https://freerepublic.com/tag/by:saberwielder/ en-us Sun, 10 Feb 2008 05:32:15 GMT Focus Forum 15 https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1967933/posts Pakistan military strikes ceasefire deal with Taliban U.S. Caught Off-GuardPeter Goodspeed,  National Post Desperate for a violence-free election on Feb. 18, the Pakistan military has orchestrated a ceasefire with the very Taliban leader they accused of ordering the assassination of Benazir Bhutto....The latest ceasefire could not come at a more embarrassing time for Washington-- the day the Taliban announced the deal, U.S. officials were publicly praising Pakistan for taking a fiercer stand against Islamist radicals.On Wednesday, Mike McConnell, U.S. director of national intelligence, told a Senate committee on Intelligence, "What's happened is Pakistan has now recognized that this is an existential... National Post (Canada) https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1967933/posts#comment Sun, 10 Feb 2008 05:32:15 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1878050/posts Several government and opposition members severely criticised the US policy in the National Assembly on Tuesday and called for a complete review and overhaul of Pakistan’s foreign policy, with the parliamentary secretary for defence going one step further, stressing the need for announcing ‘jihad’ against India and the US.“Recognising Taliban and launching a jihad is the only way to take revenge,” said Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Maj (retd) Tanveer Hussain Syed while taking part in the debate on the foreign policy “with particular reference to recent statements of some US presidential candidates, US civil nuclear treaty with India, threat of... Dawn https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1878050/posts#comment Wed, 8 Aug 2007 12:50:08 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1836525/posts The White House would not directly answer the question of why Pakistan is being paid the same very large amount after publicly declaring that it is significantly cutting back on its patrols in the most important border area. ... “They send us a bill, and we just pay it,” said a senior military official who has dealt extensively with General Musharraf. “Nobody can really explain what we are getting for this money or even where it’s going.” ... Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO supreme commander, said that when American or NATO forces saw Taliban fighters crossing the border... NY Times https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1836525/posts#comment Sun, 20 May 2007 01:11:10 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1802922/posts Pakistan signs its third “peace deal” with the Taliban in the tribal agencies The much anticipated Bajaur Accord – a peace agreement purportedly with the local tribal leaders of the Mamoond tribe and the government - has been signed in Pakistan's lawless tribal agency. The details of the agreement are not yet available, however the Daily Times has described it as “a step towards a North Waziristan-like peace accord. Bajaur Agency.” Pakistan conveniently finished negotiations as international attention is on the crisis over the removal of Pakistan's chief justice The Fourth Rail https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1802922/posts#comment Sun, 18 Mar 2007 21:27:12 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1795968/posts Some in NWFP say the Pakistani military establishment has deliberately allowed the Taleban to expand their area of influence. ... And in the Waziristans, it seems, the military are often not prepared to take on the militants. One Taleban fighter in Miranshah in North Waziristan told the BBC that Taleban fighters crossing over into Afghanistan often take a rest at border posts manned by the army and the Frontier Corps. BBC https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1795968/posts#comment Tue, 6 Mar 2007 12:52:49 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1794274/posts When Dick Cheney Talks, Pakistan ListensMarch 02, 2007 12:43 PMBrian Ross and Habibullah Khan Report:Pakistan intelligence sources say a second high-ranking Taliban leader has been taken into custody, as the country appeared to be responding to Vice President Dick Cheney's showdown meeting with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Pakistani officials told ABC News the new arrest also took place in Quetta, where on Monday, the former Taliban defense minister was arrested just hours after Cheney had left the country.Pakistani officials identified him as Amir Khan Haqqani, a Taliban commander for Zabul province."Isn't it amazing how quickly they were able to find... ABC News https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1794274/posts#comment Fri, 2 Mar 2007 23:40:13 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1631673/posts U.S. intelligence agencies suspect Syria was offered and received nuclear weapons technology from the covert Pakistani supplier group headed by A.Q. Khan, according to an intelligence report. An