NationStates Jolt Archive

Hmmmm (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/bin_laden_gets_.html)
Osama bin Laden, America's most wanted man, will not face capture in Pakistan if he agrees to lead a "peaceful life," Pakistani officials tell ABC News.

The surprising announcement comes as Pakistani army officials announced they were pulling their troops out of the North Waziristan region as part of a "peace deal" with the Taliban.

If he is in Pakistan, bin Laden "would not be taken into custody," Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan told ABC News in a telephone interview, "as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen."

Why are we in Iraq again?

Hmmmm (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/bin_laden_gets_.html)

Why are we in Iraq again?
Blame Jed Clampett? :p

People reading that article should keep in mind Pakistan's loyalties (95% Muslim), when suggesting dropping nukes on Iran?

Dubya wanted to settle a family score with Hussien under the pretext of fighting terrorism and bringing freedom to the Iraqi people.

Well, there it is spanking all around then. (Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and now Saudi Arabia.)

Meh, sometimes you have to be realistic.

At times like this, it's helpful to remember that Pakistan created the Taliban who harbored Osama.

Meh, sometimes you have to be realistic.

What do you mean? Osama needs to be captured and face trial, either by a court our by gun.

Well, there it is spanking all around then. (Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and now Saudi Arabia.)

We should buy their oil instead of attack them. After all, why not just bleed them dry of the one thing they have that's valuable and then finish them off?

What we should have done is eliminated the sanctions on Iraq in exchange for Saddam's destruction of Al-Qaeda elements within his country. He'd get that done, boost oil production, and become an economically powerful leader of a stable, secular Middle Eastern state. Plus, he'd be a willing ally against Iran; he hated Iran a lot more than he hated the US, even after the Gulf War.

"...being like a peaceful citizen."
What does that mean exactly?
It doesn't actually say he has to be a peaceful citizen, just be like one.
Seems to be there's wriggle-room there for him to still keep his old day job of plotting to destroy Western civilisation.

We should buy their oil instead of attack them. After all, why not just bleed them dry of the one thing they have that's valuable and then finish them off?

What we should have done is eliminated the sanctions on Iraq in exchange for Saddam's destruction of Al-Qaeda elements within his country. He'd get that done, boost oil production, and become an economically powerful leader of a stable, secular Middle Eastern state. Plus, he'd be a willing ally against Iran; he hated Iran a lot more than he hated the US, even after the Gulf War.
And supplied him with some more nerve gas to get rid of those pesky Kurds while we were at it.

And supplied him with some more nerve gas to get rid of those pesky Kurds while we were at it.

That's why I'd keep the northern No-Fly-Zone in place and grant self-determination to the Kurds. There's a difference between supporting a dictator for strategic necessity and greenlighting genocide. Plus, the Kurds have a lot of proven and unproven oil reserves, so a democratic, stable and secular state with plenty of oil is even better for us as a counterbalance to Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

What do you mean? Osama needs to be captured and face trial, either by a court our by gun.
He is no threat. Not any longer.

He is no threat. Not any longer.

Because he is no longer a threat he shouldn't be held accountable for his actions?

He is no threat. Not any longer.

He still was the mastermind behind 9/11, and he still need to face charges!

They said they wouldn't capture him, nothing about not killing him in his sleep, it's a trick

He still was the mastermind behind 9/11, and he still need to face charges!he will... after all, if he still orchestrates terror attacks, that is not leading a peaceful life. and he will be nailed down in Afghanistan. once he steps out of that country.... can you say "Fair Game"

They said they wouldn't capture him, nothing about not killing him in his sleep, it's a trickShhhh... if no one realized that with the phrase "as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen"... ;)

a citizen resting in peace *evil chuckle*

This is just a PR campaign by the Pakistanis for the benefit of there own hardliners. I would bet you if they got a hold of em he would somehow end up in American hands. I wouldn't put to much credence into this article.

"...being like a peaceful citizen."
What does that mean exactly?

That means, don't attack us (Pak army) inside Pakistan, and we will turn a blind eye to what you do in Afghanistan.

This is essentially a Pakistani withdrawal from the area, I suppose due to unsustainable losses and the internal pressure from the jihadi faction of the establishment.

Also, they need their troops to quell the brewing rebellion in Baluchistan. Pakistani army killed the Balochi leader Akbar Khan Bugti in an airstrike a few days back, so they claim....and it is disputed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5290966.stm
Bugti, the Sardar or chief of more than 200,000 Bugti tribesmen, was killed along with more than 35 of his followers when the Pakistan Air Force bombed his hideout in the Bambore mountain range in the Marri tribal area.

Pakistani officials say that at least 16 soldiers including four officers were killed after they went in to mop up the remnants of the Baloch guerrilla group. A fierce battle ensued which led to their deaths.

Bugti, a 79-year-old invalid who could not walk due to arthritis, is reported to be buried in the rubble of the cave where he was hiding.

The killing of the 80 year old invalid Baloch leader is predicted to rile up the factional and infighting Balochi tribes (Bugti, Mengal and Marri etc).

http://www.dawn.com/2006/09/04/top2.htm
QUETTA, Sept 3: The Balochistan National Party on Sunday announced that it decided to resign from the National Assembly, Senate and the provincial assembly and all local bodies in protest against the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti and the ‘disgraceful’ burial of his body.

The decision was announced by Sardar Akhtar Mengal, chief of his own faction of the Balochistan National Party, at a joint public meeting held at Manan Chowk here under the aegis of the ARD, PONM and the ANP.


Calls for secession
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.336449366&par=
Quetta, 4 Sept. (AKI) - (by Syed Saleem Shahzad) - The deeply emotional voice of the former Baluchistan chief minister and president of the Baluchistan National Party (BNP), Sardar Akhtar Mengal, resonated around the gathering of tribal and political leaders in the provincial capital, Quetta. "We do not want any relations with Pakistan"; "We will take revenge on all who call themselves citizens of Pakistan"; and "From now on we will destroy each and every Pakistani in Baluchistan". Following the death of tribal leader Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military operation on 26 August, Mengal has begun beating the war drum against Islamabad.

