Pakistan nears endgame in al-Qaeda
hunt By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - As Pakistan continues its relentless
campaign against al-Qaeda, diplomatic circles in
Islamabad and Washington believe that some "high-value"
targets might already have been arrested to be produced
at a later date.
At the same time, the
strongest-ever operation in the country against jihadi
forces is seen as a preemptive strike against a backlash
in the event of a high-value target being caught.
On Monday, the Pakistani army said
security forces had killed four
suspected al-Qaeda members and
captured two others in a raid in the tribal regions of
Northern Waziristan. Hundreds of security forces backed
by helicopter gunships took part in the raid, according
to official reports.
This follows news on Sunday
of the arrest of more than 10 suspects believed to be
involved in a plot to bomb high-profile targets in
Islamabad and Rawalpindi, including the US Embassy and
the official residences of Pakistani President General
Pervez Musharraf. (Such plans were revealed by Asia
Times Online, Fear stalks Pakistan's anniversary,
August 14.)
The attacks were to have taken place
on August 14, Pakistan's independence day. Large caches
of weapons were also seized, including bombs generally
used in suicide attacks.
Over the past month,
scores of al-Qaeda suspects have been rounded up,
including Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, who was apprehended
on July 13 and who intelligence officials believe helped
al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden communicate with his
network.
Asia Times Online security sources say
there has been extraordinary activity in the corridors
of power recently, especially in the offices of Military
Intelligence in General Headquarters, Rawalpindi,
Inter-Services Intelligence, and the Intelligence Bureau
in Islamabad. All three agencies have been ordered to
make as many arrests as possible, using the contacts
they have built up over the years with militant and
jihadi groups.
The spate of arrests in recent
days is evidence that they are obeying their orders with
considerable - and unaccustomed - zeal, with few being
spared.
Javaid Ibrahim Paracha, a former member
of the National Assembly (parliament) and leader of the
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Sharif group) is a case in
point. Paracha is a champion of Arab families detained
in Pakistani jails. He has filed numerous petitions to
have them either brought to trial or released. In turn,
the government has filed many charges against him for
helping militants, but he has ultimately been cleared in
court. Now, federal ministers have leveled charges
against him in connection with the alleged conspiracy to
launch attacks in Islamabad.
Many people in
diplomatic and security circles in both Islamabad and
Washington who spoke to Asia Times Online believe that
the stage is now set for Musharraf's address to the
United Nations in New York on September 20 and
subsequent three-day stay in the US, during which he is
scheduled to meet with President George W Bush. New
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will not travel with
Musharraf, leading to speculation that Musharraf wants
all the limelight for himself should he have an
important announcement to make with regards to the "war
on terror".
At present the three most high-value
targets desperately wanted by the Bush administration
before the US presidential elections in November are bin
Laden, his deputy Dr Aiman al-Zawahiri, and top Uzbek
militant Tahir Yuldash. A fourth target is the
less-known Abu Faraj al-Libi, believed to have taken
over from Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the September 11,
2001, mastermind arrested in Pakistan early last year.
All are thought to be in Pakistan, or to have
been in the region over the past few years. Indeed,
security sources say that on at least two occasions the
net was almost closed around them, but because of
internal resistance within the Pakistani establishment,
especially the army, the operations were aborted. One
incident was toward the middle of last year when bin
Laden was tracked to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in
Balochistan province. On another occasion, he was said
to be in the mountains near Shawal, also on the border.
Al-Zawahiri's presence has also been confirmed on
several occasions in 2003 to the early months of 2004
(in South Waziristan), according to security sources.
According to these sources, such high-value targets "are
within reach" and could be - or have already been -
caught for delivery to the US.
On the other
hand, the sources caution that the Musharraf
administration is still acutely aware that if it hands
over all of the top targets, it will no longer have any
bargaining chips in the "war on terror", in which it is
a key US ally. For this, Islamabad has been rewarded
with financial aid, most-favored non-NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty Organization) ally status, and support
for what is in effect a military dictatorship. There is
the possibility, therefore, that a high-value target of
lesser importance will be handed over to ensure that it
is business as usual.
