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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>Probe on to unearth source supplying arms to dacoits</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2463319/probe-on-to-unearth-source-supplying-arms-to-dacoits</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/2463319/probe-on-to-unearth-source-supplying-arms-to-dacoits#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 20 Apr 24 19:56:30 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[Our Correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=2463319</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Probe on to unearth source supplying arms to dacoits]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Sindh police have launched an investigation into the source of arms supplied to highway robbers (dacoits) operating in the riverine (kutcha) area of the province, according to sources.

Sources also told The Express Tribune that influential figures in Sindh procure arms from Balochistan, allegedly facilitated by deliveries under police escort.

The notorious dacoits in the kutcha area of Shikarpur district receive their weapons from Dera Murad Jamali and Naseerabad districts of Balochistan.

The investigation revealed that the illegal arms were intended for distribution among criminals operating in the kutcha area to instigate unrest in the province. The mastermind behind this illicit arms shipment has been identified as Ikhtiar Lashari, an arms dealer with a history of criminal activities, including multiple cases registered against him in the Garhi Yasin police station.

Jacobabad SSP Saleem Shah, however, confirmed the arrest of seven suspects, including three policemen from Shikarpur, in possession of the illegal weapons.

The investigation is now focused on determining how a police mobile and police personnel were involved in facilitating the arms delivery and how the vehicle reached the accused.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2024.]]>
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			<title>Alleged HuT links: ‘Brigadier Ali likely to be released soon’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/198538/alleged-hut-links-%e2%80%98brigadier-ali-likely-to-be-released-soon%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/198538/alleged-hut-links-%e2%80%98brigadier-ali-likely-to-be-released-soon%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jun 11 02:37:05 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[kamran.yousaf]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=198538</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Chief military spokesman confirms Brig Ali, four other detained servicemen have yet to be formally charge-sheeted.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Brigadier Ali Khan is likely to be released soon after spending more than a month and a half in detention for suspected links with the banned extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, his family and officials said.


The brigadier and four unnamed majors are in custody for questioning for their suspected ties with Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT), which calls for creating a pan-Islamic caliphate system by ousting, what it says, the pro-American government in the country.

Military officials grilling the brigadier have yet not found ‘enough evidence’ to formally charge him, said a military official familiar with the development.

“You need to have very solid evidence to charge-sheet anyone in the military. At the moment there is no such thing against the detained officers, including Brig Ali,” added the official, requesting not to be identified. “Brig Ali is likely to be released soon,” he added.

However, it is unclear whether he will be dismissed from service or allowed to go home with his perks and privileges intact. Brig Ali is due to retire on July 9.

Sources say though Brig Ali was allegedly in contact with HuT, the main reason behind his detention appears to be his highly critical stance on the army’s high command over its relationship with the US.

According to the BBC, Brig Ali started writing letters to army generals, some of whom were his former colleagues, with suggestions on how to become ‘self-reliant’ and “to purge the army of the American influence”.

He told senior officers such as Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani that Pakistan’s ‘unconditional’ support to the Americans was causing resentment in the lower ranks of the army.

But this act does not constitute a serious offence that warranted a serious punishment such as court-martial, sources point out.

Brig Ali’s family has also confirmed that they have been given indications that he would be reunited with them in a few days. Brig Ali also spoke to his family last week for the first time since he was taken into custody on May 6.

“I talked to him briefly on our son’s birthday,” Brig Ali’s wife told The Express Tribune. “He was in good health and quite confident that he would be declared innocent,” she added.

“You should not worry. I have done nothing wrong and Inshallah (God willing) I will be with you very soon,” his wife quoted him as saying.

The military spokesperson Major General Athar Abbas also confirmed that Brig Ali and four other detained majors have yet to be formally charge-sheeted.

“Investigations are underway and they will be charge-sheeted once the probe is complete,” said Major General Abbas. However, he would not provide details.

The fate of the detained officers will be decided on the recommendations of the authorities questioning them, said another unnamed official. But he added that the detained officials are unlikely to be court-martialed.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>What weakens the military?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/196201/what-weakens-the-military</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/196201/what-weakens-the-military#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 25 Jun 11 16:46:21 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ayesha.siddiqa]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=196201</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[There are so many channels of communication that it is difficult to ‘gag’ news and analysis.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A lawyer recently filed a petition in the Supreme Court requesting the superior court to gag the media regarding any criticism of the military. Interestingly, notices were served on fairly military-friendly journalists. This was possibly done to warn the less friendly ones and to show them that if the GHQ can run out of patience with friendly folks such as Saleem Shahzad, Najam Sethi, Ejaz Haider and Hamid Mir then just imagine what could happen to those who are considered by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) as irreparably unfriendly? The defence establishment does not seem to be able to deal with the heightened criticism that is caused due to the influx of information. Just the availability of certain information makes the defence organisation’s behaviour look less kosher than what it would want people to believe.

The problem caused by the expansion of information technology is what neither Pervez Musharraf nor the present ISI/ISPR seem to get. There are so many channels of communication that it is difficult to ‘gag’ news and analysis. For instance, had The New York Times not gone to a retired military chap-turned analyst, the newspaper would have figured out the flaw of its story regarding General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani struggling for his job. Controlling information and its interpretation is what sustains the military’s sense of power.

It is essential to realise that the army is not being weakened by random commentators but by the nature of its politicisation. It is a deeply political institution that many refer to as the biggest political party in the country. Surely, today’s military is different from that of the 1950s. This one has multiple vertical and horizontal fault lines. There is differences of opinion on whether Kayani should have received a three-year extension. However, it still has immense capacity for the top leadership to shed some major differences for common benefits. So then why get a retired brigadier to spread the story on pressures on Kayani? The general must have been the happiest reading the story that presented him as the only liberal guy in the military who was fending for American interests and was thus in trouble vis-à-vis the more conservative thinking officers. Now that there are stories of a brigadier and a major sympathetic to Hizbut Tahrir, the Americans may have greater reason to believe that the Kayani team is the liberal one. Therefore, the Washington- Islamabad relationship will remain intact, though troublesome. The heightened xenophobia may even help the relationship.

