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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan's ISI is too close to Muslim terrorists: British Report |
| 2006-09-28 |
| A British government-commissioned report allegedly claims that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency had supported Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and aided the Madrid and London bombers. The report has been prepared by the Defence Academy, a Ministry of Defence thinktank. The report, which was leaked to BBC's Newsnight programme, comes when Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Tony Blair. The policy paper is also reported to propose using military links between British and Pakistani armed forces to persuade General Musharraf to step down as leader of the country, accept free elections, withdraw the army from civilian life and dismantle ISI. Reacting angrily to the findings, the Pakistan President told the BBC, "These aspersions against ISI are by vested interests and by those who don't understand ground realities. I don't accept them at all and I reject them fully... Absolutely, 200 per cent, I reject it..." "We don't like anybody advising us to dismantle ISI, least of all the [British] Ministry of Defence." President Musharraf said he would raise the issues with Mr Blair today. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the study in no way represented the views of the Ministry or of the Government. "To represent it as such is deeply irresponsible and the author is furious that his notes have been wilfully misrepresented in this manner," the spokesman said. "Indeed, he suspects that they have been released to the BBC precisely in the hope that they would cause damage to our relations with Pakistan." "Pakistan is a key ally in our efforts to combat international terrorism and her security forces have made considerable sacrifices in tackling Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. We are working closely with Pakistan to tackle the root causes of terrorism and extremism." The leaked British report also "paints a stark picture of failure" on the War on Terror, according to Newsnight, suggesting that the West's fight against extremism was going nowhere with no end in sight. The British report's author, who has a military background and links to MI6, travelled to Pakistan in June with a delegation on a fact-finding visit, the BBC programme stated. He is to have held interviews with the Pakistan army and academics to prepare a report about the Islamic country and the global war on terror. The BBC said it would not name him for security reasons. The report states that ISI is supporting terrorism by secretly backing the coalition of religious parties in Pakistan known as the MNA. "The Army's dual role in combating terrorism and at the same time promoting the MNA, and so indirectly supporting the Taliban through the ISI, is coming under closer and closer international scrutiny," the report said. The British policy of supporting President Musharraf because he provides greater stability is flawed because Pakistan is "on the edge of chaos", the document claimed. It added, "Indirectly Pakistan, through the ISI, has been supporting terrorism and extremism whether in London on 7/7 or in Afghanistan or Iraq. |
| Posted by:john |
| #7 Might that be the case here? The couldn't have taken down the mafia with a bunch of nuns running the FBI . . . . To some degree, yes, gorb. The Islamic terrorist groups largely depend upon familial ties. Due to these (literally) intimate relations, the chances of penetrating such organizations are reduced exponentially. The American mafia's porosity approached that of a sponge compared to the granite edifice of Arab Islamism. What continually assists our side is their endless internecine infighting. These stupid bastards never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity to unite. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-28 23:37 |
| #6 I understand that when the FBI was working to take down the mafia that they were full of people who came from the same groups that the mafia drew from, and the were in many cases had enough associations with the mafia that they understood them and knew their weak points and were thus able to take them down. Might that be the case here? The couldn't have taken down the mafia with a bunch of nuns running the FBI . . . . |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-09-28 23:19 |
| #5 This is the best surprisemeter of all time. How did it not make it up there? It's in the shop. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-28 23:19 |
| #4 This is the best surprisemeter of all time. How did it not make it up there? |
| Posted by: Ol Dirty American 2006-09-28 23:03 |
| #3 In other news it was reported that the sun set in the west today, and is expected to rise in the east; water is wet and Francisco Franco is STILL dead. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-09-28 22:33 |
| #2 the avalanche of truth begins, all the recognition has got to hurt--> the Perv. |
| Posted by: RD 2006-09-28 17:54 |
| #1 Another dazzling government-funded BGO.* * Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-28 17:13 |