[Arab News] The killing of the late Osama bin Laden... who is currently taking a long nap in the dirt... urm... water...
in Pakistain has strengthened our resolve to fight the menace of terrorism with renewed vigor, said Pakistain's Interior Minister Rehman Malik
Pak politician, current Interior Minister under the Gilani administration. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. He later joined the Pak Peoples Party and was chief security officer to Bhutto. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Näwaz Shärif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men.
here Sunday.
Al-Qaeda chief Bin Laden was killed in a US military operation in Abbottabad last Monday.
Speaking to Arab News about the much-talked-about failure of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to locate the terror master-mind who supposedly stayed in his Abbottabad hide-out for five years, the minister admitted: "It was an intelligence failure. Sometimes it happens, but I assure our allies that he was not being protected by any government agency."
| Malik ruled out the possibility of anyone, either from the political leadership or from the military top brass, stepping down for the "intelligence failure." |
Malik ruled out the possibility of anyone, either from the political leadership or from the military top brass, stepping down for the "intelligence failure."
"Why would anyone resign? How many people resigned after 9/11 in the US? No heads will roll in Pakistain in the aftermath of Bin Laden's killing in Abbottabad," he said, adding:: "This is not the time for blame game but rather to be introspective, to find out the holes and plug them."
Malik denied reports that ISI chief Shuja Pasha was in the US to meet his counterpart and explain the situation and reassure America about Pakistain's resolve to fight terrorism. "No way. I assure you Shuja Pasha is in Pakistain doing his duty." The minister, however, admitted that there was a trust deficit between the US and Pakistain which sometimes fuels theories.
Taking a swipe at the US, the minister said: "Let me ask those who are blaming us for Bin Laden's presence in our country one simple question: Who created Bin Laden and sent him to fight Russians? We never invited him to Pakistain. He went there with hundreds of other Arab fighters to wage a jihad against Russian forces, and the world knows who supported those jihadists," he added. During the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, the US intelligence agency CIA reportedly supported and funded the jihadists.
Asked about the fate of Bin Laden's family members jugged from the Abbottabad compound, the minister said: "They are in our custody, but I will not reveal their whereabouts and will also not share with the media their exact number."
Asked about the whereabouts of Indian mafia don, a chief suspect in 1992 Mumbai kabooms, Dawood Ibrahim, the minister denied having any information. Asked what would be Pakistain's reaction if India also carried out an operation similar to that of the US on Pak soil to take out Dawood, Malik said: "We will give India a befitting reply."
The minister stated that Pakistain has been a victim of terrorism and not a promoter of it. "We have suffered more than any country due to terrorism. Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed by Al-Qaeda. But due to a sustained fight we have been able to contain it considerably. The incidents of suicide kabooms have come down.
Malik assured Pakistain's allies, the US and Soddy Arabia, as well as other countries, that an extensive investigation has been ordered to know the circumstances that enabled Bin Laden to stay in the country undetected and also to find out about the truth behind Abbottabad's operation.
He said: "Although we were not informed about the operation by the US, it was our input that led Americans to that house who finally tracked down Bin Laden and killed him."
Earlier, addressing students at the Pakistain International School (English Section), Malik emphasized that terrorism could not be defeated by military actions alone. "We need to address the root cause and try to deradicalize our youth by addressing pressing issues and giving them the correct information and opportunities.
Malik called Saudi-Pak relations "rock-solid" and said that both the countries cooperate on various issues of mutual interest.Malik met King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in Riyadh on Saturday. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Chief of General Intelligence Prince Muqrin, Secretary-General of the National Security Council Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, Minister of State and Commander of the National Guard Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah, Adviser to the King, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah and Saudi Ambassador to Pakistain Abdulaziz Al-Ghadeer.
The two sides discussed security-related issues and pledged to stand by each other in times of need. They agreed to continue consulting and coordinating with each other on every major development.
"I also handed over a letter from President Asif Ali
President Ten PercentZardari
... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ...
to King Abdullah and extended an invitation to him to visit Islamabad soon. The king accepted the invitation," Malik said.