIBBS: Look, again, I would point you to -- as I said a minute ago, I don’t know that what is being said or what is being reported isn’t something that hasn’t been discussed fairly publicly, again, by named U.S. officials and in many news stories. I mean, The New York Times had a story on this topic in March of 2009 written by the same authors.

Q You say the President is very concerned with this release, this breach of federal law. But is he concerned with evidence in these documents about civilian casualties, about cooperation between the Taliban and the ISI?

MR. GIBBS: Chip, let’s be clear. Again, the statements that the President made in March of 2009 very much understand the complicating aspects of our relationship with both of these two countries, the existence of, as I said, historical relationships between the Taliban and Pakistani intelligence. And, look, during the recent debate about General McChrystal, remember a decent part of the Rolling Stone article discusses frustration within our own military about rules of engagement around civilian casualties.

So we’re not trying to either conventionally -- through conventional wisdom trying to deflect anything. What I’m merely saying is that what has been, I think what is known, about our relationship and our efforts in both Afghanistan and Pakistan are not markedly changed by what is in these documents. In fact, I think if, again, you go back to March of 2009, what the President says, we are clearly taking steps to make progress in dealing with Pakistan’s safe havens; certainly dealing with civilian casualties. We all know that in efforts like this to win hearts and minds, you’re certainly not going to do that with innocent civilians caught tragically in the crossfire.

Read all of the White House press briefing:

Clicky

[arun]

X Posted.

Adding to my Iimediately preceding post on what the White House had to say (^^^), excerpt from the US State Department press briefing of July 26th dealing with the malign role of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in fomenting Islamic Terrorism in Afghanistan disclosed by the release of classified US Intelligence documents by WikiLeaks:

Philip J. Crowley
Assistant Secretary
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
July 26, 2010 ………………….

QUESTION: Yeah. You said it undermines national security -- the massive leak of these field reports. Does it undermine also the international alliance, in particular the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan? Because the reports did mention ISI involvement in killing of Afghan leaders.

MR. CROWLEY: Oh, I don’t think so. Obviously, during this past week, you saw a historic trade transit agreement with both Afghanistan and Pakistan. I mean, there is a history between these countries. And we’re – but we think both countries have made a fundamental decision to change their relations with the United States and also their relations with each other. But clearly, there is more work to be done as we continue to find ways on both sides of the border to help each country defeat the insurgency that threatens them both.

QUESTION: What kind of diplomatic conversations have gone on since the leaks between, say, the U.S. and Afghanistan and Pakistan and other partners?

MR. CROWLEY: Well, over the weekend as we had been contacted by media representatives and anticipated this story coming out, at high levels we gave an alert to President Karzai, to President Zardari, and to the other ministries on both sides so they would understand that – this and anticipate release of these documents. Obviously, from our standpoint, we continue to investigate the source of this leak and also to assess the impact that it’s had on our security.

QUESTION; You mentioned this sort of old mentality of someone – some people in the Pakistanestablishment particularly – I think you’re referring to ex-members of ISI military who have traditionally had alliances with militant groups for historic reasons.

So are you convinced that for – that the Pakistan Government and the military and the intelligence establishment has taken significant steps to really neutralize these people with this old mindset that you referred to?

MR. CROWLEY: Well, you can see significant steps. Pakistan has taken significant steps. The offensives in Swat and South Waziristan are strong indicators that Pakistan has come to recognize that insurgent groups that are, in fact, within the borders of Pakistan pose a threat not just to Afghanistan, to the United States, but also, fundamentally, to Pakistan itself. So we do believe that Pakistan has undertaken a fundamental strategic shift. That said, this is an area of great concern to us. It is something that we’ve had ongoing, candid, direct conversations, respectful conversations at high levels, going back months and years. So this will continue to take a concerted effort on all sides of the equation by Pakistan, by Afghanistan, supported by the United States and international community to make sure that to the extent that there are elements in Pakistan today or in the tribal areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan, where there are safe havens, it will take a determined effort on both sides of the border to root out those safe havens and, in doing so, reduce the threat that they pose to Pakistan, to Afghanistan, and to others.