However, this is a story of over four decades. Successive civil and military leaderships in Pakistan have marketed the story of being the only dependable friends the US can have. Enticing the US and keeping a relationship is as old a plan as Pakistan itself. In fact, the founding father, as it appears from some of his last interviews, saw Pakistan’s strategic location as critical for reaping resources from the western world. Pakistan was part of the new world that got created due to the end of World War II politics which was centered around the US – USSR rivalry. The paradigm has continued.

But referring to the military, there is no truth in the speculative story of Kayani being pushed out. This is not to say that the army does not push out its top leaders. It did so in the case of Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf. It is perhaps The New York Times’ fascination with the current Middle East which made it suggest the possibility of a colonel’s coup which is not likely in Pakistan. This is not to suggest that Kayani will not honour the feelings of his fellow generals. In case he crosses a line, there will be a handful of three-star generals that could checkmate him and push him out. Once the handful gang up, others follow.

In case the military still holds civilian commentators responsible for its weakening, it could employ various methods such as muffling voices through extra-judicial and now judicial means. The larger risk, however, will be the greater divide between the military and civil society. As long as the GHQ can avoid following the Latin and South American military model, it can save itself politically.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Lax Enforcement: Hizb ut-Tahrir free to preach its message</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/194509/lax-enforcement-hizb-ut-tahrir-free-to-preach-its-message</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/194509/lax-enforcement-hizb-ut-tahrir-free-to-preach-its-message#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jun 11 02:58:21 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[asad.kharal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=194509</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The banned organisation appears to be free to distribute its propaganda material and promote its events.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Despite five military officers being detained and questioned for their links to the organisation, the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir appears to be free to distribute its propaganda material and promote its events, including at mosques just yards away from the police headquarters in Lahore and prominent locations in the federal capital.


Hizb ut-Tahrir’s objective is to overthrow the current Pakistani government and establish a worldwide caliphate that encompasses all Muslim-majority countries. While the organisation claims to be non-violent, it has often been accused of aiding and abetting acts of terrorism.

On Tuesday, the Pakistan Army confirmed that they had detained Brigadier Ali Khan, who served at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, for his alleged links to the organisation. On Wednesday, reports emerged of four more military officers being detained for their ties to Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Yet the organisation seems to face no difficulty in disseminating its message to the public through posters, seminars, literature and even rallies. Hizb ut-Tahrir displayed hundreds of banners across the country in order to promote its nationwide “caliphate” rally on November 5, 2010. They have organised protests in front of the Lahore Press Club and even in parts of Islamabad.

Few cases have ever been registered against members of the organisation for participating in the activities of a banned group and the very few that do get reported are rarely ever prosecuted, with most Hizb ut-Tahrir members being released after a few days of detention and questioning.

Among the places that Hizb ut-Tahrir activists have been seen distributing their group’s materials are in front of the Masjid-e-Shuhda on Mall Road, Lahore, just yards away from the Punjab Assembly, the chief minister’s house and the Lahore police headquarters.

Hizb ut-Tahrir activists have been able to regularly distribute their press releases and pictures of the group’s events to virtually all major news organisations in Pakistan.

The group’s website is also still accessible in Pakistan and does not appear to have been blocked by the National Responses Centre of the Federal Investigation Agency.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2011.]]>
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			<title>After brigadier, army detains four majors</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/194040/four-majors-questioned-for-links-to-detained-brigadier</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/194040/four-majors-questioned-for-links-to-detained-brigadier#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jun 11 02:00:54 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[kamran.yousaf]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=194040</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Military spokesperson confirms detentions, says they were questioned for their links with Hizb ut-Tahrir.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The army on Wednesday confirmed the detention of four more officers for their alleged links with banned Hizb ut-Tharir in a development that indicates a new push by the military to purge the institution of elements who may have sympathies for militant groups.


The arrest of four unnamed majors is linked with the detention of Brigadier Ali Khan, who has been in custody since May 6 for questioning over his ties with the banned outfit, which calls for creating a pan-Islamic caliphate system by ousting, what it says, is the pro-American government in the country.

Hizb ut-Tharir is outlawed in some countries, including Pakistan, but interestingly the group is legal and active in Western countries, such as the United States and Britain. It claims to advocate non-violence, but some fear its extremist ideology can provoke its followers to embrace militancy.

“Yes, four army majors are being questioned for their links with Hizb ut-Tharir,” Major-General Athar Abbas, Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) told The Express Tribune. However, he would not say when the four were taken into custody and where were they posted.

But military sources say that unlike Brig Khan, the four were not working at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. Some sources did not rule out the possibility of the detained officers’ involvement in a bigger plot.

However, Maj Gen Abbas refused to comment on it saying more revelations at this stage might compromise the investigations. “It is premature to draw any such conclusion,” he added.

A military official familiar with the development said the officers were detained after their conduct started influencing their colleagues.

“Anyone can have their own ideology or religious leaning but when it starts affecting the military discipline and other people, that’s where authorities take action,” said the official, who asked not to be named.

In the case of these five officers, they were in serious violation of military discipline and had tried to propagate their own ideology in the military, he added.

Meanwhile, the wife of detained Brigadier Ali Khan told The Express Tribune that her husband was extremely angry over the US raid in Abbottabad to kill al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. “Like other patriotic Pakistanis, my husband was also upset on that day,” said Mrs Khan.

She called the charges against his husband as rubbish and totally false. “Yes, he offers prayers five times a day. Yes, he is a practicing Muslim but he has absolutely no links with any extremist organisation,” she insisted.

