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Malik ‘98% sure’ Kashmiri is dead
'All ground intelligence shows that he is dead,' says Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
'All ground intelligence shows that he is dead,' says Interior Minister Rehman Malik. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Sunday that although he had no physical proof, he was “98 per cent sure” that senior al Qaeda operative Ilyas Kashmiri was killed in a US drone strike in South Waziristan.
US officials in Washington were sceptical over reports that Kashmiri was dead.
Kashmiri, who was chief of the so-called ‘313 Brigade’ of Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJI) militant group, was killed in a missile strike by a CIA-operated pilot-less aircraft in the Karikot area of South Waziristan on Friday.
A US National Security official said he could not confirm that he had been killed and another US official said it was doubtful.
“All ground intelligence shows that he is dead. What I can say is there is a 98 per cent chance he is dead,” Malik told Reuters.
“Since we do not have the body, we do not have DNA we need to confirm. This is the substantive evidence we are looking for,” he added.
Separately, speaking to the media in Quetta, Malik ruled out the existence of the ‘Quetta Shura’ which is said to be operating out of Quetta. Malik said as many as 30 sites were raided on secret information but there was no evidence that the Shura existed. “[Elements] who claim that Quetta Shura exists must provide evidence or information to government,” he said.
The minister also insisted that “foreign hands” were involved in creating the law and order situation in Balochistan.
Asked to explain the deaths of 700 people in incidents of targeted killings and the recovery of 200 bullet-riddled bodies of Baloch missing persons, Malik said that ‘anti-social elements’ were involved in the killings and dumping of the bodies.
He also claimed that as of now, there were only 38 people missing and efforts were being made to trace them.
(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHEHZAD BALOCH IN QUETTA)
Published in The Express Tribune, June 6th, 2011.
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Oh man, this guy is jokes.Recommend
How did rehman malik calculated 98% surity ? He never fails to amuse meRecommend
Why not cent per cent??? the only face we see on TV quite often is Mr. Rehman Malik. He seems to be only man working in Pakistan Pathetic Party.Recommend
I would love to know Rehman Malik quantified this scenario to be “98% sure”.
The PPP Government of 2008-13 will definitely go down as the worst example of a cobbled up cabinet with some of the worst choices for Ministers in charge of important portfolios.
Rehman Malik will definitely top the list as the worst Interior Minister of all time with his ridiculous press conferences, statements, conduct, and deflecting many important issues with lame conspiracy b.s. and fabricated lies. How can such a man retain these posts after so much nonsense shows how utterly helpless this government will be.
Sheer incompetence and genuine panic for a government in power in such a testing time facing Fauji blunders leading to terror everywhere, useless bickering with PML-N, MQM, ANP, PTI and what not, and of course making Pres. Zardari face the brunt of this.
That being said, I am pretty sure any other party in power would face the same problems and blunders to deal with!Recommend
Rambo is always right.Recommend
How does Rehman Malik come up with the number 98%?? Its beyond my comprehension!!!! Why not just state that “we are confident of him….” Who are the 2% who think that Kashmiri is still around?? But wait. Maybe its an eastern thing?? Maybe its PPP’s cultural thing???Recommend
How did this genius calculate this percentage?Recommend
Ground intelligence!!!!!! What about Star WarsRecommend
I really like Rehman Malik & his statements. He appears honest unlike Qureshi!Recommend
Guys, he’s only trying to give credence to the view that Kashmiri might still not be dead :) If you think about it, its a little too good to be true that the Americans ask for the guy one week and he’s dead the next! fishy fishy!Recommend
I am 98.99999999999% sure that he is 100% unsure what he is sure about!Recommend
It is really ironic that all the high value terrorists inside pakistan are killed by americans and pakistanis just confirm it. Is it incompetence of their military/intelligence or they are complicit with them.Recommend
Oh my god!!! Looks like all the jokers that god created, end up in Pakistani parliament.
98%?!!! LOL By the way, is Rehman Malik a math major?Recommend
Ok Mr Rehman Malik , thanks for your input. The Great malik has indeed calculated the probability well….so nice of him to round it off to 98, i was expecting 98.4329 from him, but yeah good riddance nice old informing us always fellow.
He’s 98% sure because of the intelligence extracted from the ‘millat-e-journalism’ journalist Late Syed Saleem Shehzad (May ALLAH have mercy on him) . That 2% made him loose his life.Recommend
i am 74.698 percent sure he is dead!!!Recommend
According to RM still 2% chances that he is alive..send another drone to finish 2% chances..Recommend
what about the 2% left !! What does it mean ??Recommend
Sadiq hoon apnay qaul ka Ghalib, Khuda gawah.
Kehta hoon such, ke jhoot ki aadat nahin mujhay.Recommend
Malik is a mathemetical genius who is capable of assigning probabilictic percentages to everything in life.Recommend
The 2% left is all that is required for hime to be alive.Recommend
2% chance he is in ISI safe house?Recommend
just look at his face, only 2% will tell you the complete story!Recommend
@Salah Baloch:
It means he’s the most useless person I knowRecommend
Why make idiotic, off-the-cuff statements? Can’t he simply say to the best of our information this man is dead. Must he quantify it with such precision? And what is that precision based upon?Recommend
Like most of us Mr Malik never actually knows anything.
Its rhetoric and bluffing that gets us thru everything.Including exams, which is why even when have degrees coming out of our behinds we still never actually know much.Recommend
MR.Zulfiqar mirza deserves the seat of interior minister instead of Rehman Malik .PPP don’t want to see sincere people sitting in the govt.The bomb blast rate decreased in Karachi during Zulfiqar mirza tenure , the security was much better.Ab to haftay main do bomb blast hotay hain.Recommend
i think he applied the cgpa conversation to % conversion. damn he is good in calculationsRecommend
For people to buy the theory that the Army gave intelligence about Kashmiri to the US forces that fired Hellfire missiles from drones and took him out, would be very naive. Kashmiri is a former SSG commando who has collaborated with ISI on many projects. The best way to confirm the effects of any drone strike would be for the Army to fly in commandos in helicopters after a strike and seal and sanitize the area. That way who died and who escaped will be clear. How can the Taliban be allowed to go in later and clean up the area ? May be the current modus operandi suits all fine. Taliban can claim civilians died, Americans can claim terrorists died and Army can continue with its ambiguous and ill fated strategies. The continuation of double games from all sides means more Pakistani lives will be sacrificed as collateral damage to dubious policies.Recommend
and i am 98% certain he has no clue what he is talking aboutRecommend