QUESTION; And just a follow-up to that. And now in Afghanistan there’s also an effort to reach out to different tribal groups. And presumably in that effort, there are going to have to be intermediaries, and the natural sort of next thought, might be that some of those intermediaries would be people who traditionally had good relations with them. So how do you draw the line between people who, with all those old elements, with the old mentality and people who could be useful in bringing tribes back in to the fold, as it were?

MR. CROWLEY: I mean, that’s – it’s a very good question. We feel that Pakistan at the leadership level is committed to root out these elements, to eliminate these safe havens, and in doing so, eliminate direct or indirect support for those engaged in violent extremism which threatens Pakistan itself. And in doing so, we – we’re encouraged by a shift where Pakistan is building a new relationship with Afghanistan, and in doing so we’ll revise and reform and establish different kinds of links, different kinds of relationships. That’s why the transit trade agreement was more important. You’ve seen, say over the past 25 or 30 years, much of the interaction between Afghanistan and Pakistan was through this security lens, working – going back a couple of decades, to root out the influence of the Soviet Union in the region. Now we see the ability to change fundamentally the nature of the relationship.

The transit trade agreement is good for Afghanistan. It’s good for Pakistan. It’s good for other countries in the region. It allows commerce to flourish, and in doing so that will help to establish new kinds of relationships and new kinds of links that are going to be far more productive over the long term.

QUESTION; I’m still a little unclear. So you said that Pakistan has taken significant steps, and that’s a proof of how the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan is solid. But the steps that they’re taking in Swat and in South Waziristan are all U.S.-funded operations. So to argue that that’s a sign that there is some sort of a ideological shift or that the ISI no longer has ties to Haqqani or to Taliban and al-Qaida militants in that area, it doesn’t – it just doesn’t really jive. I mean, what’s the practical – the reality of how these documents, the release of these documents, with what allegedly have very clear ties between ISI and the Taliban and al-Qaida – what’s the practical reality of how this is (inaudible) now going forward affect Pakistan’s relationship with the United States? Is this –

MR. CROWLEY: Courtney, I would say, whether we are funding a lot of the Pakistani military activity, the reality is that Pakistan is investing its own treasure and spilling its own blood in defense of its own country. The impact on the Pakistani people is profound. They are the ones that, as these insurgents have turned their attention inside Pakistan, blowing up mosques, blowing up government buildings, blowing up marketplaces, it is the Pakistani people who are feeling the brunt of this challenge. And the Pakistani military and the Pakistani Government is responding to that. So I think that’s the proof of how Pakistan has fundamentally changed in the past year to two years its approach to these insurgencies.

Are we still concerned about this? Absolutely, we are. The Secretary in her discussions last week was very direct and very candid not only with the Pakistani Government but also, as those of you who traveled with her, direct in terms of a dialogue with the Pakistani people. Again, very respectful but very direct. This is, in our view, how friends and partners need to confront issues that threaten us both, resolve areas of tension. We are doing that and we will continue to do that.

Go ahead.

QUESTION; So, essentially, P.J., you’re saying this – all these leaks refer to Bush’s war and it’s got nothing to do with Obama? I mean, this is – you’re saying it’s all old, everybody’s changed their ways, we don’t have to worry about –

MR. CROWLEY: Well, I’m simply going by what WikiLeaks itself has indicated, that the window for these documents, if I recall, is 2005 to 2009. You’ll recall that we fundamentally changed our strategy with the President’s decISIon in December of last year and we are putting in place a different strategy, more resources, a more concertive effort on the civilian side to go with the military side.

This is not to say that there weren’t adjustments being made beforehand. To the extent that some of these document obviously highlight concerns that we have had for some time about the impact of civilian casualties on the Afghan population, that is something that the military and General McChrystal had recognized going back months and had made a fundamental change in the instructions that the military gave to its troops.

So – but we believe that notwithstanding documents that point to understandings or facts or field reports from 2006-2007, we think that based on the Kabul Conference and London Conference and other interactions that we’ve had over the past months with the Afghan Government, the new Strategic Dialogue that we have with Pakistan, they both understand and see the value in their relationship with the United States, the importance of the international support that they are receiving on both sides of the border, and there is just a new dynamic.