Brigadier Khan’s lawyer Inam Rahim, a retired colonel, told the Associated Press that his client was arrested for demanding that someone within the military be held accountable for the top-secret US special forces’ raid that killed Bin Laden last month in Abbottabad.

However, military authorities have dispelled the impression that his detention was in any way connected to the Abbottabad incident.

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Hizbut Tahrir and the armed forces</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/194054/hizbut-tahrir-and-the-armed-forces</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/194054/hizbut-tahrir-and-the-armed-forces#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 22 Jun 11 18:01:04 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=194054</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[What is upsetting is that Brigadier Khan was allegedly hobnobbing with an organisation opposed to democracy.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A military spokesperson has confirmed that Brigadier Ali Khan, serving at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, has been detained for questioning for having alleged links to Hizbut Tahrir — an extremist organisation that was banned in Pakistan in 2004 — and it has been made clear that the brigadier had no links to the Taliban.

What is upsetting is that Brigadier Khan was allegedly hobnobbing with an organisation opposed to democracy — according to them, whoever supports democracy is a kafir — that believes in imposing khilafat on the world. Hizbut Tahrir is not an extension of al Qaeda but its desire to impose khilafat brings it close to the ideas propagated by al Qaeda leader Aiman alZawahiri. Hizbut Tahrir was allowed to operate in Pakistan together with a more lethal organisation, al Muhajiroun, under General Musharraf.

Hizbut Tahrir has, to some extent, penetrated the armed forces, as indicated by a military spokesperson. Colonel Shahid Bashir, a former commanding officer of the Shamsi Air Force Base, was apprehended by the military police in 2009 for his connection with the banned group. Along with him were others: A retired PAF squadron leader-turned-lawyer, Nadeem Ahmad Shah, and a US-educated mechanical engineer, Awais Ali Khan.

What is disturbing about Brigadier Khan being detained is that he was an ideal army officer, with a brilliant career and credentials second to none: His father was in the army as is his son-in-law, while his younger brother is a colonel serving in the intelligence service. The attraction of Hizbut Tahrir is significant because it comes laced with the thinking of UK-based Pakistani extremists. As a UK-based outfit, most of its members are Pakistani youths since Pakistanis form a majority of Muslims living there.

Based on the teachings of a Palestinian cleric, Hizbut Tahrir remains mysterious in its British manifestation. For some time, people suspected that cleric Omar Bakri headed it, then the suspicion was centred on Abu Hamza alMasri. (Bakri has been deported and alMasri is in jail because his outfit, al Muhajiroun, celebrated 9/11 and supported al Qaeda.) In Pakistan, its leaders have been sporadically jailed. Hizbut Tahrir once used the media for spreading its message but now it has gone silent. Its manpower often comes from UK-based alienated youths who land teaching jobs in English-medium schools in Pakistan.

It was in 2009 that a Hizbut Tahrir leader, teaching at a college in Lahore, aired what may be called the organisation’s plans. He said that “the organisation’s aim is to subject Muslim and western countries to Islamic rule under Shariat law, by force if necessary. Islamic rule would be spread through indoctrination, and by military means if non-Muslim countries refused to bow to it”. As for the strategy in Pakistan, he said it was “to influence military officers, persuading the army to instigate a bloodless coup against the present government. It is the military who hold the power in Pakistan and we are asking them to give their allegiance to us.”

Hizbut Tahrir may not be aligned with al Qaeda but its language does not differ from the one used by al Qaeda ideologues. The fact is that while Pakistan has a system of representative democracy which is functional, its Constitution declares it an Islamic republic where a Federal Shariat Court ensures the practice of Shariat. The Pakistan Army’s actions against Brigadier Ali Khan to find out why such an officer should betray his country’s Constitution are understandable, as is the process started by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to ensure that the army remains professional, free of all potentially disruptive ideologies floating around in the Islamic world.

The example of Brigadier Khan will have a good demonstrative effect and it will help the forces develop the capacity to detect designs of organisations who wish to make inroads into our military for their hostile objectives.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Say nothing at all</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/194055/say-nothing-at-all</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/194055/say-nothing-at-all#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 22 Jun 11 17:03:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sami.shah]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=194055</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The military should sit down with close friends and ask their honest, open opinions about what it can do differently.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Apparently the army is now arresting officers who have contacts with militant organisations. It’s going to be difficult to avoid the obvious jokes about the entire ISI being rounded up for questioning. To be fair though, that difficulty is eased greatly by reminding oneself that if there is one thing the military tolerates less than senior officers cavorting with extremist groups, it’s civilians who dare to criticise it. You can pay their increasing salaries with your decreasing income and suffer the explosive results of their short-term plans repeatedly collapsing under the weight of long-term realities, but do not question their greatness. Self-declared greatness though it is, it has been so compromised by continued failures that we are actually advocating control being handed over to the civilian government! Let’s repeat that thought, because it bears greater analysis. We trust the military leadership so little at this point that we would rather the government that is run by President Asif Ali Zardari be in charge. Again, for those who might not understand the gravity of our situation: We prefer the leadership in-capabilities of the PPP government over those of the armed forces. Yes, that government. The one that is currently focusing all its resources on Babar Awan’s honour. Not on getting us out of the top 20 in the Failed States Index or the list of Deadliest Places for Journalists or even Most Dangerous Country for Women shortlists. In fact, the only list we aren’t currently ranking highly on is Funniest Home Videos and that’s because all our clips are of people being shot to death.