annual report to Congress on arms proliferation states that Pakistani investigators have confirmed reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency that the Khan network "offered nuclear technology and hardware to Syria." "We are concerned that expertise or technology could have been transferred," said the intelligence report, which is the first time the Bush administration has publicly linked Syria to Khan. The Washington Times https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1631673/posts#comment Sat, 13 May 2006 16:22:20 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1627846/posts Pakistan not doing enough on terrorism, U.S. saysSat May 6, 2006 7:08 PM ISTBy Yousuf AzimyKABUL (Reuters) - Pakistan is not doing enough to help root out Taliban and al Qaeda leaders who have found safe haven in its lawless tribal lands along the Afghan border, a senior U.S. security official said on Saturday.Most al Qaeda and Taliban leaders are in Pakistan, and while the United States did not know where Osama bin Laden was hiding, he was probably on the Pakistan side of the border, said Henry Crumpton, State Department coordinator for counterterrorism.Pakistan, a vital U.S. security ally, has... Reuters https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1627846/posts#comment Sat, 6 May 2006 15:18:51 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1605093/posts Saudis, with Pakistani help, working on nuclear programme Tue Mar 28, 5:37 PM ET Saudi Arabia is working secretly on a nuclear programme, with help from Pakistani experts, a German magazine reports in its latest edition, citing Western security sources.The German magazine Cicero says that during the Hajj pilgrimages to Mecca in 2003 through 2005, Pakistani scientists posed as pilgrims to come to Saudi Arabia in aircraft laid on by the oil-rich kingdom.Between October 2004 and January 2005, some of them took the opportunity to "disappear" from their hotel rooms, sometimes for up to three weeks, it quoted German security... Yahoo News https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1605093/posts#comment Wed, 29 Mar 2006 02:46:16 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1590727/posts Where the Taleban Train Quetta serves as training ground and staging post for insurgents on their way to Afghanistan.By Abdullah Shahin in Quetta (ARR No. 205, 3-Mar-06)The turbans in black or white, the long beards and the omnipresent "pirhan-tunbon", the baggy trousers and long shirts that are the traditional Afghan dress, tell me I'm in Afghanistan in the late Nineties, during the Taleban regime. But this is 2006, and I am in Quetta in Pakistan. Quetta, the capital of the Pakistani province of Baluchistan, lies about 200 kilometres southeast of Kandahar, across a porous border. Many of my fellow countrymen... IWPR https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1590727/posts#comment Mon, 6 Mar 2006 05:53:59 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1580714/posts Tolerating Islamist intolerance KPS Gill A great deal has been written on the 'cartoon controversy', but it is far from enough. The current storm of orchestrated violence and intimidatory protests across the world is symbolic of a deep and sustained intolerance among Muslims, and of rising levels of tolerance of Muslim intolerance, that jointly undermine the possibility of freedom in large parts of the world. Crucially, it is precisely this tolerance of intolerance that has allowed vocal and violent radicalised Islamist minorities to silence Muslim majorities and to transform the global image of Islam into the grotesque parody of the... The Pioneer (India) https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1580714/posts#comment Fri, 17 Feb 2006 20:34:33 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562326/posts Message to MusharrafBy Jim HoaglandSunday, January 22, 2006; B07 ...Two limited, carefully planned border attacks in rapid succession would appear to be something more than accidents of opportunity. The escalation by terrorists in Afghanistan has been met with an escalation, still at a low level, in U.S. attacks on Pakistani soil. Musharraf's failure to curb the terrorist forays into Afghanistan after the incursion at Saidgi conceivably led to the attack on Damadola and the death of innocents there.The Bush administration is still improvising in its attempts to "enable and encourage" other countries to join its global strategy of counterterrorism. It... Washington Post https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562326/posts#comment Sat, 21 Jan 2006 19:23:45 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1456497/posts Doublespeak and trans-nationalism Many Muslims, and not just the ulema, seem to have mastered the art of doublespeak. They speak from both sides of the mouth, as it were, depending on the occasion and the audience. The most glaring examples of doublespeak are the issues of peaceful coexistence and freedom of religion. The same people who constantly breathe fire on “heretics” and “infidels” and preach jihad against them also keep