In the meantime,
operations against jihadi groups in Pakistan continue.
This, too, could work both ways - either they are
silenced, or they are spurred into anti-establishment
activities.
Asia Times Online spoke to Qari
Waqar Illahi Qasmi, the secretary of information for
Khudamul Islam (formerly Jaish-i-Mohammed), led by
Maulana Masood Azhar. The Jaish-i-Mohammed was banned
for its militancy, especially in Kashmir.
Asia Times Online: The government
has come down heavily against jihadi organizations and
their supporters. What is your reaction?
Waqar: The government has assumed
a link between al-Qaeda and the religious segment of the
country, and has started operations against it. This is
in fact a bid to crush Islamic forces in the county on
the insinuation of the US. I tell you, it is only the
religious forces which safeguard the interests of this
country, not the armed forces, who did nothing in the
1965 and 1971 wars [with India]. It is only the
religious forces who have given a tough time to the
Indian forces in Kashmir, and provided Pakistan with
strategic depth in Afghanistan. ATol:
Are there any plans for serious protests against
the present operations?
Waqar: The
Jamiat-i-Alesunnat is the largest organization of
Rawalpindi and Islamabad clerics, with a membership of
1,000. They have vowed to hold large demonstrations, and
will be joined by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal. [The
Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal is an alliance of six
religious-political parties, prominent in the opposition
in mainstream politics.]
ATol:
This is the usual and general response. Given
the severe operations now going on against jihadis, is
there any chance of them revolting?
Waqar:
What revolt? This is our country and we are the
ones who are concerned about its safety, more than
anybody else. We don't want any chaos in the country,
but I will tell you some facts, the way things are going
it is becoming more and more difficult for us to control
the situation. I don't question the integrity of our
armed forces, I even do not question the intentions of
General Pervez Musharraf, but the way the US FBI
[Federal Bureau of Investigation] has established its
roots through the local police, this is the main source
of trouble.
ATol: Can you
elaborate on this network?
Waqar:
You may have heard about an organization the FBI
has established in Pakistan called "Spider". They have
recruited retired army officials, retired police
officials and even journalists who spy on jihadis and
act as liaison between the local police and the FBI. The
FBI pays them [police and the others] heavily, and then
asks them [police] to carry out operations. Since the
police have to deliver, for the greed of money, they
round up anybody. You know there are more than 5 million
Pakistanis who were trained in Afghanistan. However, not
everybody fought in Afghanistan. Most of them returned
without firing a single bullet at the front. Now the
police are rounding them up, and when they do dodge the
police, the police round up their family members, and do
not spare even the females. Recently, Amir, the son of
Eid Nawaz, Qari Yusuf Amin and Bilal were arrested from
Attock, and Nazakat from Jauharabad - none of them were
jihadis, but the relatives of jihadis. [Attock, in
Punjab, is where a recent suicide attack was made
against now-Premier Aziz, and from where Aziz won a
parliamentary by-election so that he could become
premier.] Now what do you expect from anybody whose
house police raid and torture his mother, wife or sister
to tell his whereabouts? Just to deliver the "goods" to
the FBI, the police use third-degree methods. We cry
about Guantanamo Bay's X-Ray camp and Abu Ghraib jail in
Iraq, but what is happening in the police torture cells
[in Pakistan] is worse. Not only are suspects victimized
and sexually abused, the female members of families are
brought in to the police stations and threatened with
dire consequences if they do not confess a certain
number of crimes. Of course, anybody would confess to
the crimes, but do you think that after all of this the
relatives of the detained jihadis or his friends would
be in our control? No way. We are still striving hard to
keep our workers under our control, but the way the
police have unleashed brute force against us, it is
impossible for our workers to keep their patience.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Pakistan bureau
chief for Asia Times Online. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com.
(Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online Ltd. All
rights reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com for
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suspected al-Qaeda members and
captured two others in a raid in the tribal regions of
Northern Waziristan. Hundreds of security forces backed
by helicopter gunships took part in the raid, according
to official reports. 