Hmmmm (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/bin_laden_gets_.html)


Why are we in Iraq again?

The Pakistanis aren't all bad. I'm sure there's some good qualities that make it worth keeping them as allies. The fact that I work with two very sexy Pakistani sisters has nothing to do with my views on this subject.

"...being like a peaceful citizen."
What does that mean exactly?
It doesn't actually say he has to be a peaceful citizen, just be like one.
Seems to be there's wriggle-room there for him to still keep his old day job of plotting to destroy Western civilisation.

There's a bit of the old "as long as he isn't fucking with us...." implicit in that statement, isn't there?

And supplied him with some more nerve gas to get rid of those pesky Kurds while we were at it.Well, it's not as though the U.S. gives a shit about the Kurds anyway, judging from past actions.

Why are we in Iraq again?

Because the previous Iraqi regime had weapons of mass destruction. Duh.

Just one more success in the "War" on "Terror".

We've managed to convince the world of our own incompetance, spark tribal disputes throughout the Middle East, and turn Iran into the most powerful state in the Middle East. Why didn't we just send Osama an H-bomb with a manual for use? It would have been a faster and cheaper way to fuck up royally.

This would never have been a problem if we had made a real effort to catch Osama in the first few months of the invasion of Afghanistan. Instead we let him linger, and didn't carry out attacks well enough.

I guess he made a good target for demonizing.

Because the previous Iraqi regime had weapons of mass destruction. Duh.

And mushroom-cloud shaped smoking guns!
And enriched uranium!
And nerve gas!
And, uh,... other.... bad...., uh, ...stuff.
And only 45 minutes from launch!

OMG
!!!

Help!help!help!help!

Update: The Pakistani Army spokesman must've gotten an ass-chewing (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14691680/):
The top Pakistani army spokesman on Wednesday vehemently denied saying in a news report that saying Osama bin Laden would not be taken into custody if he agreed to live peacefully in Pakistan....

The recorded comments of Sultan were included in the report, but it was not immediately clear whether he understood that bin Laden was the specific subject of discussion at that point in the interview.

Sultan told the AP by telephone early Wednesday that "what they are saying on Osama is absolutely fabricated."

"Pakistan is committed to its policy on the war on terror and Osama, caught anywhere in Pakistan, would be brought to justice," he said.

Asked for a response to Sultan's denial, Jeffrey Schneider, senior vice president of ABC News, told the AP by telephone on Wednesday, "We simply played his comments as we recorded them."

I guess this guy is inserting foot in mouth about now. Good to see other military figures of nations other than the US screw up too. Seems you hear only about our(US) mistakes all the time.

I guess this guy is inserting foot in mouth about now. Good to see other military figures of nations other than the US screw up too. Seems you hear only about our(US) mistakes all the time.

Well, we're the biggest dog out there, and our mistakes tend to be massive ones. It's only right they get the most attention.

Well, we're the biggest dog out there, and our mistakes tend to be massive ones. It's only right they get the most attention.

We get more than our share of attention. I would move to say we change our(US) flag to a big red Target.

Update: The Pakistani Army spokesman must've gotten an ass-chewing (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14691680/):

But for what? Letting the secret out, or saying the wrong thing?

This is pretty much what I expect from the Paks, anyway. They're about as corrupt as is possible. I don't think there is any real advantage for them to doggedly pursue bin Laden.

But for what? Letting the secret out, or saying the wrong thing?

This is pretty much what I expect from the Paks, anyway. They're about as corrupt as is possible. I don't think there is any real advantage for them to doggedly pursue bin Laden.

My guess? The timing more than anything else. I mean, the right-wing noise machine has gotten the public all primed to glorify Bush and blame Clinton with this "docu-drama" about 9/11 and then this Pakistani Army spokesman lets loose with a statement that they'll let him go if they find him. If that sort of story gets out, it'll nullify the propaganda, at least in part.

My guess? The timing more than anything else. I mean, the right-wing noise machine has gotten the public all primed to glorify Bush and blame Clinton with this "docu-drama" about 9/11 and then this Pakistani Army spokesman lets loose with a statement that they'll let him go if they find him. If that sort of story gets out, it'll nullify the propaganda, at least in part.
I suspect that the actual statement was meant to be more along the lines of 'if he behaves himself, he blends in and we can't capture him.' Apply the proper Pak-to-English translation and accent it and you have something that probably sounded more like 'if he behaves, we leave him alone.'

I don't think we're good enough friends with the Paks to motivate the kind of loyalty that would support the assumption that you've made. It would be a good assumption if one of our Joint Chiefs, or higher ranking officers had made that statement, though. Then you'd have had another 'reason' for this irrational hatred of Rumsfield and Bush.

I guess this guy is inserting foot in mouth about now. Good to see other military figures of nations other than the US screw up too. Seems you hear only about our(US) mistakes all the time.

That's because you guys (the US) make mistakes all the time.

No offense, just stating the facts...

This really isn't a surprise. I'm surprised that Bush managed to get Pakistan as an "ally" to begin with. And despite what Bush wants us to think, it is not as if that country is an actual democracy either.

This is just a PR campaign by the Pakistanis for the benefit of there own hardliners. I would bet you if they got a hold of em he would somehow end up in American hands. I wouldn't put to much credence into this article.
Probably true. We're talking about the same Pakistanis who sold random guys to the Americans to lock in Guantanamo.

Update: The Pakistani Army spokesman must've gotten an ass-chewing (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14691680/):

..
The top Pakistani army spokesman on Wednesday vehemently denied saying in a news report that saying Osama bin Laden would not be taken into custody if he agreed to live peacefully in Pakistan....