telling us that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. Similarly, they cite the Quranic injunction that there is “no compulsion in religion” at the same time as prescribing... Daily Times https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1456497/posts#comment Thu, 4 Aug 2005 01:39:32 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1448266/posts Terrorist camps thriving Operating under new names and with the implicit approval of the Pakistani military, schools that train jihadists are an open secret BY JAMES RUPERTSTAFF CORRESPONDENT July 22, 2005 PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- As President Pervez Musharraf renews his crackdown on Muslim militant factions after this month's terrorist bombings in London, new evidence has emerged that Pakistan has continued to let such groups run military-style camps to train guerrilla fighters. For years, the camps have been only half a secret. "Everybody has known they were there, but no one would officially admit it," said a Pakistani official who was... Newsday https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1448266/posts#comment Fri, 22 Jul 2005 13:04:30 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1448235/posts Open For AdmissionAmir Mir The terrorist training camps are alive and kicking in Pakistan. In fact, they're hiringWhen the July issue of Herald magazine hit the newstands in Pakistan, excitement and dismay swept among those who monitor the menace of terrorism in the country. The cover of the magazine had a headline screaming at the readers: 'Back to the Camp'; the accompanying cover strapline informed: 'Pakistani militants revive their training camps after a year-long break'. Interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao was quick to deny the story. New Delhi's response, however, was the opposite. Foreign minister K. Natwar Singh told an... Outlook https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1448235/posts#comment Fri, 22 Jul 2005 12:25:34 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1444776/posts Terrorism links find Pakistan again in eye of stormBy Imtiaz Gul Jul 17, 2005, 15:03 GMT Islamabad - Despite ebullient U.S praise for its anti-terror efforts since becoming a key member of the international coalition against terrorism, Pakistan still finds itself in the eye of the storm for its past links with radical militant groups in the region. This time, the south Asian nation is under renewed focus after British officials investigating the July 7 London bombings revealed one of the suicide bombers, Shehzad Tanweer, had stayed at a religious seminary in Lahore this year. The seminary, known as Markaz-e-Tayyaba,... DPA https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1444776/posts#comment Sun, 17 Jul 2005 15:52:38 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1442720/posts -snip- Suspected ties between last week's London bombings and Pakistani extremist groups are renewing criticism that the Bush administration has failed to effectively dismantle a terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, and that it may have missed signals of possible attacks in the United Kingdom. "If the London bombers really were trained in Pakistan, then it really looks terrible" for the Bush administration, said Evan Kohlmann, a New York terrorist expert and author. "It would call into question" much of its counterterrorism work with Pakistan. U.S. officials confirmed last week that they had received significant intelligence suggesting al Qaeda was targeting mass-transit... The Wall Street Journal https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1442720/posts#comment Thu, 14 Jul 2005 14:24:14 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1440561/posts President Pervez Musharraf's army has captured 500 Al Qaeda militants and handed them over to the United States, and has lost more than 500 soldiers fighting Al Qaeda in the rugged tribal areas. But the reality is that Musharraf has little incentive to catch bin Laden - and it may even be in the military's interest to keep him alive, without necessarily knowing where he is. ... So turning a blind eye to bin Laden's whereabouts and to Taliban recruitment inside Pakistan gives the army leverage over both Washington and Kabul. That leverage was evident during last year's presidential elections... International Herald Tribune https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1440561/posts#comment Mon, 11 Jul 2005 16:41:39 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1437792/posts Stung in an Afghan 'hornets' nest'   Andrew North BBC News at US Camp Tillman, Afghan-Pakistan border   A routine mission for a small unit of US troops based here turned into a fight for their lives when they came up against a group of suspected Taleban militants along the border with Pakistan. ... ...A-10 aircraft arrived. But the soldiers say the pilots were not permitted to open fire with their machine gun, or drop any ordnance because the militants were in Pakistani territory. "That just totally frustrates all of us," says Sgt Coca. "It's easy for the enemy to... BBC https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1437792/posts#comment Wed, 6 Jul 2005 19:47:01 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1431797/posts There are wheels within wheels  Anis (in Dari and Pashto)    06/23/2005   Kabul , Afghanistan   At a recent interview with Aina TV, the US ambassador and special envoy to Afghanistan, Dr Zalmay Khalilzad criticized the Pakistani authorities for not doing enough to arrest the leaders of the Taliban and Al-Qa'idah.  