‘Al Qaeda under pressure in Afghanistan & Pakistan’

WASHINGTON: Al Qaeda and its allies are under tremendous pressure in Pakistan and Afghanistan, top US official, Robert F Godec said, adding that the global terror network has been weakened elsewhere by popular Muslim disaffection due to its targeting of the community people.

“In key countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan, the group is under serious pressure,” the Principal Deputy Co-coordinator for Terrorism in the State Department said.

“While al Qaeda has had some successes over the years, it has also suffered a number of important setbacks recently,” the US official said. He added that al Qaeda has been weakened by popular Muslim disaffection from its indiscriminate targeting of Muslims in Algeria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, and elsewhere.

“The number of imams, clerics and former militants speaking out against the organisation is increasing. This is a positive and important story,” he said.

There is “growing resolve” in both Afghanistan and Pakistan to “defeat” al Qaeda, he said, adding that, “Pakistani authorities have captured the largest number of al Qaeda and affiliated violent operatives in the world, a demonstration of their commitment to this fight.”

Pakistani military operations have been aimed at eliminating some of the militant strongholds in the Federally Administered Territories, he said.

“Al Qaeda has lost many of its leaders and is finding it more difficult to raise money, train recruits, and plan attacks outside of the region,” said the State Department official.

However, he noted that while al Qaeda is now struggling in some areas, the threat it poses is becoming more widely distributed, more geographically diversified and extremely dangerous.

“The rise of affiliated groups, such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, is a new and important, yet troubling, development,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2010.