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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Al-Qaeda's hudna with Pakistan at an end |
| 2005-05-11 |
| A more than six-month truce between the military government of Pakistan and al-Qaeda - negotiated by militant groups - has been shattered with the arrest of Abu Faraj al-Libbi of al-Qaeda and country-wide crackdowns on militant groups. Following Abu Faraj's apprehension last week in connection with two assassination attempts against Musharraf in 2003, the government placed the country on high security alert. Generally, such alerts remain in place for three to four days, but it is still in place, and is likely to remain so in the foreseeable future as military and security installations, important personalities and airports are considered at risk. Asia Times Online has learned that Musharraf's administration secretly secured a deal with al-Qaeda after a series of attacks from the tribal belt of North West Frontier Province to the southern port city of Karachi rattled the country last year. Al-Qaeda has also openly called for the overthrow of Musharraf. The government had launched an unpopular intensive military operation in South Waziristan to root out al-Qaeda and foreign operators, resulting in the death of several hundred soldiers - the operation was bitterly opposed by local tribespeople. The initiative also resulted in a strong backlash within the army. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 Names associated with these cells include Asif Zardari, the husband of the chairperson of the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Benazir Bhutto Saying Zardari is working with Jihadi terror cells is a pretty bold claim. |
| Posted by: Paul Moloney 2005-05-11 03:57 |