Pakistan vows to hunt and extradite Uzbek militants
By Shamil Baigin
TASHKENT (Reuters) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, ending years of chilly relations with Uzbekistan, promised on Sunday to catch and extradite any Uzbek-born terrorist hiding in his country.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov has accused Pakistan of failing to close al-Qaeda camps where Uzbeks were allegedly prepared with other militants to carry out guerrilla acts.
More than 50 people died in a series of suicide bombings and shoot-outs with police in Uzbekistan last year. The authorities blamed the attacks on al-Qaeda trained militants.
"We know that Pakistan in the past and even now has some Uzbek terrorists in its area," Musharraf told a news conference in Tashkent during a two-day official visit to Uzbekistan.
"I have assured the president (Karimov) that Pakistan will not allow the use of its soil by any terrorist from Uzbekistan against your national interests."
Pakistan and Uzbekistan are both members of Washington's anti-terror coalition and support Western military efforts in Afghanistan which the two Muslim nations border.
Pakistan has conducted large-scale military operations in its tribal areas near Afghanistan to destroy guerrilla camps.
Islamic militants have been blamed for several attempts on Musharraf's life and the life of his Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
"We are both victims of terrorism," Musharraf said after signing cooperation treaty on fighting international terrorism.
Karimov's critics say his domestic policies fuel terrorism more than foreign influence. Poverty is rampant and there are thousands of political and religious prisoners in the state of 26 million people.
Did anyone see the latest photos of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi that were posted on Fox over the weekend?
I was taken by the thought of how much they looked like police photos - first the side view, then the frontal view, etc.
It crossed my mind that they have him when I saw the photos.