Bharat Rakshak

U.S. officials say Pakistani spy agency released Afghan Taliban insurgents

By Greg Miller
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 10, 2010; 11:36 PM

The recent capture of the Afghan Taliban's second in command seemed to signal a turning point in Pakistan, an indication that its intelligence agency had gone from helping to cracking down on the militant Islamist group.

But U.S. officials now believe that even as Pakistan's security forces worked with their American counterparts to detain Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and other insurgents, the country's Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI, quietly freed at least two senior Afghan Taliban figures it had captured on its own.

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

Washington Post

“Pakistan, which plays a key role in Asia, is so famous for treachery that it is said they can get milk from a bull. They have two tongues in one mouth, and two faces on one head so they can speak everybody’s language; they use everybody, deceive everybody. They deceive the Arabs under the guise of Islamic nuclear power, they milk America and Europe in the alliance against terrorism, and they have been deceiving Pakistani and other Muslims around the world in the name of the Kashmiri jihad.”

Outlook

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A fourth suspect in a plot to bomb New York's subways has been arrested in Pakistan, local media reported on Monday, as new details emerged about what authorities have called the most serious threat to the city since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The unidentified person was arrested several weeks ago in Pakistan. The United States is expected to request the suspect's extradition to face charges at Brooklyn Federal Court, media reported.

The Long War Journal: Zazi case sheds light on US plot, Pakistan connections

Written by Wes Bruer on April 13, 2010 7:20 PM to The Long War Journal
Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/ ... _a_[b]paki[/b].php (looks like someone has caught on to the lingo )

The continued cooperation of Najibullah Zazi with the investigation into his attempt to carry out terrorist attacks in New York City has led to the arrest of a fourth suspect, a Pakistani citizen, two days ago, and has shed some new light on the details of the case and the specific targets Zazi and his co-conspirators intended to hit.

Few developments in the case have come out of Pakistan, where the man, who has not been named, was arrested. Authorities say he will be extradited to the United States soon, but that "he may not ultimately be charged in connection with the plot." More details are expected to emerge after investigators have had time to question the Pakistani suspect and determine if any other conspirators are likely to have been involved.

While Zazi was under surveillance by the FBI for months after his trip to Peshawar in Pakistan from August 2008 to January 2009, the federal agency was forced to act after he was pulled over by police in September of 2009 while crossing the George Washington Bridge into New York City. Though police were suspicious, Zazi was free to enter the city, where he stayed overnight in a Queens home before returning to Denver on a Sept. 12 flight. The FBI later overheard a phone call between Zazi’s imam, who also was a police advisor, who warned Zazi he was under suspicion. Federal agents then raided Zazi’s residences and his rental car, and seized evidence linking him to the conspiracy to conduct attacks in the US.

The Queens home where Zazi stayed was subsequently raided, where authorities found bomb-making evidence with Zazi's fingerprints. The evidence was consistent with the bomb-making notes retrieved by investigators on Zazi’s laptop. Zazi had also purchased unusually high quantities of hydrogen peroxide and products containing acetone in Denver-area beauty supply stores. These chemicals are used to produce an explosive known as TATP.

In the following weeks and months, authorities were able to build a strong case against Zazi and his co-conspirators Adis Medunajin and Zarein Ahmedzay. The three men were eventually charged with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction and supporting al Qaeda.

In a February court hearing, Zazi listened to a judge explain all the charges against him after waiving his right to a grand jury hearing. Addressing each count, Zazi responded "guilty" on every occasion. These guilty pleas gave prosecutors the tools they needed to gain Zazi's cooperation. In the ensuing questioning and court hearings, Zazi revealed his meticulously thought-out plot.

Zazi and his co-plotters planned to separate out on Sept. 14, 2009, at New York's two busiest transit stations, Grand Central Station and Times Square, with explosives strapped to their bodies. There they would board the numbers 1,2,3,and 6 lines and find their way to the middle of the train cars. During peak rush hour the three men would detonate their explosives to inflict the highest possible number of casualties.

In the initial questioning and interrogation sessions, Zazi had confessed to authorities that he and others had traveled to Pakistan and received terrorist training.(tell us some thing we dont know ) According to Customs and Borders Protection records, Zazi and "others" boarded Flight Number 84 on Qatar Airlines on Aug. 28, 2008. Departing from Newark, New Jersey, they landed in Peshawar. After three-and-a-half months of training with al Qaeda in the Waziristan region, Zazi returned to the US to execute his plot. On Jan.15, 2009, Zazi boarded Qatar Airlines Flight Number 83 to JFK Airport in Queens, New York.