The transcript shows that he indeed said that.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5320116.stm
Transcript

ABC News is carrying carried a transcript of part of the interview, in which Gen Sultan appears to contradict himself, on its website:

Q. ABC News: If Bin Laden or [Ayman al-] Zawahri were there, they could stay?

A. Gen Sultan: No-one of that kind can stay. If someone is there he will have to surrender, he will have to live like a good citizen, his whereabouts, exit travel would be known to the authorities.

Q. ABC News: So, he wouldn't be taken into custody? He would stay there?

A. Gen Sultan: No, as long as one is staying like a peaceful citizen, one would not be taken into custody. One has to stay like a peaceful citizen and not allowed to participate in any kind of terrorist activity.

Maj-Gen Sultan's latest comments were followed up by a statement from the Pakistani embassy in Washington.

It said he had been "grossly misquoted" and that Pakistan was as committed as ever to apprehending Bin Laden.

"If he is in Pakistan, today or any time later, he will be taken into custody and brought to justice."

My explanation is that he said what he believed and then when the issue got publicised, he is now backpedalling.

Well, we're the biggest dog out there, and our mistakes tend to be massive ones. It's only right they get the most attention.

I don't think it's just our size that makes our mistakes more newsworthy. It's also that our administration is much more arrogant and far more stupid than in most other countries.

Details of the arrangement. This is total capitulation.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/09/06/top2.htm
Waziristan accord signed

By Pazir Gul


MIRAMSHAH, Sept 5: Militants in the restive North Waziristan tribal region on Tuesday signed a peace agreement, pledging to halt cross-border movement and stop attacks on government installations and security forces.

“There shall be no cross-border movement for militant activity in neighbouring Afghanistan,” read a clause of the three-page agreement signed by seven militants on behalf of the Taliban shura (advisory council).

On its part, the government pledged not to undertake any ground or air operation against the militants and resolve the issue through local customs and traditions.

Political Agent of North Waziristan Dr Fakhr-i-Alam signed the agreement on behalf of the government. Maj-Gen Azhar Ali Shah oversaw the signing and later embraced the militants.

The peace deal brokered by a grand tribal jirga will come into force with the relocation of the army from the checkpoints in the region. Tribal Khasadar force and Levy will take over the checkposts.

Sources said that army had almost vacated all the checkpoints in the tribal region and moved to camps and Touchi Scout Fort in Miramshah.

The ceremony held in the football ground of the Government Degree College was witnessed by about 500 elders, parliamentarians and officials.

The agreement contains 16 clauses and four sub-clauses.

Militant commanders Maulana Gul Behadur and Maulvi Sadiq Noor did not attend the ceremony and their representatives signed the document on their behalf.

Maulvi Nek Zaman MNA read out the agreement after which the militants and military officials hugged each other and exchanged greetings. The venue was heavily guarded by armed Taliban and journalists were not allowed to shoot or film the event.

The agreement envisages that the foreigners living in North Waziristan will have to leave Pakistan but those who cannot leave will be allowed to live peacefully, respecting the law of the land and the agreement.

Both parties (army and militants) will return each other’s weapons, vehicles and communication tools seized during various operations.

It said that tribal elders, Mujahideen and Utmanzai tribe would ensure that no-one attacked law-enforcement personnel and state property. [clear indication of who is calling the shots there]

“There will be no target killing and no parallel administration in the agency. The writ of the state will prevail in the area”, the agreement said.:confused: [WTF, the state has effectively ceded control...I guess this is one of those feel good words put in there for face saving..]

It said that militants would not enter the settled districts adjacent to the agency.

The agreement said that the government would release prisoners held in military action and would not arrest them again.

Tribesmen’s ‘incentives’ would be restored, it said and bound the administration to resolve disputes in accordance with the local customs and traditions.

It said the government would pay compensation for the loss of life and property of innocent tribesmen during the recent operation. There will be no ban on display of arms. However, tribesmen will not carry heavy weapons.

A 10-member committee — comprising elders, members of political administration and Ulema — has been formed to monitor progress on the agreement and to ensure its implementation.

Governor Ali Mohammad Aurakzai has welcomed the peace agreement as ‘unprecedented in tribal history’ and credited the inter-tribal jirga with amicably resolving a complicated issue within a few weeks.

A spokesman of the militants said that the jirga had assured them that the government would pay them Rs10 million if it failed to hand over the weapons and vehicles it had seized during various military operations.

Abdullah Farhad, in a call from an undisclosed location, said that there were no foreign militants in the region and if there were any, the government should have provided evidence of their presence.

Following on from these articles, there's this one:
Reports by two international think-tanks yesterday highlighted failures of United States and British policy in Afghanistan and warned of the deteriorating security situation.

The Senlis Council claimed that the campaign against the Taleban has inflicted lawlessness, misery and starvation on the Afghan people. Thousands of villagers fleeing the fighting and a continuing drought, as well as farming families who have lost their livelihood because of the eradication of the opium crop, have ended up suffering in makeshift refugee camps.

And the influential International Institute of Strategic Studies said that a vital opportunity was lost when the West failed to carry out adequate reconstruction work after the Taleban retreat in 2001. Christopher Langton, the head of the defence analysis department, also said that attempts to impose secular laws on a tribal Pashtun society, without the establishment of security, had not worked.

Dr John Chipman, director-general and chief executive of the IISS, said the British tactic of moving into remote areas in Helmand has "acted as a catalyst for intensifying insurgency by drawing the Taleban into open combat. However, it is also true the insurgency has a new energy and the Taleban see ... troops from the European member states as an opportunity target. Furthermore the Taleban message that the foreign troops are 'occupiers' resonates loudly in the villages of Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan.