Now, this isn’t to say that every issue that we’ve seen, every problem that we’ve seen, every challenge that we’ve seen are solved. Not at all. There is a lot of work that we have to do. But we think that the situation today is dramatically different than the – that portrayed in a variety of these documents that have been released so far.

Read it all:

US State Department Press Briefing

[arun]

X Posted from the Af-Pak Thread.

The reaction in Afghanistan following WikiLeaks disclosure of classified US Intelligence documents showing the malign role of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in fomenting Islamic Terrorism in Afghanistan.

The Afghan’s do not seem to be assumed with the policy of the US and its Allies of rewarding the Islamic Republic of Pakistan with large wads of cash even as the Pakistani’s foment Islamic Terrorism in Afghanistan.

Reuters on the reaction of Afghanistan‘s National Security Council and that of Rangeen Dadfar Spanta :

Afghanistan questions U.S. silence over Pakistan's role

More on the Afghan reaction from AFP:

Kabul urges West to review Pakistan policy after leaks

Well said Mr. Spanta :

"It's not justifiable for Afghans to see a country given 11 billion dollars in reconstruction aid and to support its security forces, and then see those same forces training terrorists," said Spanta.

"At least we Afghan politicians are not able to explain this to the Afghan people,"

[arun]

X Posted from the ISI thread.

Der Spiegel with a translated excerpt of the cover story appearing in its magazine on the WikiLeaks disclosure of classified US documents that show the malign role of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in fomenting Islamic Terrorism in Afghanistan:

07/28/2010 03:03 PM

Washington's Hidden Enemy

Logs Suggest Pakistani Intelligence Controls Course of War

By Matthias Gebauer, John Goetz, Hans Hoyng, Susanne Koelbl, Marcel Rosenbach and Gregor Peter Schmitz

Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, appears frequently in the war logs obtained by WikiLeaks. They suggest that even as Pakistan served as an ally to the United States, it was still secretly helping the Taliban in its insurgency in Afghanistan. The documents also suggest a major role is played by former ISI chief Hamid Gul.

Editor's note: The following article is an excerpt from this week's SPIEGEL cover story. The facts in the story come from a database of almost 92,000 American military reports on the state of the war in Afghanistan that were obtained by the WikiLeaks website. Britain's Guardian newspaper, the New York Timesand SPIEGEL have all vetted the material and reported on the contents in articles that have been researched independently of each other. All three media sources have concluded that the documents are authentic and provide an unvarnished image of the war in Afghanstan -- from the perspective of the soldiers on the ground.

Afghanistan's neighbor, Pakistan, has been in a tight spot since the al-Qaida attacks on New York and Washington. Officially, the country is part of the worldwide anti-terrorism coalition forged by former United States President George W. Bush. Unofficially, however, the Pakistani security forces are the patrons of the Taliban forces that gave refuge to Osama bin Laden and his terrorists. It is clear that the Taliban would not exist without help from abroad. The Pakistani intelligence service, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), helped build up and install the Taliban after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan and the country descended into a fratricidal war among the victorious mujahedeen, creating the threat of a power vacuum.

Despite all assurances by Pakistani politicians that these old connections were severed long ago, the country still pursues an ambiguous policy, in which Pakistan is both an ally of the United States and a helper of its enemies. …………………..

Read it all:

Spiegel Online

[A_Gupta]

This is from 1944, "The House that Jinnah Built", by B.G. Kaushik. Yes, Pakistan did not exist then, it was only in the air.

[Jinnah] has not hesitated to align himself with the most reactionary forces in the country.......

Mr Jinnah is reported to have not even spared Muslims of another nation of his disruptionist message and "strongly disapproved of the Chinese Muslims' co-operation with the Hans, as the majority of the Chinese are sometimes called."