Court documents obtained by CBS reveal Zazi's activities in Pakistan and portray the matter-of-fact manner in which Zazi spoke of his plot and the seriousness of his intentions in carrying it out.

When the court asked Zazi what his intentions were in to traveling to Pakistan, he stated: "Our plan was to go to Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban. While we were in Peshawar, we were recruited by al Qaeda, instead. We were taken by al Qaeda to a training camp in Waziristan, where we received weapons training."

Although not explicitly stated, Zazi was recruited by al Qaeda’s external operations branch, the division assigned to carry out attacks against the West and inside the US.

Zazi then elaborated on how his intended target switched from US troops abroad to US civilians at home. "During the training, al Qaeda leaders asked us to return to the United States and conduct a martyrdom operation. We agreed to this plan."

During training, it seems that Zazi impressed leaders at the training camps with his potential in becoming a specialist in explosives, eventually being designated leader of the small terrorist cell. "Later, I received more training from al Qaeda about how to construct explosives for attack in the United States. During my training, I had discussions with al Qaeda leaders, including target locations, such as New York City subways." In further discussing the plot, the judge stopped Zazi to clarify his statement: “You used the word 'bomb.' Do you mean bomb or bombs?” “Bombs,” said Zazi. “Plural?” the judge asked. “Plural,” Zazi responded.

The plot concocted by Zazi and his co-conspirators (who, unlike Zazi, have pled not guilty), bears resemblance to the 2004 Madrid train bombings carried out by an al Qaeda-aligned cell. In that attack, multiple coordinated backpack bombs were detonated to ensure maximum casualties, ending in 191 deaths. The New York plot resembles even more closely the 2005 attacks on the London transit system, which killed 56 and wounded hundreds more when four suicide bombers detonated their explosives during rush hour.

These latest disclosures regarding al Qaeda's attempted reach come during a time of mounting concern and heightened security in light of the recent deadly Moscow transit bombings. Just two weeks ago, two female Black Widow suicide bombers detonated their explosives at separate metro stations, killing 39 people. The al Qaeda-affiliated Caucusus Emirate eventually took credit for the attacks.

Lilo wrote:

The Long War Journal: Zazi case sheds light on US plot, Pakistan connections
The plot concocted by Zazi and his co-conspirators (who, unlike Zazi, have pled not guilty), bears resemblance to the 2004 Madrid train bombings carried out by an al Qaeda-aligned cell. In that attack, multiple coordinated backpack bombs were detonated to ensure maximum casualties, ending in 191 deaths. The New York plot resembles even more closely the 2005 attacks on the London transit system, which killed 56 and wounded hundreds more when four suicide bombers detonated their explosives during rush hour.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Federal officials said on Friday that a large amount of weapons were found at the home of a man who allegedly stole the identity of someone bound to a wheelchair and suffering from cerebral palsy, and used it to try to flee the country.

Abdullah Mohammed Muslim, formerly known as Johnnie Clagg, faces felony gun charges, 10TV's Andy Hirsch reported.

Muslim, 38, allegedly stole personal information from people and tired to use it to get a passport to leave the country.

Police stopped Muslim's vehicle on the city's southwest side in October. He was wanted on charges of identity theft and trying to falsify a passport.

After being arrested, federal agents went to his home and said they found an arsenal inside, Hirsch reported.

Investigators said they found two AK 47s, a 9mm semiautomatic rifle and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, pipe bomb materials, a ballistic face mask and vest, and a flak jacket.

Muslim's attorney said his client traveled from Columbus to tribal areas of Pakistan and that he converted to Islam while spending time in prison.

He said his client has no ties to any terror organizations.

Federal authorities agreed, saying this was not a case of terrorism, but they would not elaborate on a motive or other details in the case until he is sentenced, Hirsch reported.

Muslim remained in the Franklin County Jail. A sentencing date in federal court has not yet been set.

General Delic had gained respect from some Western diplomats who knew him as the army chief from 1993 to 1995, when he also played a role in peace negotiations. But his sentence was widely criticized as exceedingly low in Serbia, where his case had drawn much attention, not only because he was the army chief , but also because charges involved the behavior of the so-called El Mujahedeen detachment. This group of about 1,000 Islamic fighters who had flocked to Bosnia had gained a reputation among Serbs for brutality, in some cases proudly displaying the severed heads of their captives.