"The counter-narcotics policy [has] caused tensions between local people, the Government and the [Nato] coalition. The removal of the farmers' livelihood programme runs counter to win 'hearts and minds'. The Taleban capitalise on this contradiction by championing the cause of the farmers."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10400130

It doesn't sound too rosy there in Afghanistan at present for the Coalition. In fact it sounds more and more like an abject failure. Opium harvests at record levels, support for Taliban growing, people starving, Pakistan basically giving up and saying "do what you like, just promise not to attack us", villagers starting to turn against the Coalition,...
Ain't looking good at all.

http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HI08Df03.html
Pakistan: Hello al-Qaeda, goodbye America
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

MIRANSHAH, North Waziristan - With a truce between the Pakistani Taliban and Islamabad now in place, the Pakistani government is in effect reverting to its pre-September 11, 2001, position in which it closed its eyes to militant groups allied with al-Qaeda and clearly sided with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

While the truce has generated much attention, a more significant development is an underhand deal between pro-al-Qaeda elements and Pakistan in which key al-Qaeda figures will either not be arrested or those already in custody will be set free. This has the potential to sour Islamabad's relations with Washington beyond the point of no return.

On Tuesday, Pakistan agreed to withdraw its forces from the restive Waziristan tribal areas bordering Afghanistan in return for a pledge from tribal leaders to stop attacks by Pakistani Taliban across the border.

Most reports said that the stumbling block toward signing this truce had been the release of tribals from Pakistani custody. But most tribals had already been released.

The main problem - and one that has been unreported - was to keep Pakistan authorities' hands off members of banned militant organizations connected with al-Qaeda.

Thus, for example, it has now been agreed between militants and Islamabad that Pakistan will not arrest two high-profile men on the "most wanted" list that includes Osama bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

Saud Memon and Ibrahim Choto are the only Pakistanis on this list, and they will be left alone. Saud Memon was the owner of the lot where US journalist Daniel Pearl was tortured, executed and buried in January 2002 in Karachi after being kidnapped by jihadis.

Pakistan has also agreed that many people arrested by law-enforcement agencies in Pakistan will be released from jail.

Importantly, this includes Ghulam Mustafa, who was detained by Pakistani authorities late last year. Mustafa is reckoned as al-Qaeda's chief in Pakistan. (See Al-Qaeda's man who knows too much, Asia Times Online, January 5. As predicted in that article, Mustafa did indeed disappear into a "black hole" and was never formally charged, let alone handed over to the US.)

Asia Times Online contacts expect Mustafa to be released in the next few days. He was once close to bin Laden and has intimate knowledge of al-Qaeda's logistics, its financing and its nexus with the military in Pakistan.

Militants at large
"Now they [Pakistani authorities] have accepted us as true representatives of the mujahideen," Wazir Khan told Asia Times Online at a religious congregation in Miranshah. "Now we are no longer criminals, but part and parcel of every deal. Even the authorities have given tacit approval that they would not have any objections if I and other fellows who were termed as wanted took part in negotiations."

Wazir Khan was once a high-profile go-between for bin Laden and one of his closest Waziristan contacts. He was right up there on the "wanted" list. Now he can move around in the open. "The situation is diametrically changed," he said.

From a personal point of view, things have changed for Wazir Khan and others like him, but in the bigger picture things have also changed diametrically.

Pakistan, the leading light in the United States' "war on terror" and a "most important" non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, is returning to the heady times of before September 11 when it could dabble without restraint in regional affairs, and this at a time when Afghanistan is boiling.

"The post-September 11 situation [in Pakistan] was draconian," a prominent militant told Asia Times Online on condition of anonymity. "All jihadi organizations were informed in advance how they would be [severely] dealt with in the future and that they had better carve out an alternative low-profile strategy. But some people could not stop themselves from unnecessary adventures and created problems for the establishment. This gave the US the chance to intervene in Pakistan, and over 700 al-Qaeda mujahideen were arrested.

"Now the situation changed again ... we know the state of Pakistan is important for the Pakistan army, but certainly we know that the army would never completely compromise on Islam."

The truce between Islamabad and the Pakistani Taliban in Waziristan has been a bitter pill for Washington to swallow, although Pakistan's pledge to allow foreign troops based in Afghanistan hot pursuit into a limited area in Pakistan softens the blow a bit.

Islamabad's overriding concern, though, is to earn some breathing space domestically, as well as get Uncle Sam off its back.

The situation in Waziristan was becoming unmanageable - it's already virtually a separate state - and trouble is ongoing in restive Balochistan province, especially since the killing at the hands of Pakistani security forces of nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti. Fractious opposition political parties have shown rare unity in attacking the government of President General Pervez Musharraf on the issue.

.....

Across Pakistan's border in Afghanistan, the Taliban have control of most of the southwest of the country, from where Mullah Omar is expected soon to announce the revival of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - the name of the country before the Taliban were driven out in 2001. Once the proclamation is made, a big push toward the capital Kabul will begin.

The sounds of jail doors opening in Pakistan will jar with the United States, as will Islamabad adopting a more independent foreign policy and, crucially, aligning itself with the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, which once again could become a Pakistani playground.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com.

All hail the birth of a new country - the Islamic emirate of Waziristan.

Talibanistan: The Establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Waziristan
http://billroggio.com/archives/2006/09/talibanistan_the_est.php
http://billroggio.com/maps/NWFP-Waziristan.gif

http://billroggio.com/archives/2006/09/talibanistan_the_est.php
the terms of the truce includes:

- The Pakistani Army is abandoning its garrisons in North and South Waziristan.
- The Pakistani Military will not operate in North Waziristan, nor will it monitor actions the region.
- Pakistan will turn over weapons and other equipment seized during Pakistani Army operations.
- The Taliban and al-Qaeda have set up a Mujahideen Shura (or council) to administer the agency.
- The truce refers to the region as “The Islamic Emirate of Waziristan.”
- An unknown quantity of money was transferred from Pakistani government coffers to the Taliban. The Pakistani government has essentially paid a tribute or ransom to end the fighting.
- “Foreigners” (a euphemism for al-Qaeda and other foreign jihadis) are allowed to remain in the region.
- Over 130 mid-level al-Qaeda commanders and foot soldiers were released from Pakistani custody.
- The Taliban is required to refrain from violence in Pakistan only; the agreement does not stipulate refraining from violence in Afghanistan.

