Posted on 09/04/2002 2:27:14 PM PDT by knighthawk
KARACHI: Angry or frustrated officials in the Administration of Pakistan's staunchly pro-American military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, last week decided to strike back. Secretly they leaked highly confidential documents sent by the United States Government to Islamabad, containing all the details of the full range of counter terrorism measures being undertaken by the two governments.
The leak to the media of a five-page Non-Paper was apparently aimed at embarrassing General Musharraf as he prepared for his visit to the US in a week's time where he will meet President Bush and other senior US leaders during the UN General Assembly sessions. Releasing such sensitive papers to the media, specially involving Pak-US relations, also indicated the extent to which some officials were feeling betrayed by Musharraf's policies.
The leaks also raised a major security question for the Musharraf Government as well as the US Administration: How secure were their communication channels and what else going on between the two governments could be leaked in a similar manner, causing some serious embarrassment or even damage to their joint war against terror in Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
"A Non-Paper in diplomatic terminology is the text of language agreed between two sides in formal meetings and the informal minutes which are exchanged to firm up positions and keep track of the specific issues to be discussed in specialized group sessions," a former diplomat explained to SA Tribune.
A copy of the Non-Paper obtained by 'South Asia Tribune', in Karachi revealed that Pakistan's Interior Minister, Moinuddin Haider, was soon to travel to Washington to discuss these detailed counter-terrorism plans under the aegis of the US-Pak Counter Terrorism (CT)-Law Enforcement Joint Working Group (JWP). All government file markings and entries on these papers had apparently been erased to protect the sources.
No date for the meeting of the CT-Law Enforcement JWG has yet been announced but the Non-Paper had a covering letter sent to a Karachi Department seeking comments latest by August 15, 2002.
The Non-Paper deals with the steps which had been agreed to be taken by the two governments in various fields, starting with spending US$ 3 million by the US Government on upgrading and training of Karachi Central Intelligence Department (CID) and providing $47 million for passport reforms including centralization of issuance and providing machine readable passports.
According to the document there are 16 items listed under the head: "Action Item for the USG" and another 14 as "Action Item for the GOP". It mentions the following broad subjects which will be covered during the visit of Interior Minister Moinddin Haider to Washington.
The main subjects to be covered include the issue of Pakistani nationals in US Custody, exchange of information to investigate and prosecute organizations of smugglers, exploring ways on how US officials could work together with the Pakistanis "more proactively" to deter and detect smuggling through airports, controlling alien smuggling and border security, besides others.
The Non-Paper also refers to deployment of US money laundering experts in Pakistan, if Islamabad so desired and 100 per cent deployment of picture identification systems at Karachi and other Pakistani airports.
"The range of cooperation between the US and Pakistan law enforcement authorities is so wide that almost at every security point, US presence would become inevitable, either in the form of physical troops or machines, cameras or spying equipment relaying images and data to US officials sitting close by somewhere," a Karachi journalist who read the US Non-Paper commented to SA Tribune. Click here to View:
Other subjects to be covered by the Pak-US JWG will include Pakistan Government's "need to increase judicial attention paid to internal anti-corruption efforts, lack of efficiency, timeliness and accountability of the judiciary."
The Non-Paper says the USG will provide an authenticated copy of the US Senate Governmental Affairs Sub-Committee on Investigations Minority Report on Money Laundering, prepared in 1999, in which the Citibank client and husband of Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari was presented as a "case history" by the Citibank before the Sub-Committee.
The interesting aspect of this report is that while Pakistan's Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz was also a witness in this Sub-Committee and testified in writing, he never provided or facilitated provision of a certified copy to the Accountability Bureau of the Musharrraf Government, even after three years. That copy has now been requested by the Musharraf Government, the Non-Paper reveals.
One subject mentioned in the Non-Paper relates to training the Karachi intelligence operative to conduct crime investigations on the crime scene professionally. For this the US has proposed giving the investigators small portable brief case sized kits.
The Pakistanis are also seeking US help for broad based police reforms enumerating two main challenges: Investigative techniques (finger print evidence collection and matching capability, ability to intercept communications, and training to fight cyber crime and institutional management.
Improvement of law enforcement help in Pakistan's federally administered Tribal Areas (FATA) where the main anti-Al Qaeda operation is currently focussed, will also be part of the JWG discussion, according to the Non-Paper.
In the South-western Balochistan Province, the Scouts scouts will set up 30 new border posts to help combat drug smuggling and terrorist activity along the western border. The two governments will consult in the area of alien smuggling and points of contact were named in the Non-Paper. The GOP mentioned the need for building its coast guard capacity.
A key area of cooperation is the exchange of wanted persons by the two governments. GOP will bring to trial four fugitives wanted in US for Panam 73 Jet crash, it says. GOP will look into extradition of 6 persons wanted by the US: Nasir Ali Khan, Mohammed Cheema, Abdus Sattar Khan, Mohammed Ashraf, Syed Ali, Mohammed Rafiq Khan and Omar Malik. It is not mentioned why these six persons are wanted by the US authorities.
GOP will also advise regarding the disposition of 1994 appeal of Tariq Jamil and provide additional information for extradition of Mir Kazim Shah while expediting extradition to US of Mohammed Haris Hasan. In which case he is wanted is not clear.
Pakistan, on the other hand has been promised that the former PPP Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Abdullah Shah, wanted by the Musharraf Government, will be extradited if he was still found in the US. "Revised requests will be sent for Abdullah Shah and Munawar and US will finalise requests and undertake proceedings if these fugitives are located in US," the Non-Paper says.
On another issue, the document reveals that the US had rejected a request by Pakistan's Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), saying "it cannot provide dedicated helicopter support." But an agreement for a $73 million Border Security Project is being finalized.
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