Fear of being punished also prevents me from pointing out that common sense would dictate the military take this time to reconsider its life choices. Sit down with some close friends and ask them their honest, open opinions about what it can do differently. Then maybe go backpacking through Europe (avoid the Afghan shortcut, it always ends with a few decades wandering through the wrong mountain ranges and a heroin problem) before coming back with a changed perspective, a ponytail and a love of folk music. We would be more than happy to give it the time it needed to sort out its internal turmoil, if the end result would be a more focused, ethical and respectful institution. After all, it’s not like India is going to attack us. That was the whole point of getting nuclear weapons wasn’t it? Mutually assured destruction also means mutually assured existence. It’s better than forcing us to demand the civilian government be given authority. We don’t doubt for a second that if they are actually put in charge, the defence of the country and all its strategic decisions would be auctioned off to some Dubai-based firm that would hire a conference room full of hideously overpriced MBAs that would spend all our money on a logo redesign. Or worse, they would decide to actually try running things themselves and soon Rehman Malik would be making statements about how we are 200 per cent not being invaded by every country in the region because the boundary walls for Bilawal House were extended a little too far.

Neither do I dare suggest that it isn’t even like we are asking for a lot. Maybe a decrease in kidnapping, torture and murder of innocent civilians. A genuine appreciation of the fact that ‘extremist militant organisations’ aren’t called that because it’s catchy and maybe giving them continued patronage isn’t the smartest of manoeuvres would be nice. How about increasing transparency in the budget allocation while you are at it. When Nawaz Sharif is making rational, reasonable demands like that and organisations that kidnapped a little girl and forced her to wear a suicide vest are seen as less threatening to us than your decisions, it’s time to take a pause and reconsider.

These are the things I wish I could say, but won’t. Or can’t.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Army confirms brigadier’s arrest for extremist ties</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/193407/brigadier-detained-for-having-links-to-banned-organisation-report</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/193407/brigadier-detained-for-having-links-to-banned-organisation-report#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 22 Jun 11 02:00:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[kamran.yousaf]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=193407</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[DG ISPR Major Genera­l Athar Abbas says Brigad­ier Khan served at GHQ in Rawalpindi, linked to Hizbul Tehrir.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The army has detained Brigadier Ali Khan, an officer who had been serving at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, for his alleged ties to extremist organisations, in what appears to be the first such arrest of a senior officer that has been publicly acknowledged by the military.


It is not clear yet if the detention of Brig Khan is part of a larger ‘cleansing process’ or an isolated event in the powerful military, which has come under scathing criticism for its seemingly lax approach to elements who allegedly sympathise with militant groups.

The detained officer had been serving at the army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi for the last two years.

Major-General Athar Abbas, the military spokesperson, confirmed Brig Khan’s detention for his alleged ties to the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir, which seeks to overthrow what it deems to be the ‘pro-American’ government and replace it with an Islamic caliphate system in Pakistan. He is being interrogated by Military Intelligence, said Maj-Gen Abbas.

But the military was quick to dispel the impression that the detained officer was linked with the Taliban or investigations into the Abbottabad  raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.“The issue is being blown out of proportions. In the past several such military officials were detained and even court-martialled for having links with Hizb ut-Tehrir,” said a military official, who requested not to be named.

Maj-Gen Abbas said that Brig Khan had been under surveillance for the past several months and was arrested last month when his contacts with the banned outfit were confirmed.

“We don’t allow any other cult in the military other than the military cult,” Abbas told The Express Tribune. “We have zero-tolerance for any extremist or sectarian ideology in the army.” An unnamed senior military officer told the BBC that senior officers were both surprised and “disturbed” when a secret report was presented to them about the “inappropriate” activities of the brigadier.

The officer is known to have a “brilliant” service record and comes from a family with three generations of military service.

Brig Ali’s father was a junior commissioned officer, his younger brother is a colonel serving in the intelligence service. His son and son-in-law are both army captains.

A military source told the BBC that Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had asked for a briefing about the brigadier, and after being satisfied about the weight of the “evidence”, ordered the arrest himself.

However, Brig Khan’s family disputed the charges calling him ‘totally innocent.’

“These allegations are totally rubbish,” his wife told the AP.  She said her husband went missing on May 5, and she has been searching for information about his whereabouts since. Authorities had assured her that he would soon return, she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22nd, 2011.]]>
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			<title>General Kayani seeks to repair dented army pride</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/192512/general-kayani-seeks-to-repair-dented-army-pride</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/192512/general-kayani-seeks-to-repair-dented-army-pride#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Jun 11 04:21:31 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=192512</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The May 2 top-secret raid left many in the military seething with anger.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is working to repair Pakistan Army’s wounded pride in the bitter aftermath of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, a humiliation that has strained US-Pakistani relations and raised questions about the top general’s own standing.


Retired and serving officers interviewed by The Associated Press spoke of seething anger within army ranks over the May 2 top-secret raid by US Navy SEALS, undetected by Pakistan’s military.

The raid set off a nationalist backlash: The usually untouchable army was sharply criticised in the press and on television talk shows, people demonstrated here in the capital demanding accountability, and open calls were made for the resignation of Gen Kayani.

The army is Pakistan’s strongest institution, and Kayani the nation’s most powerful leader, but he “has to be very careful,” said Lt-Gen (Retd) Talat Masood.

Like others interviewed, he doubted Kayani’s underlings would try to unseat him in an intra-army coup, but he noted occasions in the past when disgruntled officers were found to be plotting against their chief.

These rumblings generally occurred after the army suffered an embarrassing defeat, most notably Pakistan’s 1971 loss of East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, when India took 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war who weren’t released for a year.

Last month’s raid on the al Qaeda leader’s Abbottabad compound resurrected public comparisons to that Bangladesh debacle.

In one sign of dented military prestige, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the withdrawal of a two-star general after his men were caught on video killing an unarmed youth. The court took the unusual action “in light of the hostile environment in the society toward the military,” said defence analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi.

The public disquiet weighs heavily on the officer corps and down through lower ranks, Masood said.