The truce meeting was essentially an event designed to humiliate the Pakistani government and military. Government negotiators were searched for weapons by Taliban fighters prior to entering the meeting. Heavily armed Taliban were posted as guards around the ceremony. The al Rayah – al-Qaeda's black flag – was hung over the scoreboard at the soccer stadium where the ceremony was held. After the Pakistani delegation left, al-Qaeda's black flag was run up the flagpole of military checkpoints and the Taliban began looting the leftover small arms. The Taliban also held a 'parade' in the streets of Miranshah. They openly view the 'truce' as a victory, and the facts support this view.

While this is not reported in the media, the “Taliban commanders” in attendance include none other than Jalaluddin Haqqani, military commander of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and Tahir Yuldashev, the commander of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The New York Times does place Haqqani and Yuldashev in the Waziristan region. Both men are deeply in bed with al-Qaeda, and it is useless at this point in time to make distinctions between al-Qaeda, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan , the Taliban and Pakistan jihadi groups like Lashkar-Toiba. Syed Saleem Shahzad indicates other known Taliban commanders were present at the meeting; "At the gathering, mujahideen leader Maulana Sadiq Noor and a representative of Gul Badar (chief of the Pakistani Taliban in North Waziristan), as well as other members of the mujahideen shura (council), were seated on a stage while the leaders of the JUI-F [the political party of Pakistani opposition leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman and only party in North and South Waziristan, which was not always the case] delivered the speeches." Note that while unstated, Haqqani and Yuldashev also sit on the Mujahideen Shura.

To add insult to the defeat of the Waziristan truce, Pakistan has openly admitted that it would let Osama bin Laden remain a free man if committed to living a peaceful existance in the region. “If he is in Pakistan, bin Laden 'would not be taken into custody,' Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan told ABC News in a telephone interview, 'as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen,” reports ABC News' The Blotter. An independent intelligence source confirms Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan Khan's position is an accurate reflection of Pakistani policy. [Note: Pakistan has since retracted its statements on bin Laden and immunity, but the Blotter transcript of teh interview refutes this.]

The Pakistani government has ceded a region the size of New Jersey, with a population of about 800,000 to the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Waziristan is not the end of the Taliban's expansion, however. An intelligence source indicates similar negotiations between the Taliban and the Pakistani government are being held in the agencies of Khyber, Tank, Dera Ishmal Khan and Bajaur. The jihadi dreams of al-Qaeda's safe havens in western Pakistan have become a reality. And the gains made by the Coalition in Afghanistan have now officially been wiped away with the peace agreement in the newly established Islamic Emirate of Waziristan.

By Bill Roggio

B.Raman, former chief of Indian intelligence, says that the agreement is to allow the army to divert troops to Balochistan, where a revolt is brewing following the army's killing of the Baloch leader Akbar Khan Bugti.

http://www.saag.org/papers20/paper1938.html
Since June 25, 2006, there has been a ceasefire in the North Waziristan area of the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, where the Pakistan Army, under US pressure, had launched a military campaign two years ago against the remnants of Al Qaeda and the Taliban operating from there and their local tribal supporters, who had set up a de facto Talibanised Sharia state in the area.

2. The de facto Sharia state arrested and executed suspected spies of the US and the Government of Pakistan, banned radio and TV entertainment programmes, burnt TV sets and vigorously enforced the Islamic laws. It allowed Pakistani jihadi organisations such as the Jundullah, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) to set up their training camps there where Uzbeck, Chechen and Afghan instructors trained volunteers from Pakistan and the Pakistani diaspora abroad.

3. According to some Pakistani police sources, at least two of the suicide British terrorists of Pakistani origin, who had participated in the London blasts of July, 2005, and some of those arrested in connection with a recently thwarted terrorist plot targeted against US-bound planes had been trained in one of the training camps in the North Waziristan area. In addition to the training camps of these Pakistani organisations, a training camp of the Taliban of Mullah Mohammad Omar, its Amir, and another of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) are also located in North Waziristan.

4. While the Jundullh camp was being run by Maitur Rehman, ,its Amir, who was previously in the LEJ and the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), the camp of the Taliban was being run by Jalaluddin Haqqani and that of the IMU by Tahir Yuldeshev, its Amir. Apart from the Afghan Pashtuns and the Uzbecks, the other foreigners present in North Waziristan were Chechens, Uighurs and some Arabs, mainly Yemenis, Saudis and Egyptians. All these foreigners were mainly the survivors from among those who were helping the Taliban and Al Qaeda before 9/11. They were originally based in Afghanistan and crossed over into the FATA when the US started its military action against the Taliban and Al Qaeda on October 7, 2001.Many of these foreigners have married Pakistani tribal women, who have given birth to children. The tribals do not look upon those married to their women as foreigners. They treat them as members of their own tribe. Only those who have not married their women are treated by them as foreigners.

5. According to the same police sources, Osama bin Laden himself and his No.2 Ayman al-Zawahiri live separately. They keep moving between North Waziristan, the adjoining Bajaur agency and the Chitral area adjoining the Northern Areas (Gilgit and Baltistan).

6. The FATA has a total area of 27, 220 sq.kilometers---about 2.6 per cent of the total area of Pakistan. It has seven tribal agencies--- South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Kurram, Orakzai, Khyber, Mohmand and Bajaur. Orakzai is the only agency which does not have a common border with Afghanistan. The remaining six agencies have a common border with Afghanistan.

7. There are six more pockets which are designated as tribal areas, but these are in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and are located in the Districts of Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Laki, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan. The combined tribal population of the FATA and these six pockets is 3.5 million.

8. Initially, all these terrorist remnants had taken shelter in South Waziristan. The Army, under US pressure, mounted an operation against them in 2003. These operations, in which the Army sustained heavy casualties, led to a ceasefire under which the local tribals agreed not to allow foreigners to operate in Afghanistan from sanctuaries in South Waziristan. In return, the Army agreed to release all those arrested and to withdraw its troops from the area.