Tribunal judges found that General Delic or his fellow officers had little or no control over the mujahedeen, who had come from countries including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Algeria, and that General Delic and other senior Muslim officers wanted them expelled from Bosnia. But two of the three tribunal judges ruled that General Delic should have made greater efforts to punish the fighters’ excesses. The appeals decision, even if ready, is not likely to be disclosed following his death, according to lawyers familiar with tribunal proceedings.

The failed plot to bomb three New York City subways in September 2009 was hatched by two senior Al Qaeda leaders in the tribal areas of Pakistan, prosecutors said as another accused pleaded guilty.

According to federal prosecutors, the three men travelled to Pakistan in August 2008 and met with two Al Qaeda leaders, Saleh Al-Somali, head of international operations for Al Qaeda, and Rashid Rauf, described as a key Al Qaeda operative. {Rauf is a close relative of Massod Azhar, the Amir of JeM. He is a British citizen of Mirpuri descent. On Aug. 9, 2006, Pakistan announced his arrest from Bahawalpur for his involvement in the proposed terror plot of Trans-Atlantic flights. However, repeated requests by the UK government to extradite him were refused. Later, in Dec. 2006, the Pakistani government inexplicably dropped all terror related charges against him. Then, suddenly, on Dec. 15, 2007, Pakistan announced that Rauf had escaped from Police custody by hoodwinking the police escort while being taken to a court. It is widely believed that it was an ‘inside job’ by which Rauf was taken to the FATA area where he vanished. He was eventually killed in a Predator drone attack in Miranshah, North Waziristan on Nov. 22, 2008.}

Afghanistan's police force has said that a Pakistani army officer is among the men arrested after it broke up a group planning to carry out suicide attacks in Kabul.

Security has been stepped up in the capital, despite the fact that alleged appears to have been foiled.

"Just a couple of days ago the police arrested 16 people. Nine of them were actually suicide bombers, all trained outside of Afghanistan," Mohammad Hanif Atmar, the Afghan interior minister, told Al Jazeera.

Asked whether he saw evidence of the involvement of Pakistan or parts of the Pakistani security forces in the plots, Atmar said: "The evidence speaks for itself. We are investigating into this matter and we will be soon talking to our Pakistani colleagues.

"And then basically [we will] show this evidence to them and say is this happening based on a policy or is it just a couple of rouge people doing this."

Terror Suspect Pleads Guilty to Material Support Charge
Mark Hamblett

04-28-2010

A man who allowed a friend turned government cooperator to store camping equipment in his London apartment and then loaned him $300 to take it to an al-Qaida commander in Pakistan pleaded guilty late Tuesday on the eve of trial.

Syed Hashmi, 30, a Pakistani-born naturalized U.S. citizen, spared himself a possible life sentence by admitting to one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to the terrorist group. Lawyers for Hashmi and prosecutors reached a plea deal Tuesday, with the government agreeing to drop substantive material support and other charges and Hashmi accepting a likely sentence of 15 years in prison, which would have him free by the time he turns 40. ............................

Law.Com

NBC Breaking news:

Authorities arrested a suspect in the attempted weekend car bombing in Times Square, NBC News' justice correspondent Pete Williams reported early Tuesday morning.

A U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, Shahzad Faisal, was arrested Monday night on Long Island, Williams reported.

The vehicle identification number had been removed from the Pathfinder's dashboard, but it was stamped on the engine and axle, and investigators used it to find the owner of record.

Anujan wrote:In any case the worthies are going to get caught. There are CCTV cameras in every square inch in times square. And the idiots changed the license plates of the car & filed the VIN number away. Do those morons know that engines have serial numbers? Transmission has serial numbers? Axles too? Also the VIN can be read out of the Car's self diagnostic computer?

Put there precisely to catch such amateurs.

Update: Suspect in Times Square case was arrested at JFK Airport, attempting to leave the country - NBC News

Anujan wrote:X-posting from TSP dhaaga

NBC Breaking news:

Authorities arrested a suspect in the attempted weekend car bombing in Times Square, NBC News' justice correspondent Pete Williams reported early Tuesday morning.

A U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, Shahzad Faisal, was arrested Monday night on Long Island, Williams reported.

A few years ago, I was at an event with New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. The conversation turned to why terrorist groups, particularly those associated with Al Qaeda, had not carried out any attacks inside the United States since September 11th. Kelly noted that terrorist groups have a limited amount of talent and resources. They know that it can be very difficult for the United States to locate them in advance of an attack. But they also know that the strength of American counterterrorism operations lies in its forensic and investigative abilities after an attack takes place. In effect, when a terrorist group, large or small, sets off a bomb, it temporarily lights up its own network by exposing the forensic trail leading back from the event.

