North Waziristan: Army brass votes down Haqqani manhunt

[VelocuR]

North Waziristan: Army brass votes down Haqqani manhunt

" If someone is blaming us [as] the only country maintaining contacts with the Haqqanis, there are others, too," Military spokesperson Maj Gen Athar Abbas.


ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will not take military action against the Haqqani network, despite intense US pressure over the past few days. The decision was taken at a special meeting of top commanders on Sunday and is likely to chip away at the deteriorating relationship between the two countries.

The commanders vowed to resist US demands for an offensive in North Waziristan but also discussed the possible implications of unilateral action by the US on Pakistani territory, said a military official. “We have already conveyed to the US that Pakistan cannot go beyond what it has already done,” the official told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity.

A public acknowledgement by the military’s chief spokesman about Pakistan having contact with the Haqqanis also appears to confirm that the security establishment has no intention to go after one of the most feared Afghan insurgent groups. “Any intelligence agency would like to maintain contact with whatever opposition group, whatever terrorist organisation … for some positive outcome,” Major General Athar Abbas told CNN in a telephone interview.

However, those contacts do not mean that the ISI supports or endorses the organisation, he added. “If someone is blaming us [as] the only country maintaining contacts with the Haqqanis, there are others, too,” Abbas said. There is a huge difference between maintaining contacts with such a group to facilitate peace and supporting it against an ally, he said. Sunday’s extra*ordinary meeting of the corps commanders, chaired by Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, came after top civil and military US officials launched a series of scathing attacks against the Pakistan Army for its role in the ‘global battle against terrorism.’

(Read: If at first you don’t succeed, blame Haqqani)

Though the media wing of the army did issue a public statement about the special meeting, it opted not to say anything after a six-hour long sitting at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

“The situation is extraordinary and that was why the meeting was called an emergency,” said another official, who would not provide further details. Some sources say that the army decided not to issue any public statement after whispers from the US aimed at avoiding the situation getting out of control.

In a change of tone, US Centcom Chief General James N. Mattis, in a meeting with Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Khalid Shameem Wynne, struck a reconciliatory note after weeks of stinging US claims.

A statement issued by the US Embassy said that General Mattis had “candid” discussions with General Kayani and General Wynne about the current challenges in the US-Pakistan relationship.

“However, Gen. Mattis also emphasised the vital role the Pakistan military plays in international security efforts to protect the Pakistani and Afghan people and the need for persistent engagement among the militaries of the US, Pakistan and other states in the region,” it added. General Wynne voiced his concern about the negative statements emanating from US, according to the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR). He also stressed the need to address the issues which have divided the two countries, which are “a result of an extremely complex situation.”

Responding to the possibility of US strikes in North Waziristan, General Abbas said that any unilateral military action would fuel anti-US sentiment in Pakistan. It “would have grave consequences … and would put the government and the military’s backs to the wall,” he said.

(Read: Pakistan, America & the Haqqani network)

Abbas added that Pakistan had closed cell-phone towers in the area to prevent terrorists from communicating and coordinating their activities within Waziristan. “We closed all the mobile towers on this side of the border, but unfortunately across the border in Afghanistan mobile towers are working,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2011.

someone explained "candid" discussion, what is that meaning?

 

[Mech]

That's very good news.
Well done.

 

[SMC]

US will have to stop supporting TTP, BLA, LeJ with the support of Bharat. Only then we should consider such actions.

 

[Mech]

US will have to stop supporting TTP, BLA, LeJ along with Bharat. Only then we should consider such actions.

Yes, Pakistan must resist all forms of US aggression and grow more vocal when it comes to criticizing the US policies.

 

[VelocuR]

That's very good news.
Well done.

Are you making fun , right?

 

[RazPaK]

Do I sense a spine?

 

[Mech]

Are you making fun , right?

Fun?!...Absolutely not!..Now I'm offended...

 

[VelocuR]

National security: Military leadership rejects US allegations

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s military leadership on Sunday unanimously rejected the allegations leveled against Pakistani security institutions by the United States.

The six hour long emergency Corps Commanders meeting chaired by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani concluded in Rawalpindi on Sunday. Sources said no formal declaration of the meeting will be issued.

Chairman joint chiefs of staff committee (CJCSC) General Khalid Shamim Wynne expressed concern over the recent statements made by the US, and said that Pak-US relations need to be improved.

Sources said the military top brass decided that every decision is to be taken in Pakistan’s interest and that attacks from Afghanistan on the Pak-Afghan border will not be tolerated in the future.

An emergency meeting of Corps Commanders was called by General Kayani in the wake of the prevailing security situation and tension in relations with the United States.

An Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said the meeting was being chaired by Kayani. Issues regarding national security are on top of the agenda.

All corps commanders and principle staff officers attended the meeting.

According to sources, recent allegations leveled by US military chief Mike Mullen that Pakistan has links with the Haqqani network will also be discussed.

The Pakistan Army has denied accusations by senior US officials that Pakistan’s intelligence service supports the Haqqani network, saying it is based in Afghanistan.

However, spokesman for the ISPR Major General Athar Abbas did acknowledge that the ISI had contacts with the Haqqanis.

He told CNN that any intelligence agency prefers keeping contacts with opposition groups and terrorist organizations for some sort of positive outcome.

He stressed that this does not mean the ISI supports or endorses the organization.

Abbas also added that Pakistan is not the only country which maintains contacts with the Haqqanis.

He also expressed his shock at Mullen’s assertion that Pakistan was complicit in recent attacks against the US Embassy in Kabul.

In an earlier statement, Kayani termed the comments by Mullen as ‘unfortunate’, and ‘not based on facts’.