9. Following this, the terrorist remnants moved to North Waziristan and started operating against the US-led forces in Afghanistan from their new sanctuaries there. While Mullah Dadulla Akhund, a Pakistani member of the Taliban, co-ordinated the Taliban forays into Afghanistan from sanctuaries in Balochistan, Jallaluddin Haqqani co-ordinated the Taliban forays into Afghanistan from North Waziristan and Yuldeshev co-ordinated the forays of the Al Qaeda and the IMU.

10. In December last year, when the situation in Balochistan deteriorated due to the increase in the activities of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and other Baloch nationalist organisations, the majority of the Corps Commanders was reported to have told President General Pervez Musharraf that the Army was not in a position to wage two-front war---one against the Balochs in Balochistan and the other against the tribals of the FATA for sheltering the foreign terrorist elements operating against the NATO forces in Afghanistan.

11. They reportedly pointed out that the activities of the Baloch freedom-fighters posed a threat to Pakistan's unity and territorial integrity whereas the activities of the remnants of the Al Qaeda and the Taliban did not pose a threat to Pakistan's unity and territorial integrity. They, therefore, urged that Musharraf should reach a cease-fire with the tribals in the FATA area and divert the troops deployed there in support of the operations of the US-led forces in Afghanistan to Balochistan.

12. Since the beginning of this year, Musharraf started shifting some of the troops and equipment given by the US for counter-terrorism operations in the FATA to Balochistan. He posted Lt-Gen (retd) Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai, who is from the FATA, as the Governor of the NWFP, in which capacity he is also in charge of the FATA.

13. Lt.Gen.Orakzai, who has many friends from amongst the tribal elders in North Waziristan, persuaded the tribals to agree to a cease-fire from June 25, 2006, to enable the shifting of more troops to Balochistan. The cease-fire has held since then except for a few minor incidents. Lt. Gen. Orakzai constituted on July 20, 2006, a 50-member jirga (consultative council) of tribal elders to negotiate a peace agreement with representatives of the Government.

14. This peace agreement was signed on September 5, 2006. Azad Khan, a representative of the local Taliban, and North Waziristan's Chief Administrator Dr Fakhar-e-Alam signed the agreement at the football stadium of Government Degree College in Miranshah, the headquarter town of North Waziristan, in the presence of army commander Major General Azhar Ali Shah. A 10-member committee of tribal elders, clerics and administration officials was set up to monitor the progress and implementation of the agreement.

15. Under the agreement, the local Pakistani Taliban accepted the Government demand that cross-border attacks should not be launched into Afghanistan and no sanctuary should be given to foreign terrorists. They also agreed not to attack government buildings or security forces, and not to conduct “targeted killings” of government servants, tribal elders and journalists co-operating with the Government. In return, the Government agreed to stop air and ground operations; return all weapons and other material seized during operations; restore the privileges of tribesmen; and remove all check-posts.

16. A similar agreement signed in South Waziristan two years ago did not work. The Taliban, Al Qaeda and their supporters just moved to North Waziristan and started operating from there. It is likely that they would now move to Bajaur or some other agency and operate from there. The agreement covers only the forays of the terrorists from North Waziristan into Afghanistan. It does not cover their forays into Afghanistan from Balochistan.

17. The provision regarding the foreign terrorists who have taken sanctuary in this area merely says as follows: "They have resolved that all foreigners in North Waziristan will leave Pakistan, albeit those who are unable to do so for certain genuine reasons shall respect law of the land and abide by all conditions of the agreement. They shall not disturb the peace and tranquillity of the area." The provision for the departure of the foreigners is voluntary. It will be the responsibility of the tribal elders to persuade them to leave or to become law-abiding residents of the area if they choose to continue to live in this area. The Government has agreed that they will not be arrested and deported. Thus, bin Laden and Zawahiri can continue to live in this area without fear of being arrested and deported if the tribal elders certify that they are not violating law and order.

18. The fact that Musharraf has signed such an agreement even at the risk of causing concern in Washington, London, Ottawa and other NATO capitals is indicative of his serious concern over the situation in Balochistan after the massacre of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, the tribal leader, and some of his followers by the Pakistan Army and Air Force. The BLA has resumed its activities and there have been more attacks on the local gas pipelines.

19. His first national security priority now is to crush the Baloch freedom struggle. He is hoping that the peace agreement with the Talibanised tribals of North Waziristan would enable him not only to divert more troops to Balochistan, but also to seek the help of the Taliban elements in Balochistan in his operations against the Balochs.

20. The Pashtuns are in a majority in certain districts of Balochistan. Quetta, the capital, itself has a fast growing Pashtun population. For many years now, there has been a movement for the merger of the Pashtun majority districts of Balochistan with the NWFP to form a bigger Pashtun state to be called Pakhtoonkwa. Tension between the two communities had led to serious riots in Quetta in the early 1990s. Subsequently, the leaders of the two communities had come together and resolved not to let temselves be manipulated by the Army and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to make them fight against each other. The two communities have been living in close harmony since then.

21. Since December last year, apart from stepping up the military operations against the Baloch freedom-fighters,Musharraf has embarked on a policy of divide and rule. Many Balochs living in Punjab and other parts of the country were motivated by the Army to return to Balochistan and help the army in countering the activities of the Baloch freedom-fighters. He distributed to them arms and ammunition and the land and other property confiscated from the freedom-fighters. In the wake of the deterioration in the situation, he is trying to revert to the old policy of creating a divide between the Balochs and the Pashtuns. He is hoping that in return for his cessation of the military operations in North Waziristan, the Taliban elements in Balochistan would help him against the Baloch freedom-fighters.

22. The Miranshah agreement should be a cause for concern not only to the Balochs, but also to the NATO forces in Afghanistan. It is likely to lead to an intensification of the Taliban attacks in Afghan territory from Balochistan.