Footnote: John Kin in an article published in the American magazine "Asia" refers to the attitude of Chinese Muslims towards Pakistan and the Indian Muslim League. Kin says in the article: "A written appeal, addressed to Mr. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, President of the Indian Muslim League, urging him to co-operate with the Indian National Congress, was drafted to be signed by General Omar Pai Chungshi, China's No. 1 Mohammedan general and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Chinese Army, in his capacity as President of the Chinese Islamic Salvation Federation, representing all of the Chinese Muslims."

Then Kin refers to the Chinese goodwill mission brought to India by Mr Othman K.H. Woo in 1941. He writes, Mr. Woo's "mission in India, however was merely to inform the Muslims there of the activities of their Chinese co-religionists, and to gather information on the spot about Muslims in India.....In an interview, he (Mr. Woo) reported back to Chungking, the President of the Indian Muslim League was quoted as having strongly disapproved of the Chinese Muslims' co-operation with the Hans, as the majority of the Chinese population are sometimes called."

[arun]

Excerpt from the transcript of UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech and subsequent question and answer session at the Infosys Campus in Bangalore. This is where he warned the Islamic Republic of Pakistan that they will not be allowed “to promote the export of terror, whether to India or whether to Afghanistan, or anywhere else in the world”:

Wednesday 28 July 2010

PM’s speech in India …………………..

Question

You said Pakistan is going to be an important discussion that you are going to have with the Prime Minister of India, but the kind of leakage of funds that the US and the UK have been giving to Pakistan in the last couple of years has now exposed that we need to rethink the strategy with Pakistan. Is that going to be a discussion that you will be having with the Prime Minister as well?

Prime Minister

That is absolutely a discussion that I will have with Dr Manmohan Singh, and it is also a discussion I had last week with President Obama, and also had meetings in the Pentagon to discuss this point, which is that we should be very clear with Pakistan that we want to see a strong and a stable and a democratic Pakistan, but we cannot tolerate in any sense the idea that this country is allowed to look both ways and is able in any way to promote the export of terror, whether to India or whether to Afghanistan, or anywhere else in the world. That’s why this relationship is important, but it should be a relationship based on a very clear message that it is not right, as I said in my speech, to have any relationship with groups that are promoting terror. Democratic states that want to be part of the developed world cannot do that, and the message to Pakistan from the US and from the UK is very clear on that point. ……………………

Number 10

[shyamd]

Karzai also jumped in and asked the US for "direct action" against Taliban sanctuaries in TSP. Everyone is giving TSP a good kicking in the media today. Not bad a day so far.

[arun]

X Post from the ISI thread.

Excerpt of portion dealing with the fomenting of Islamic Terrorism by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan from NDTV interview of UK Prime Minister David Cameron:

British PM David Cameron speaks to NDTV: Full transcript

Updated: July 29, 2010 14:46 IST ……………………….


Prannoy Roy: As you know India is involved in aid and reconstruction... so when these wikiLeaks came out and showed that American and England are working with the Pakistan army and the ISI knowingly and these are forces which have helped the Taliban, the violence...how can you work with the force that helps violence and helps terrorism?

David Cameron: What we have to do in our relationship with Pakistan is to encourage Pakistan to go after the militants and the terrorists on their side of the border and to be fair to Pakistan they have made progress in arresting members of Al-Qaida and in pushing the terrorist from their side of the border. Do we want them to do more? Of course we do but we are going to solve this problem if we have good relationship with Pakistan as well as the work we are doing in Afghanistan. That is essential.

Prannoy Roy: You have been so forthright in your statements, apologizing to the people of Northern Ireland, your recent statement describing Gaza. Is there some regret that you can say, to people of India? Working with the ISI according to all these documents found, now admitted by US as well, working with ISI which has helped in bombing in Kabul, in the Indian embassy and helped in the Mumbai attacks... some regret?

David Cameron: First of all, I feel the deepest sympathy for the people in India and for the Government for the loss that you have suffered from terrorism. We too in Britain have suffered on the streets of London where terrorism in some cases, emanated from the same part of the world. And that is what I said today... it is unacceptable within Pakistan to support terrorism and terrorist groups elsewhere. We need to work with the Pakistan Government to make sure we close down all of the terrorism that exists from Pakistan... that is very clear and that is what our relationship is about.

