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| India-Pakistan | ||
| Pakistan takes issue with Negroponte over al Qaeda | ||
| 2007-01-12 | ||
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Friday the United States had not given it any information about the presence of al Qaeda leaders, following remarks from U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte that they were holed up in Pakistan. "We have no such information nor has any such thing been communicated to us by any U.S. authority," Pakistan's military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan told Reuters.
In a testimony to a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Negroponte wrote, without naming bin Laden or Zawahri, that al Qaeda leaders are holed up in a secure hide-out in Pakistan. He said they were rebuilding a network that has been decimated by the capture or killing of hundreds of al Qaeda members since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Pakistan's foreign ministry issued a response to Negroponte's comments, saying he should have mentioned that successes against al Qaeda were made possible by Pakistan and the focus should "remain on cooperation instead of questionable criticism". It also contradicted Negroponte's assertion that al Qaeda operatives elsewhere were being controlled from Pakistan. "In breaking the back of al Qaeda, Pakistan has done more than any other country in the world," spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said. Many security analysts suspect that bin Laden is likely to be hiding in Pakistan's A half-dozen audio tapes of bin Laden were circulated in the first half of 2006, but the al Qaeda leader last appeared in video tape in late 2004. Subsequent tapes released were identified as old footage.
In January last year CIA-operated drone aircraft carried out a missile strike on Pakistan's Bajaur tribal region based on information that Zawahri might be there. The strike on Damadola village did not kill Zawahri, though it possibly eliminated a handful of al Qaeda militants. It killed 18 villagers. Analysts say Pakistan's denials that it was informed of the strike beforehand were aimed at off-setting domestic criticism of its alliance with the United States. Last October, around 80 men, some of them young boys, were killed in a missile attack on a madrasa in Bajaur, though this time the Pakistan military said it carried out the operation. In his testimony, Negroponte acknowledged Pakistan's efforts in the fight against terrorism but said it was also a "major source of Islamic extremism". He also noted President Pervez Musharraf was aware of the risk of sparking a revolt among ethnic Pashtuns living in the tribal belt straddling the border, as well as the political risks of a backlash from Islamist political parties, especially as national elections are due in Pakistan this year. | ||
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 The ISI is military |
| Posted by: john 2007-01-12 20:15 |
| #3 Pakistan's military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan told Reuters. Why ask the military? They're not the ones running the jihadis. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2007-01-12 11:12 |
| #2 In breaking the back of al Qaeda, Pakistan has done more than any other country in the world," spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said. Thats because of all the leadership are in your backyard shield by the ISI!!!! |
| Posted by: Ebbolump Glomotle9608 2007-01-12 09:28 |
| #1 "We have no such information <S>and further more we don't want any!" Pakistan's military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan told Reuters. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-01-12 08:48 |