(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: itschen36@gmail.com)

Wow, Aryavartha, you've really taken this and run with it. Too bad no one seems to be paying attention to it.

So does this mean we can officially put Afghanistan back on the list of failed states, and change the scorecard for Bush's foreign policy to 0-2 now?

Wow, Aryavartha, you've really taken this and run with it. Too bad no one seems to be paying attention to it.

So does this mean we can officially put Afghanistan back on the list of failed states, and change the scorecard for Bush's foreign policy to 0-2 now?

Actually, if you've been reading Aryavartha's posts for as long as I have, you would realize that US foreign policy has been a continued failure from long before Bush all the way to the present, as regards the US dealings with Pakistan.

It's impossible to count Clinton, or the former Bush's policies towards Pakistan as a success.

Clinton

Who had post #44 in the pool?

Wow, Aryavartha, you've really taken this and run with it. Too bad no one seems to be paying attention to it.

Well, I have a great interest in the region. I consider the whole of south Asia as my region.:p

Yes, its too bad that no one pays attention...it sucks cuz it is this apathy/ignorance that the administration counts on when it makes stupid decisions....I mean it is a lot easier for the admin to pass off their silly decisions when the public is uninformed.

So does this mean we can officially put Afghanistan back on the list of failed states, and change the scorecard for Bush's foreign policy to 0-2 now?

In my view, American policy towards south Asia (I include Afg, Pak and India here) leaves a lot to be desired (I am being charitable here:p ), regardless of the president in power. Most of these policies are by the State dept and the president just goes along with what the state dept says.

DK is right, almost every US prez have contributed to the situation in their own way. Nixon, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton and now Bush II....

haha...I am loving this.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/15/wpak15.xml
US outraged as Pakistan frees Taliban fighters
By Isambard Wilkinson in Peshawar
(Filed: 15/09/2006)

Pakistan's credibility as a leading ally in the war on terrorism was called into question last night when it emerged that President Pervez Musharraf's government had authorised the release from jail of thousands of Taliban fighters caught fighting coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Five years after American-led coalition forces overthrew the Taliban during Operation Enduring Freedom, United States officials have been horrified to discover that thousands of foreign fighters detained by Pakistan after fleeing the battleground in Afghanistan have been quietly released and allowed to return to their home countries.

Pakistani lawyers acting for the militants claim they have freed 2,500 foreigners who were originally held on suspicion of having links to al-Qa'eda or the Taliban over the past four years.


The mass release of the prisoners has provoked a stern rebuke to the Musharraf regime from the American government. "We have repeatedly warned Pakistan over arresting and then releasing suspects," said a US diplomat in Islamabad. "We are monitoring their response with great concern."

The Daily Telegraph tracked down and interviewed several former fighters who were part of a batch of eight foreign prisoners released last month. Burhan Ahmad, a 32-year-old Bangladeshi who has an American degree in engineering, admitted helping the Taliban against US-led forces in Afghanistan five years ago.

He was arrested by Pakistani security agents as he passed back over the frontier in 2003. Last month he was released from jail, where he spent three years without facing trial.

Like thousands of other Taliban and al-Qa'eda suspects who have been rounded up in Pakistan, Ahmad is now being fed and sheltered by an Islamic welfare group as he waits while a travel agency that specialises in repatriating jihadis prepares his identity papers and air ticket.

He was handed over to the al-Khidmat Foundation, a welfare organisation run by the hard-line Islamist party Jamaat-i-Islami, by a local court in Peshawar.

"I was arrested on the very same day that I arrived in Pakistan as I crossed from Khost to South Waziristan," said Ahmad who then spent 28 months in the custody of one of Pakistan's intelligence agencies before being transferred to a jail where he was imprisoned for three months. "The situation has become too difficult in Afghanistan and so I wanted to go home. I felt I had played my part."

In the hands of al-Khidmat Ahmad was more concerned with worldly goods than attaining a martyr's end in jihad. He produced a list of his personal items that he wanted back from the security agency: socks, a laptop, a thermal vest and some money.

His lawyer, Fida Gul, said: "He is no problem. He will go to Bangladesh. He is not a criminal and he has been cleared by the security forces. His arrest was illegal."

One of those who spoke to this newspaper was a young Tajik who entered Pakistan last year to study, he claimed, at a madrassa in Peshawar. He was shot in the side by Pakistani police as he tried to escape when the madrassa was raided.

A third former prisoner, a 37-year-old Algerian, had come to fight the Russian-backed government in Afghanistan in the early 1990s. He married a Pakistani woman and claimed to have settled down and worked in the honey business when he was arrested last year.

"I am going home to Algeria as I want to take advantage of an amnesty offered by the government," he said. "I know I will be arrested on arrival and interrogated as this happened to several of my Algerian brothers. But then I will be released as I have done nothing wrong."

On the question of whether released militants would return to jihad, Hazrat Aman, a field officer of the al-Khidmat Foundation, said: "If they react like that it is a natural phenomenon. Some of these people spent two to three years in jail. Some of them will live peacefully and others will join jihad again."

Hmmmm (http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/bin_laden_gets_.html)


Why are we in Iraq again?

And why is Canada in Afghanistan getting our asses handed to us, while the "allies" of the US are actively undermining our efforts?

Why are we in Iraq again?

Nobody really knows why you are in Iraq. But we suppose you are there for the oil. Why don't you just ask Condolenza Rottweiler Rice?

http://billroggio.com/archives/2006/09/pakistan_releases_ov.php


Pakistan follows the truce to the letter and releases thousands of Taliban and al-Qaeda members captured since 2001

The Pakistani government is living up to its commitments on the "Waziristan Accord," and has emptied the prisons of Taliban and al-Qaeda who have been captured since the fall of 2001. The "Waziristan Accord" calls for the Pakistani government to "release prisoners held in military action and would not arrest them again," and that is exactly what is happening.