Prannoy Roy: So what you are saying is that Pakistan is supporting terrorism and you want them to stop that?

David Cameron: What I have said is that it is unacceptable for anything to happen within Pakistan that is about the promotion of terror elsewhere and to be fair to the Pakistan Government they have taken steps to deal with some of the problems and we have seen great activity by them and we welcome and support that and everyone who wants to see stability should support that. Does more need to happen? Of course it does.

Prannoy Roy: You are worried about the terrorism in the western part of the Pakistan but on the eastern side, where they have got camps, you have the same problem that we have been talking about for years... cross-border terrorism. But you are on the western side so are you also worried about the eastern side cross-border terrorism to India?

David Cameron: Of course, but we want to see a stable and democratic Pakistan, we want to see a stable and secure Afghanistan, we want to see over time a better relationship between India and Pakistan and it is all in our interest that there is better stability security and relationship in this part of the world and good for all of us throughout the world. But we don't see our relationship with India... this special relationship with India that I am talking about....we don't see that through the prism of the problems that come out of it.

Prannoy Roy: So you de-link?

David Cameron: I don't link those two. I see a relationship with India which is about our mutual corporation for our mutual advantage, whether that is business, whether that is trade, the cultural exchanges and relationship between our countries... that is a good thing in itself irrespective of any conversations we might have about a stable and secure Afghanistan.

Prannoy Roy: Now that you have raised economic issues, just to summarize, and if I am wrong please correct me, I am bound to exaggerate what you have said... one is that you would like to see Pakistan to do more within their country and two, Britain will not mediate or interfere in the Kashmir at all?

David Cameron: I have said on both these points very clearly what I want to see happen. Of course we want India and Pakistan to discuss issues between them and it is better for them. Absolutely!

Prannoy Roy: Between them?

David Cameron: In terms of terrorism, nothing happens within Pakistan that supports terrorism. And we will support the Pakistan Government in what they do to stop that and be fair to them. They too have suffered from terrorism themselves but we need to make sure that this work continues.

Prannoy Roy: No regret working with ISI one last time?

David Cameron: I have said what I have to say.

NDTV

[arun]

The Islamic Terrorism fomenting ways of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

District Governor of Nad-e-Ali, Helmand Province, Habibullah Shamalany:

"It is Pakistan that trains, funds and leads them. When we capture their fighters they confess that they are trained in Pakistan. The Pakistanis find religious boys, give them weapons, and send them across the border into Afghanistan to kill us, and to kill your British soldiers."

Lieutenant-Colonel Lincoln Jopp of the British Army:

"We do encounter some evidence of Pakistani involvement in the insurgency in Helmand,"

Read it all in the UK’s Telegraph:

Helmand despatch: 'Pakistan is the true enemy'

[arun]

X Posted with Hat tips to Prem and Raghavendra.

An Ajit Ninanesque cartoon posted on August 1, 2010 and titled “Ricochet” by Jeff Danzinger in Huffington Post on the diversion of US Taxpayer funds by the Pakistan Government and Pakistan Intelligence Service to the Taliban.

From the Huffington Post website:



Alternate link provided by Raghavendra:

Tiny Pic

[arun]

Government of Iran owned media outlet, Press TV, flays the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for its terrorist fomenting ways in an op-ed titled “Pakistan's double dealing”.

In what must be a pretty rare case for Iran, extensive use is made of sources within the “Great Satan” to highlight the duplicity of Pakistan.

The Op-Ed concludes by saying:

Islamabad's double dealing has paid richly up to now; but the future may prove to be something else, entirely. Pakistan's duplicity is now public knowledge and US congressional elections are fast approaching. Most ordinary people prefer straightforward allies to double-dealers and choose honor over expediency.

Read it all:

Pakistan's double dealing

[Vivek Raghuvanshi]

** OT **

[shyamd]

Lets not forget one thing. Pakistan's role in Global Terrorism is backed by the US (in some cases US knowledge of attacks) funds.