If we have a look at and study the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, we will clearly see that Pakistani politicians, particularly the officials in Islamabad , speak so brazenly and undiplomatically that it is unprecedented in the whole world.   Every country has its own policy and diplomacy and sometimes it... Anis (Afghanistan Government Daily) https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1431797/posts#comment Mon, 27 Jun 2005 20:48:25 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1430938/posts ...According to sources familiar with the intelligence community discussion on this issue, there is mounting evidence that the Pakistani military -- and its intelligence wing, the ISI -- is nurturing its deep ties to Islamist extremists, including those who are sheltering the Al-Qaida leadership and leaders of the Afghan Taliban. ... The administration shoveled in economic and military aid while soft-pedaling Musharraf's miserable record on democracy and human rights. But it is increasingly difficult to cover up evidence that Musharraf is no longer delivering his side of the bargain.Consider just these few recent events:• On June 5, the FBI arrested a... Mercury News https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1430938/posts#comment Sun, 26 Jun 2005 13:49:47 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1425162/posts Commentary: Al-Qaida camp in Pakistan? By Arnaud de BorchgraveUPI Editor at LargeJun. 17, 2005 at 1:39PM Washington, Jun. 17 (UPI) — No sooner did the FBI arrest two Pakistani-Americans, father and son, in Lodi, Calif., and allege the young man, Hamid Hayat, 22, was trained at an al-Qaeda terrorist training camp near Rawalpindi, Pakistan, than Islamabad's military regime went into deep denial. How could Osama bin Laden's terrorists operate a training facility near the army's principal garrison town where President Pervez Musharraf has his residence at Army House? The very idea was too ridiculous to be taken seriously.Think again. According... UPI https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1425162/posts#comment Fri, 17 Jun 2005 18:59:35 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1422908/posts The Deceptive Cloak of Musharraf's Enlightened ModerationBy Husain HaqqaniWASHINGTON, June 15: The arrest in California of a Pakistani father and son allegedly linked to terrorism highlights, once again, the superficiality of the Pakistani regime’s rhetoric about changing the country’s direction. So far no evidence has been presented by US officials of the California detainees being linked to Al-Qaeda, except an affidavit by one of the accused admitting to attending a militant training camp near Rawalpindi. It is possible that the Pakistanis arrested in California turn out to be innocent of Al-Qaeda links, joining the ranks of hundreds of Muslims caught... SA Tribune https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1422908/posts#comment Wed, 15 Jun 2005 00:25:29 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1420519/posts Et Tu, Pakistan?... According to court records, 22-year-old Hamid Hayat confessed he spent six months in 2003-04 at an al-Qaida training camp near Rawalpindi, Pakistan, a suburb of capital Islamabad and home to none other than Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a "key" ally in the war who claims to be cracking down on terrorism in his country. ...Rawalpindi happens to be the same place 9-11 mastermind and Pakistani national Khalid Sheikh Mohammed hid after the attack. (As the 9-11 Commission Report concluded, much of the 9-11 plot was hatched from Pakistan.)Pakistan denies hosting any terror training camps, just as... Investor's Business Daily https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1420519/posts#comment Fri, 10 Jun 2005 19:51:52 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1419403/posts Terror case raises fears of sleeper cells By Shaun Waterman UPI Homeland and National Security Editor Washington, DC, Jun. 8 (UPI) -- The arrest of two Pakistani-Americans on charges that they lied to federal agents about undergoing terror training in Pakistan has highlighted the threat posed by "second generation" Islamic militants and the persistent presence of terrorist bases in a country that says it is an ally in the U.S. war on terror. An FBI affidavit says that Hamid Hayat, 22, told agents he had spent six months in 2003-2004 at a camp near Rawalpindi in Pakistan, where he received... UPI https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1419403/posts#comment Thu, 9 Jun 2005 11:20:12 GMT