“It could all result in loose talk,” he said, but he thought it wouldn’t go beyond that. He noted that within days of the Bin Laden raid, Kayani met with key corps commanders in an effort to assure his ranking officers they had not been humiliated.

There’s “quite a lot of anger” within the military, Gen (retd) Jehangir Karamat, a former chief of staff himself, said in a telephone interview from the eastern city of Lahore.

“Maybe there is talk,” he told the AP.  “Maybe anti-US feeling has gone up in the army. But actually there is in the country a whole lot of anger over the way it happened and the humiliation suffered, and it is inevitably reflected in the army.”

But, he added that “all this talk of him fighting for his job, his survival, I don’t see any signs of that.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Who killed Saleem Shahzad?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/191621/who-killed-saleem-shahzad-2</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/191621/who-killed-saleem-shahzad-2#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 Jun 11 20:34:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[khaled.ahmed]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=191621</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Saleem Shehzad could have been killed by army and intelligence officials who have crossed over to the militants.]]>
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				<![CDATA[President of All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS) Hameed Haroon says Saleem Shahzad had told him that he was receiving threats from the ISI. He thus endorsed a similar claim made by Ali Dayan of Human Rights Watch, which the ISI had condemned as false. Another victim of the agency hoods, reporter Umar Cheema, has confirmed in his article in The New York Times (14 June 2011) that the people who thrashed him nearly to death had made it clear that they were not Taliban or al Qaeda.

After what Saleem Shahzad has revealed in his book Inside Al Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11 (Pluto Press 2011), other more dreadful possibilities are open for consideration. It could be somebody representing al Qaeda inside the ISI. The book actually tells us how deeply the Pakistan Army is infected. Saleem was a confidant of such a group of officers and could have been killed for revealing too much when he wrote about how Ilyas Kashmiri had attacked PNS Mehran after failing to cow the naval chief into releasing the arrested al Qaeda members found embedded in the navy.

Saleem got the inside track on al Qaeda starting with Captain Khurram Ashiq, who had defected to al Qaeda to die fighting the Nato troops in Helmand in Afghanistan. Khurram’s brother, Major Haroon Ashiq, followed him to North Waziristan along with another officer, Major Abdul Rehman. The Ashiq family was Salafi and the brothers were steeped in Ibn Taymiyya and Syed Qutb, the two presiding saints of al Qaeda. They believed in the Ghazwa-e-Hind hadith and thought the End of the World was near with armies of Imam Mehdi rising from Khurasan (Afghanistan-Pakistan).

Haroon left the army and joined Lashkar-e-Taiba which he told Saleem was an extension of the army. Alienated from the army under Musharraf, he joined Harkatul Jihad alAlami (HUJI) and thus got closer to al Qaeda. As an al Qaeda terrorist, Haroon enjoyed contacts inside the army: “Haroon developed a silencer for the AK-47. This became an essential component of al Qaeda’s special guerrilla operations. He then visited China to procure night-vision glasses. The biggest task was to clear them through the customs in Pakistan. Haroon called on his friend Captain Farooq, who was President Musharraf’s security officer. Farooq went to the airport in the president’s official car and received Haroon at the immigration counter. In the presence of Farooq, nobody dared touch Haroon’s luggage and the night-vision glasses arrived in Pakistan without any hassle [Farooq was a member of the Hizbut Tahrir, a fact discovered by the military intelligence as late as nine months later his posting as Musharraf’s security officer. After being spotted, he was briefly arrested and then retired from the Pakistan Army.]” (p.88)

Haroon is now in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi after failing to kidnap an Ahmadi, Sarwar Khan, in 2009: ‘In custody he admitted to killing Major General Alavi and kidnapping Hindu filmmaker Satish Anand with the help of one Major Basit from Karachi. After he discovered that Anand had no money to give he released him on orders from al Qaeda’s Ilyas Kashmiri — ‘if he embraced Islam’ — which Anand immediately did. Later al Qaeda decided that to refill its empty coffers it will abduct only non-Muslims, in particular, Ahmadis’ (p.95).

Saleem Shahzad’s book highlights the dominance of al Qaeda in Pakistan, including a highly infected Pakistan Army, and gives only a marginal status to its ancillary terrorists. The Punjabi Taliban he subordinates to the Haqqani Network, which in turn is a wing of al Qaeda but is known as a protégé of the Pakistan Army.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Towards greater accountability</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/191642/towards-greater-accountability</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/191642/towards-greater-accountability#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 Jun 11 19:52:39 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ayesha.siddiqa]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=191642</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The military has always kept itself above any questioning. Such lack of accountability is harmful institutionally.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Thank God for some sharp opinion pieces like the one by Ejaz Haider, which drew attention to top military commanders and thus resulted in an equally sharp response in the form of a press release, issued after the 139th Corps Commander’s Conference on June 9. According to the press release, the top generals were unhappy with the growing criticism of the military, which they thought came from circles that had a bias against the armed forces. In the same conference, the commanders agreed to call upon the US government to divert the Kerry-Lugar aid from military to economic development.

Later, former senior commander Jehangir Karamat translated the press release as an indicator of the army’s acceptance of civilian supremacy. Both statements — the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release and General Karamat’s article in The News — underscored the issue of ‘perceptual bias’. It was sad to know that senior commanders are unwilling to engage with this criticism and understand the basis of what they consider negative perception. I remember being told by a former Director-General (DG) ISPR, Major-General Shaukat Sultan, that his staff would look at newspaper articles every day and leave aside all those that they thought were critical of the then military regime of former General Pervez Musharraf. Recently, the current DG-ISPR made a similar statement. In a recently sent SMS, which looked more like a bad effort at public relations, he mentioned the term ‘predictable’, in reference to media coverage, in the same manner as his predecessor.