'All Pakistanis are terrorists'

By Imran Khan in Asia on May 4th 2010

Clearly it's a nonsensical headline.

But a quick glance across news headlines on Tuesday May 4 reveals the two top stories are both about young Pakistani men, one a resident of Lahore, the other with a background similar to mine, a Western citizen of Pakistani descent.

The first has been convicted with terrorism offences in India, the second arrested in connection with the Times Square foiled bomb attempt.

Now, I have no idea whether the chap arrested in connection with New York offence is a terrorist or not. But it almost does not matter.

Form of racism

Pakistanis and those of Pakistani descent are once again under the spotlight. It's a form of racism and anger building because of it.

I travel a lot. In the last eight months I have visited the US a number of times.

Each time I have been pulled into secondary immigration, a sort of holding pen whilst your validity to enter the US is checked out.

It takes at least three hours and after a 14-hour flight is not a welcome proposition.

Same questions

The questions are always the same: Why are you here? Who are you visiting? My answers inevitably are always the same. No matter, each time I had to go through the process.

A visa application of mine to a country I won't name has been put through a much more stringent process because I am of Pakistani descent............……………

Al Jazeera

By WSJ Staff
Details are emerging on how Faisal Shahzad, arrested as the owner of the bomb-laden SUV left Saturday in Times Square, integrated into American life and eventually gained citizenship.

In December 1998 he was granted an F-1 student visa. Immigration officials noted then that there was “no derogatory information” on Mr. Shahzad in any database, a law enforcement official said.

He first attended Southeastern University in Washington, DC, then transferred in 2000 to the University of Bridgeport, Conn., where he received a B.A. in computer science and engineering.

He next appears in April, 2002, when he was granted an H1-B visa for skilled workers; he stayed in the U.S. for three years on that visa and gained an M.B.A. It is not clear what company sponsored the visa, which is used to attract workers with a “specialty occupation,” such as information technology.

Then on October 20, 2008, he reported his marriage to a woman he identified as Huma Asif Mian, an American citizen. He became a naturalized as a U.S. citizen on April 17, 2009.

While law enforcement officials don’t have exhaustive details of his travels after he was naturalized, one trip in particular stands out: he left New York on June 2, 2009, on an Emirates flight to Dubai. He stayed overseas for eight months, returning on February 3, 2010, on another Emirates flight from Dubai.

Mr. Shahzad was arrested late Monday on board an Emirates flight from New York City to Dubai and was heading to Islamabad.

Pakistan-US: Fox News reported on 3 May that a person of interest in the Times Square bombing attempt is a naturalized US citizen originally from Pakistan who recently returned from Pakistan.


This failed bombing increasingly resembles one of the attempts in London, in which medical professionals tried to explode propane tanks in a vehicle outside a well patronized club. US officials and others may have been too quick to dismiss the Pakistani Taliban's claim of responsibility.


Whether the action is in Madrid, London or New York, the Pakistani diaspora continues to serve as the subculture that supports international terrorism. If the London attempt is prologue, the naturalized American of Pakistani origin will prove to be a practitioner in the health care industry.

The evidence is overwhelming that Pakistan is the center of international terrorism and overseas Pakistanis are among its principle agents. The government has a cabinet-level ministry for overseas Pakistani affairs that manages remittances and communications. This system is overdue for investigation.

ramana wrote:
Folks remember the series of alerts/warnings of the Western (US, Canada and Australia) embassies in Delhi on May 2nd? Is it possible the alerts were misread or red herrings when they interpreted the data? Could it be the signals were meaning US when they were misread as India for whatever reasons? Looks too coincidental.

Karna_A wrote:Photo of Shahzad Faisal:

http://www.vosizneias.com/54676/

He will soon travel from "Lap of Luxury" in Connecticut to a "Luxury Lap" in Federal Prison. The only bombs that will go off now will be from his back side and he wouldn't even have to change his shirt himself anymore!

Before going to his cell, Omar says prison officials videotaped him as he was stripped naked and given a rectal exam in front of an audience of male and female agents.
“I don't feel like a man, you know, once they're searching me like this,” says Omar. “I don't feel like a man.”

Karna_A wrote:I bet pretty soon more smoke will come out of him than ever came out of the SUV. If history is any indication as below, he will ride more F-16s on his back side than his dad ever did.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/ ... 8023.shtml

Before going to his cell, Omar says prison officials videotaped him as he was stripped naked and given a rectal exam in front of an audience of male and female agents.
“I don't feel like a man, you know, once they're searching me like this,” says Omar. “I don't feel like a man.”