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President Pervez Musharraf said that a top Al-Qaeda operative arrested in Pakistan was being handed over to the United States which regards him a key ally in war against terrorism.(AFP/HO-PID)

Libbi to be deported to US: Mush

AFP[ THURSDAY, JUNE 02, 2005 07:41:09 AM ]

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday said a top al-Qaida operative arrested in Pakistan was being handed over to the US, which regards the country a key ally in the war against terror.

"We are obviously going to deport him. We have extracted all the information and intelligence from him,"Musharraf said, referring to Abu Faraj al-Libbi, who was arrested earlier this month.

"I presume that he may have been deported already to the United States,"Musharraf told CNN in an interview late on Tuesday, adding that until three days ago al-Libbi was in Pakistan.

Al-Libbi is the alleged mastermind of two attempts on Musharraf's life in December 2003, and a bid to assassinate PM Shaukat Aziz.

Asked why Pakistan was deporting al-Libbi even though he was involved on two assassination attempts on him, Musharraf said there were "bigger issues"involved.

Pakistan: Musharraf Mistaken About Arrests

Thu Jun 2, 7:00 AM ET

"We are obviously going to deport him. We have extracted all the information and intelligence from him,"Musharraf said, referring to Abu Faraj al-Libbi, who was arrested earlier this month.

"I presume that he may have been deported already to the United States,"Musharraf told CNN in an interview late on Tuesday, adding that until three days ago al-Libbi was in Pakistan.

Al-Libbi is the alleged mastermind of two attempts on Musharraf's life in December 2003, and a bid to assassinate PM Shaukat Aziz.

Asked why Pakistan was deporting al-Libbi even though he was involved on two assassination attempts on him, Musharraf said there were "bigger issues"involved.

President calls for greater access to US market

Friday, June 03, 2005

ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musharraf stressed on Thursday the importance of increasing trade and investment links between Pakistan and the United States. He also reiterated the need for the US to provide greater market access to Pakistani products.

Meeting a three-member US Congressional delegation led by Michel Sodrel, and including Representatives Jim Costa and Lincoln Davis, the president was satisfied that Pak-US relations had gained a strategic dimension mutually beneficial to both countries. He praised Congress’s bipartisan support towards a broad-based, long-term relationship between the countries.

Musharraf said that political, economic and defence cooperation had increased over the years. He told the delegation about Pakistan’s role in the campaign against terrorism and added that the country was committed to rooting out terrorism. He elaborated upon his concept of ‘enlightened moderation’, which calls on the West to help address political disputes that give rise to extremism and to assist Islamic countries in promoting economic and social development.

The delegation assured the president of support for a sustainable relationship. They praised Pakistan’s contribution to the campaign against terrorism and agreed that creating economic opportunities would be a critical factor in addressing extremism. The delegation also appreciated the government’s economic and social reforms.

The delegation also underlined Pakistan’s important role in the region and expressed support for efforts to promote regional peace and stability. Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri was also present at the meeting. The delegation is on a three-day visit to Pakistan and was accompanied by US Ambassador Ryan C Crocker during the meeting.

"He's hiding in Pakistan in the northern tribal areas above Peshawar", Schoren claims

Pakistan ISI officials know where’s Bin Laden - Aljazeera

6/2/2005 7:30:00 PM GMT

"He's hiding in Pakistan in the northern tribal areas above Peshawar", Schoren claims

The Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf may not be knowing where would al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden be hiding within Pakistan's territorial limits, but ISI officials are aware about his whereabouts, according to CIA officer Gary Schroen, who spearheaded U.S.' search for Osama in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's tribal regions would explode upon news of the death or capture of Bin Laden, which makes President Musharraf afraid of the internal political consequences of finding Al Qaeda chief that he doesn't even want to know where is he, Schroen said.

"I think the philosophy of the Taliban, this fundamentalist view, is popular there. So Bin Laden, I think, strikes them as heroic. He fought a jihad against the Russians, and he's bloodied America's nose time and again," the CIA veteran said, adding that regardless of how much reward money America offers, "Bin Laden would not be captured and handed in".

Schroen claims that Musharraf wasn’t helping the U.S. forces to seriously crackdown on the Bin Laden. "He's hiding in Pakistan in the northern tribal areas above Peshawar - an area that is rugged, hilly, heavily forested. The U.S. government and the U.S. military are not authorized by the Musharraf government to enter there unilaterally. As long as he stays in place, it is going to be almost impossible to find him," Schroen was quoted by The Daily Times as saying.

Schroen said earlier that he had developed two plans to capture or kill Osama (in 1998 and then a year later), but both were turned down by the CIA.

He said "I can only speculate, but it is based on almost 20 years of dealing with the Pakistani military and ISI officers. I think at some level, probably the colonel level, there are officers probably in ISI who know where Bin Laden is, "A man of that caliber (Bin Laden) could not be hidden out for that many years without word getting out in the community. So, I think some people probably know within ISI and the military." according to the paper.

Yesterday President Pervez Musharraf said that Pakistan is handing over Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the recently captured Al Qaeda suspect to the U.S.

Al Libbi, a Libyan, didn’t provide the Pakistani authorities with any useful information about Osama bin Laden, President Musharraf said.

In Washington, a U.S. State Department spokesman said that the U.S. government is talking to Pakistan about Libbi, but it has not discussed anything about his extradition.

Libbi, was caught in Karachi on 2 May after a gunfight.

He is accused to have attempted to assassinate President Musharraf twice.

Libbi, described as No 3 man in al-Qaeda's network, did not reveal anything that indicated he had contact with Laden, President Musharraf said.

al Qaeda in Iraq declares creation of new cell

Cairo, June 02: A new online posting purportedly by the al-Qaeda group in Iraq has declared the creation of a new cell of suicide bombers and claimed it has already carried out a number of attacks.

``We gladly inform our Sheik Osama Bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi of the formation of al-Bara Bin Malek brigade,'' said a man claiming to be Abu Doujana al-Ansari, the head of the new group.

It wasn't possible to verify the authenticity of the four-minute-audio tape, which appeared on Tuesday on an Islamic web site known as a clearing house for al-Qaeda-linked material.

Al-Ansari said that the cell came in response to bin Laden's call to attack US troops in Iraq. According to the message, Bin Laden urged insurgents to ``terrorize the crusaders and their followers by striking their castles and destroying their spirits through suicidal attacks.''

The cell had launched a series of suicide attacks in Iraq, the man said.

Bureau Report