The Daily Telegraph discloses that Pakistan has released over 2,500 Taliban and al-Qaeda, although an American military intelligence source estimates the number is higher. The Pakistani military has in the past put the number of al-Qaeda and Taliban captured at around 500-700.

The Daily Telegraph then tracks down some of those released. The resultant interviews give the impression those released were somehow incorrectly identified as jihadis. A "young Tajik who entered Pakistan last year to study... at a madrassa in Peshawar... was shot in the side by Pakistani police as he tried to escape when the madrassa was raided." A "37-year-old Algerian... worked in the honey business when he was arrested last year." Al-Qaeda was deeply involved in the "honey business" and use this and other industries to mask their terror financing. A "Bangladeshi who has an American degree in engineering, admitted helping the Taliban against US-led forces in Afghanistan five years ago" was released to the al-Khidmat Foundation. The Daily Telegraph fails to recognize the al-Khidmat Foundation is in fact the Makhtab al-Khidmat, or the MAK, which was founded by Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden in the 1980s and was used to funnel men and material into Afghanistan. The MAK is on the U.S. Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List.

But beyond the three low level operatives interviewed are a host of senior and mid level al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives. A sample of those released included the following individuals, including the killers of journalist Daniel Pearl:

Ghulam Mustafa: "He was once close to Osama bin Laden, has intimate knowledge of al-Qaeda's logistics and financing and its nexus with the military in Pakistan."

Maulana Sufi Mohammad: "Maulana Sufi Mohammad was Faqir Mohammed's first jihadi mentor who introduced him to militancy in Afghanistan in 1993. Sufi Mohammad was one of the active leaders of Jamat-e-Islami (JI) in the 1980s. He was the principal of the JI madrassa in Tamaergra, a town in the northwestern part of NWFP. He was an instinctive hardliner and in due course developed differences with JI and left them in 1992 to form Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammed [TNSM]." Sufi Mohammad organized Pakistanis to fight jihad in Afghanistan and along with the TNSM fought in Kunduz November of 2001.

Mohammad Khaled: A brigade leader who led the Taliban in against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. ""It is a difficult time for Islam and Muslims. We are in a test. Everybody should be ready to pass the test - and to sacrifice our lives," said Mohammad Khaled.

Fazl-e-Raziq: A senior aide to Osama bin Laden, and "an ethnic Pakhtoon resident of Swabi district of the North West Frontier Province."

Khairullah Kherkhawa: The former Taliban governor of Herat.

Khalid Khawaja: "Khalid Khawaja is a retired squadron leader of the Pakistan Air Force who was an official in Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, in the mid 1980s. After he wrote a critical letter to General Zia ul-Haq, who ruled Pakistan from 1977 till 1988, in which he labeled Zia as hypocrite, he was removed from the ISI and forced to retire from the airforce. He then went straight to Afghanistan in 1987 and fought against the Soviets along side with Osama Bin Laden, developing a relationship of firm friendship and trust. Khalid Khawaja’s name resurfaced when US reporter Daniel Pearl was abducted and subsequently killed. Pearl had come to Pakistan and met Khalid Khawaja in order to investigate the jihadi network of revered sufi, Syed Mubarak Ali Gailani."

Mansour Hasnain: A member of the group that kidnapped and murdered Danny Pearl. He also was "a militant of the Harkat-al-Mujahedin group, is one of those who hijacked an Indian Airlines jet in December 1999 and forced New Delhi to release three militants -- including Omar and Azhar."

Mohammad Hashim Qadeer: "Suspected of being one of [Daniel] Pearl’s actual killers, was arrested in August 2005 and has notable al-Qaida links" and "ties with the banned extremist groups Harkat-ul-Mujahedeen and Jaish-e-Muhammad."

Mohammad Bashir: Another Pakistani complicit in the murder of Daniel Pearl.

Aamni Ahmad, Hala Ahmad and Nooran Abdu: Facilitators/couriers, and wives of al-Qaeda members. "Pakistani authorities arrested 23 Arabs, including two children, suspected of links to Osama bin Laden, officials said Wednesday. All of them sneaked into the country from Afghanistan in recent weeks. The suspects include three women, identified as Aamni Ahmad, Hala Ahmad and Nooran Abdu, who are believed to be relatives of bin Laden. An interior ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the arrests were made in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan."

Gul Ahmed Shami & Hamid Noor: Al-Qaeda foot soldiers who fought in Afghanistan. "I want to be the next Osama bin Laden," said Shami in 2001. "Allah is with us. The Americans have technology but they don't have the courage to face death, which we do. I will be there until my death if need be. I know I probably won't come back," said Hamid.

These “miscreants” and “foreigners” are said to be streaming back to al-Qaeda's new safe haven of the Islamic Emirate of Waziristan, and reconstituting al-Qaeda's organization.

As the Pakistani government lives up to their end of the “Waziristan Accord,” the Taliban and al-Qaeda have broken it repeatedly. Anti-Taliban clerics and tribal leaders have been shot and beheaded in Waziristan. A government official was also kidnapped in Waziristan, and a reporter was murdered in Dera Ismail Khan. The Taliban flaunts the terms of the truce and expends into neighboring agencies, and the Pakistani government continues to look the other way.


Something is not right.

According to http://www.cageprisoners.com/prisoners.php?id=402

Khairullah Kherkhawa is in Gitmo. How the heck he is in Pak now and is being released?

Khalid Khawaja is a relatively big fish and I never knew he was arrested. He is related to the Daniel Pearl case and it would have certainly made the news if he was indeed arrested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_Khawaja

Mansur Hasnain is supposed to be dead.


http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FI30Df05.html
Pakistani security agencies on Sunday killed Amjad Hussain Farooqi, alias Mansur Hasnain alias Imtiaz Siddiqui alias Hyder alias Doctor, who, according to them, was the mastermind behind the two aborted attempts to kill President General Pervez Musharraf in Rawalpindi last December.