It is a fact that the military’s image has changed drastically from the point when people felt proud of the armed forces, especially in mainland Pakistan (certainly Punjab) to a point when one of the top leaders of Punjab, Mian Nawaz Sharif, openly criticised the military.

Unfortunately, a lot of water has flown under the bridge since the 1970s. We have seen the military as an institution being involved in the shooting of people in rural and urban Sindh (1980s and 1992/93) and conducting military operations in Balochistan. The military was involved in creating political parties and coalitions and then using any opportunity to take over the reins of the country.

If people complain, it is not out of jealousy or ill-will, as Musharraf would argue, but because people are generally concerned about the well-being of this institution. Jehangir Karamat wrote in his article that corps commanders are often referred to as core commanders. A lot of people also refer to corps commanders as crore commanders. What right does anyone have to call this bias, when the army corps have become centres of earning. The Karachi corps, for instance, has a monthly income of about Rs500 million raised from many sources including the lease and sale of state land. This particular corps earns money from as far as Cholistan in South Punjab.

Trying to send a signal regarding the military sacrificing its resources for the ordinary people by suggesting the diversion of American aid for economic development is too little too late. The generals know that the mood in the US does not favour military assistance to Pakistan, especially after the Abbottabad operation. It would have been nicer and kinder had the generals not resisted Kerry-Lugar in the beginning. But the fact of the matter is that senior commanders have encouraged an environment in the military of disrespecting all forms of civilians and insulting the political leadership.

It is not as if politicians are the only corrupt ones in the country. Various weapons deals and related kickbacks do not shed great light on the military leadership either. However, the issue is not about who is more corrupt. It is about developing mutual respect amongst institutions that will naturally strengthen the country. The military has always manoeuvred to keep itself above any questioning. Such lack of accountability is harmful institutionally. Disallowing accountability, in fact, turns the military mafia-like. Instead of using its clients like Maulana Fazlur Rahman to block the inquiry commission, the chief will be serving national interests if he were to allow a fair inquiry. Breeding accountability and equality amongst state institutions will go a long way.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>US tip-off on two IED-making  compounds was incorrect: ISPR</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/190878/compromised-intelligence-ispr-denies-security-forces-tipped-off-terrorists</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/190878/compromised-intelligence-ispr-denies-security-forces-tipped-off-terrorists#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 Jun 11 02:47:44 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=190878</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Two factories were destroyed on receiving intelligence.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan military on Friday denied it tipped off terrorists helping them escape the purported Improvised Explosive Device (IED) factories in Waziristan after the US reportedly shared intelligence about the militant-run facilities.


“This assertion is totally false, malicious and the facts on the ground are contrary to it,” said a statement issued by the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR).

It said the intelligence information was received regarding four compounds suspected of being used as IED making facilities. However, the Army would not say if the intelligence was provided by the US.

The operation was launched against the suspected sites as a result of which two were found to be used as IED making facilities, which were destroyed.

“Information on the other sites proved to be incorrect. Some persons have been arrested and they are under investigation,” the statement added. However, it did not say where and when this operation took place.

American officials told The Associated Press in early June that they had shared satellite information with Pakistan about two militant bomb-making factories and that within 24 hours; the militants cleared out the sites, raising suspicions that the Pakistanis shared/leaked the intelligence information. The story appeared just hours before CIA Director Leon Panetta was due to hold crucial talks with Pakistan’s military and intelligence chiefs last week. However, military sources insist that such news items are part of a well-thought-out campaign to discredit the country’s security forces.

Relations between the two countries have been tense since the Abbottabad operation on May 2 in which Bin Laden was killed. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>The people and their armed forces</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/190947/the-people-and-their-armed-forces</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/190947/the-people-and-their-armed-forces#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 17 Jun 11 18:12:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=190947</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[It is time to return the ownership of foreign policy and security matters to the people and their representatives.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Reports in the foreign press have suggested, quoting unnamed American officials, that army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has been “feeling the heat” in his job because of rising anger and discontentment among the military’s rank and file, following the May 2 raid by US Navy SEALs which led to the killing of Osama bin Laden in a compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad (the incident raises legitimate questions which need answers).

These reports also follow what many considered to be an unprecedented public statement by the military, following the most recent corps commanders’ conference. However, as has already been said on these pages, the response left a lot to be desired.

For instance, the only admission of mistake — which seemed to have been forced by parliament following a tense in-camera briefing — has come when the director-general of the ISI offered to resign. However, when it came to questions on how US helicopters could fly from our western border all the way to a city an hour’s drive from Islamabad, the explanations given by the air force were less than satisfactory.

This was followed by the PNS Mehran attack in which a major naval and air force installation was under attack for almost a day. Instead of admitting that there has been a serious security lapse, the navy chief, albeit in response to a question, suggested that there had been no such lapse. This he said after the terrorists who attacked the base managed to destroy two aircraft worth over $70 million (roughly Rs6 billion). Then, a journalist who had written on the attack and had suggested that it may have been linked to al Qaeda sympathisers in the navy — who had been arrested for these ties and were not being released — was found dead soon after.

Even now, the right questions are not being asked, even by many Pakistanis, especially those sitting in parliament. For instance, apart from the issue of how the Americans penetrated so far inside Pakistan, the equally, if not more, pressing question is: How was Osama bin Laden living in Abbottabad for so many years without anyone noticing the presence of the world’s most wanted terrorist? Many people are questioning the fact that the performance of an organisation that receives over a quarter of the federal budget, and far in excess of what education and health combined receive, has not been satisfactory. But this should not only be seen in light of its relations with America and whether it can stand up to Washington, but also in relation to its past — and some say ongoing — support of militant and extremist outfits. Sending proxy warriors to fight the ‘jihad’ in Kashmir is no longer an option but questions need to be asked — why did the military even engage in such a policy in the first place? Who created the Taliban and who enabled their success in setting up a government in Afghanistan? Who allows the Haqqanis and their allies sanctuaries inside Pakistan, especially given that the cost of having extremists — foreign or homegrown — on our soil has now become known to all of us, since the militants have now chosen to point their guns inward? Who decided that there are some Taliban who are ‘good’ and some who are ‘bad’, given that they all have close links with each other? Did the people of this country, or their elected representatives, have any say in all of this? And please, for once, we would like an honest answer.

