(AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - The latest wave of violence in Pakistan is a strategic campaign by militants to destabilise the government, a former senior intelligence official said on Friday.| How can you tell the latest wave from previous waves? They all blend together... |
"This new wave of violence has nothing to do with the lawyer's movement. This seems to be a different mood and strategy," said the former head of Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence counter intelligence, retired Major General Shujaat Ali Khan in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI). "Militants used the violence before elections as well. It appears that they want to make a choking point in a specific situation. They have selected Rawalpindi and Islamabad."
The latest threats from militants emerged at a time as Pakistan conceded to demands for the release of militants. On Thursday, the Pakistani government released 64 militants arrested during a military operation in the Swat Valley.
According to political analysts, the violence suddenly flared up after former Prime Minister and party leader, Nawaz Sharif, called for Musharraf to be accountable for his so-called "crimes" including what is known as the Lal Masjid Massacre, or the Red Mosque Massacre. The Red Mosque Massacre was a bloody conflict between Pakistani security forces and students who barricaded themselves inside the Red Mosque and demanded Sharia law in July 2007. At least 100 people died when security forces stormed the mosque in a bid to end the siege and flush out pro-Taliban militants from the complex.
Retired general Jamshed Gulzar Kiyani then demanded Musharraf's execution for using chemical weapons (phosphorous grenades) during the Lal Masjid operation and supporting the Bush Administration in its War on Terror.
The new wave of terror and political uncertainty sent the Karachi Stock Exchange plunging and the Pakistani rupee slumped to one of its lowest levels against the US dollar.