In this context, General Kayani reportedly telling his soldiers that dependence on US dole has brought Pakistan to such a pass and that Pakistan does not like interference by the US but also that it cannot go to war with Washington needs to be welcomed as realistic. Let us also remember that US presence in Pakistan is in fact a response to the presence of militants and extremists in the region. The officers’ corps should realise it is now time to return the ownership of foreign policy as well as security matters to the people of Pakistan through their elected representatives.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Covert crackdown: ‘Army major was not CIA informant’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/189852/covert-crackdown-%e2%80%98army-major-was-not-cia-informant%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/189852/covert-crackdown-%e2%80%98army-major-was-not-cia-informant%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 16 Jun 11 02:58:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[nadir.hassan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=189852</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Several ‘CIA moles’ detained in Pakistan over the last few months.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[An army major allegedly picked up by intelligence agencies in connection with the Osama Bin Laden raid was not, as reported by the international press, a CIA informant, alleged an official privy to the situation.


The major, Amir Aziz, was a doctor in the army’s medical corps and lived just a couple of hundred yards from the compound where Bin Laden was picked up.

Though the military’s information wing has denied that an army major was picked up by intelligence agencies, the source said that the agencies had picked up Aziz and others living close to the compound as a standard precautionary measure for interrogation after they heard about the Bin Laden raid.

At the time, they were more worried whether Aziz had helped out Bin Laden himself, and that any such link between the army and the al Qaeda chief would hurt the military’s reputation.

The source also added that Aziz’s house in Abbottabad had his nameplate on the door and that this was removed only a day after the raid. Had he been a CIA informant, said the source, he would not have been living so openly. Journalists who were in Abbottabad the day Bin Laden’s killing was announced did report that Aziz’s nameplate was present on his door.

The US, according to the source, has been desperately trying to get access to these men but had been rebuffed by the military. The official feels that leaking to the international media that the men were informants may pressurise the agencies into handing over the men. The government official did not know the identity of the other men who were picked up but said that that Aziz was the only army official.

A part of a larger crackdown?

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s security agencies have rounded up several people who are believed to be working for the US’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a move that indicates serious tensions between Islamabad and Washington.

The nationwide crackdown against the suspected CIA informants was first launched earlier this year following the arrest of ‘American spy’ Raymond Davis over the killing of two Pakistanis, a military official told The Express Tribune.

However, the official, who requested not to be named, said that the drive against the ‘CIA spies’ was accelerated following the death of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a top-secret US commando operation last month.

“Yes, I can confirm that several suspects have been arrested in recent months. Some of them have been released after they were cleared by the authorities while others are still being interrogated,” he added. He would not give the exact number of arrests though some sources put it at 40.

However, no serving or retired military official was amongst those held by the security agencies, said a statement issued by the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR).

One military official insisted that the story is part of an ongoing campaign to ‘malign’ the country’s security agencies.

With additional reporting by our correspondent in Islamabad

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Of khaki and mufti</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/188799/of-khaki-and-mufti-2</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/188799/of-khaki-and-mufti-2#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 14 Jun 11 17:15:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=188799</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[A break with the US might go in favour of al Qaeda’s plans to impose a ‘nuclearised’ theocracy on Pakistan.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Islamabad has quietly witnessed another extremely important meeting — for the first time at such a level — between the entire top brass of the Pakistan Armed Forces and the prime minister and president, representing the civilian setup of the country. According to reports, the meeting was attended by the military leadership comprising Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Khalid Shameem Wynne, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman and Defence Secretary Lt-Gen (retd) Syed Athar Ali.

Since the one-line official statement about the meeting revealed nothing, the media excusably went on a guessing spree, starting with a civil-military resolve ‘not to make any compromise on national security matters’. This was followed by other obvious topics: Better coordination between civilian and military institutions, the Abbottabad probe commission, investigations regarding the terrorist attack on the Mehran base and the new wave of terrorist attacks. Unofficial sources added more spice by saying: “The civilian and military leadership resolved to launch an operation against the terrorists to stem the new wave of attacks and decided not to accept any external pressure.”

The meeting took place at the Presidency, thus highlighting a dialogue between party and government on the one hand and the Pakistan military high command on the other. The ultimate guess, given the general reading into the recent American visits to Islamabad, was that the military wanted to reaffirm the ‘national consensus’ on not operating against the terrorists in North Waziristan on the bidding of the US. Earlier, a separate statement from the meeting of the corps commanders had already pointed to the said consensus by reiterating the army’s resolve to go into North Waziristan at a time of its own choosing and opposing the operation of US drones in the area. What was the need to go through the same exercise again?

The meeting was attended by chiefs of all the arms of the military, including the naval chief, who has come under particular pressure after the al Qaeda attack on PNS Mehran in Karachi. The meeting also featured the air chief, who had reportedly offered to counter the drones operating in Pakistani territory with an air force response. General Wynne — who has been taking the current US-Pakistan flurry of contradictions in his stride — was there too. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani have already endorsed the ‘charter’ of ‘reassessing relations with the US’ awarded to the Pakistan Army by a unanimous resolution of a joint session of the parliament. What more could they have told the top brass except that they oppose the US policy in the region and are against the US-proposed operation in North Waziristan?

It is difficult to say what exactly transpired but other possible topics are: A discussion of the anti-army statements issuing from all quarters in the political community and the media. The top brass could have gone through the contents of the recent high-level meetings with the Americans which have not gone well, including the one with CIA Director Leon Panetta where, according to Time Magazine, Mr Panetta accused Pakistan of colluding with pro-Afghan Taliban militants in the tribal areas. The military leadership may have pointed to other ‘irregularities’, such as a recent statement by a Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa minister that Pakistan alone can’t fight the terrorists and that it must act together with the US to defeat them. Next year, the Americans are going to start leaving Afghanistan. Unlike Pakistan, where policy is stuck obsessively on India, Washington is going to change tack and show flexibility, which some have already called defeat; but it may pan out negatively for Pakistan even if Islamabad and Kabul move closer and Pakistan can retain some semblance of leverage or control over the Afghan Taliban under Mullah Omar. It is from the inside that Pakistan is getting defeated through al Qaeda’s terrorism. From Nek Muhammad to Baitullah Mehsud and Ilyas Kashmiri, Pakistan has been able to tackle its tormentors only with America’s help. Hence, a break with the US might go in favour of al Qaeda’s plans to impose a ‘nuclearised’ theocracy on Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Intelligence matters</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/188096/intelligence-matters</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/188096/intelligence-matters#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jun 11 16:39:02 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
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				<![CDATA[CIA chief, Panetta seems to have realised that the military is the true power in the country.]]>
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				<![CDATA[CIA Director Leon Panetta’s brief visit to Pakistan follows a sharp downturn in relations between Pakistan and the US since the Raymond Davis saga and the US raid which killed Osama bin Laden. Panetta only met Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI head Ahmed Shuja Pasha during his sudden, unscheduled trip, and it appears he swiftly left after being unable to secure any improvements in the troubled relationship. Panetta, unlike during past visits, did not pay even courtesy calls to the president and prime minister. He seems to have realised and is making it clear to all observers that the military is the true power in the country. And it is the military that is taking an increasingly hard line against the US, demanding the removal of all American military forces and CIA agents. Reports indicate that the military has also refused offers of joint operations by the two countries to kill ‘high-value’ militants.

As troubling as the fracture in the relationship is, what is even more disturbing is further evidence of possible Pakistani duplicity in the war against militancy. A few weeks ago, the CIA provided Pakistan with satellite imagery of two bomb-making facilities in North Waziristan that were supplying weaponry to the Afghan Taliban. When the Pakistan Army invaded the facility, it turned out that all the militants had mysteriously vanished. The CIA believes that the militants were tipped off by elements in the military. Although the proof may be circumstantial, it does deepen the mistrust between the two sides and will lead to greater pressure on Pakistan to launch a massive operation in North Waziristan.

Before relations with the US, who it should not be forgotten provide us the aid that keeps us financially afloat, deteriorate any further, the army has to decide whose side it’s on. It can no longer make distinctions between the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani Taliban, fighting the latter while ignoring the presence of the former. In protesting our violating sovereignty, we never seem to notice that the Afghan Taliban are also operating with impunity in a foreign country. It is their disregard for our sovereignty that we need to fight.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Compromised intelligence: Tip-off suspected in Waziristan evacuations</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/186874/us-intelligence-to-pakistan-compromised-report</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/186874/us-intelligence-to-pakistan-compromised-report#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jun 11 05:06:28 +0500</pubDate>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=186874</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Leon Panetta shares surveillance video with General Kayani and Shuja Pasha.]]>
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				<![CDATA[CIA chief Leon Panetta has shared “evidence of suspected collusion with pro-Afghan Taliban militants in the tribal areas” with Pakistan’s senior military leaders, Time magazine reported on Saturday.


Quoting unnamed sources, Time said Panetta confronted Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general Ahmed Shuja Pasha with the evidence in meetings held late on Friday.

It said that Panetta shared with Kayani and Pasha a 10-minute edited video that shows the militants evacuating two bomb-making factories in Waziristan. One of the factories is based in Miramshah, North Waziristan. The other factory is in South Waziristan. The militants in North Waziristan are believed to belong to groups led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Sirajuddin Haqqani. Both militant leaders have attacked US and Nato troops across the border in Afghanistan. According to the sources, Panetta alleged that the militants were tipped off within 24 hours of the US sharing information on the facilities with the Pakistanis.

When Pakistani troops later arrived at the scene of the two bomb-making facilities, used for the manufacture of improvised explosive devices, the militants were gone. The sources told Time that the CIA believes elements within the “Pakistani security apparatus” had informed the militants that they would be targeted.

The video, say the sources, was made up of satellite images. Those who have seen the video said that it was a “clear” and “explicit” demonstration of the militants leaving the two sites. Before Panetta travelled to Islamabad, the video was shown to congressional leaders, including the US Senate’s committees on intelligence.

The Washington Post said the clearing out of sites prior to the military raid was confirmed by satellite images and a local security official in North Waziristan. One of the sites was located in a girls’ school in the city of Miramshah. The other, in South Waziristan, was thought to be an al Qaeda-run facility, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

US officials say they do not know how the operation was compromised. They are however concerned that either the information was inadvertently leaked
inside Pakistan or insurgents were warned directly by the ISI. Officials said that video of the two installations indicated both were being used to manufacture improvised explosive
devices (IED).

Countering Taliban infiltration

In the wake of a growing pattern of Afghan soldiers and police officers attacking their coalition counterparts, the US military is sending 80 counterintelligence agents to Afghanistan to help stem the threat of Taliban infiltration in the Afghan National Security Forces,The New York Times reported, citing military officials. These intelligence specialists will enhance the vetting of recruits, review profiles of soldiers who are being trained and generally tighten up the procedures to identify individuals who might be vulnerable to extremists’ appeals, officials said. Since March 2009, at least 57 people, including 32 American troops, have been killed in at least 19 attacks in which Afghan service members have turned their weapons on coalition forces.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12th, 2011.]]>
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