(Read: Volley heats up: ISI targeted in bitter Mullen tirade)

In the first official reaction to the slew of public statements made by various levels of the US administration against the ISI and suspected links between the Haqqani network and the Pakistan establishment, Kayani said that he had held a constructive meeting with Admiral Mullen in Spain last week.

He termed the statements following that meeting as very disturbing.

On the question of contacts with Haqqani network, Kayani said that Admiral Mullen knows well which countries are in contact with the Haqqanis. Singling out Pakistan as the chief protagonist is neither fair nor productive, he said.

‘Self-defeating blame game’

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday rejected US allegations linking Islamabad with the Haqqani terror network, saying the “blame game is self-defeating”.

Gilani said such accusations would only benefit the militants, and added that they showed US policy in Afghanistan was in “disarray”.

“We strongly reject assertions of complicity with the Haqqanis or of proxy war,” he said in a policy statement issued by his office amid a growing rift with the United States.

“Blame game is self-defeating… It will only benefit the enemies of peace. Only terrorists and militants will gain from any fissures and divisions.”

The White House demanded Friday that Pakistan “break any link they have” with the Haqqanis, the al Qaeda-linked Taliban faction blamed for the recent attack on the US embassy in Kabul.

A day earlier top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen directly accused Pakistan’s intelligence service of supporting the network’s attack on the embassy and a truck bombing on a NATO outpost.

“The allegations betray a confusion and policy disarray within the US establishment on the way forward in Afghanistan,” Gilani said.

---------- Post added at 01:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:31 AM ----------

Analysis: What will Washington do next?

Relations between Pakistan and the United States have now plunged to their lowest point – from where many fear it could escalate into a direct military conflict between the two allies. Although this is not the first time that bilateral relations have nosedived, the rise in temperature on both sides is immeasurably higher.

From the American side, it is the first time since the start of the war on terror that Washington has gone beyond accusing Islamabad of not doing more.

(Read: With us or against us? A decade on, Pakistan is wavering)

This time around, the White House, State Department and Pentagon seem to be acting in unison when pointing a finger at Pakistan for supporting the Haqqani network and the country’s Inter Services Intelligence of conspiring with the Taliban to attack the US Embassy in Kabul.

Similarly, it seems to have brought the political and military stakeholders in Pakistan closer and elicited a joint response from them on the American attitude and hostility. Both allies seem to be playing a zero-sum game with no indication of either side having done any serious calculation about how and when they intend to cap their hostility. There is no disclosure about Washington sharing concrete evidence with Islamabad regarding the ISI-Haqqani network collusion in the Kabul attack, despite General Ahmed Shuja Pasha’s recent visits to the US or American generals’ tours of Pakistan. But clearly there seems to be a consensus in Washington about ratcheting up the pressure on Pakistan for the latter to agree to fight Sirajuddin Haqqani and his allies who are seen as a major problem for Nato forces, especially in the wake of the diminishing powers of al Qaeda. However, it is not clear as to what Washington will do next in terms of teaching Pakistan a lesson. Several analysts have talked about several options including a surgical strike in Pakistan a la May 2nd or increasing drone strikes – even extending these beyond agreed upon lines in North Waziristan. The risk with all of this is that the GHQ may feel itself pressured to respond.

Pakistan’s strategy, thus far, seems to be based on two trajectories: convince the US to negotiate with the Taliban and project the anti-US public opinion as the main hindrance against any policy changes that may look like accommodating Washington. This also means that General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and his team may not have left much room to themselves to manoeuvre out of a tight corner but to respond to any possible intensity in conflict by American forces. Will a Pakistani reaction result in a higher-counteroffensive by Washington? Or, will there be economic sanctions against Pakistan that are bound to exacerbate the problems that the country already faces? Though one hears echoes of building up relations with China even further, there doesn’t appear to be any surety whether Beijing will agree to totally replace the US or gradually turn Pakistan into something similar to Burma, Cambodia and other Asian allies?

Extremely unnerving is the showboating between the US and Pakistan through the media which has heated up the atmosphere to a point where withdrawal could become difficult. Perhaps stepping back has already become an issue — given the fact that non-state actors are also party to the conflict. One possibility is for the US to include Pakistan directly in the Afghanistan endgame, giving it responsibility to control all sorts of non-state actors which may not be a simple task in itself.

(Read: After the endgame)

But what is clear is that this heightened tension indicates a risky game for the two countries to maximise their gains in determining not only Afghanistan’s future but also the share in the spoils of either state. Irrespective of what is finally decided, the current tension has a heavy cost in terms of setting the tenor of Pakistan’s society.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2011.

---------- Post added at 01:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 AM ----------

Looking east: Islamabad takes heart from Chinese leader’s visit

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to counter growing American pressure might get a rare boost when Chinese Vice Prime Minister Meng Jianzhu arrives in Islamabad on Monday to discuss regional security, officials said.

“The visit (by the Chinese leader) has a symbolic as well as substantial value … it will definitely send a message across the Atlantic,” an official at the foreign ministry said, describing the tour as a big relief for Pakistan.

A spokesperson for the ministry, however, apparently made an attempt to downplay the trip, saying it was prescheduled and in the context of the 60th anniversary of Sino-Pak friendship.

(Read: Pakistan-China relations)

“It is a very important visit … but it doesn’t have to do anything with other developments taking place in the region,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Tehmina Janjua told The Express Tribune.

She said Meng, who also holds the portfolio of state security, would be meeting President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and other functionaries.

Officials said the Chinese vice premier is also scheduled to meet military chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) Lt-Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha.

At a news conference on Monday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the visiting Chinese leader, who is his counterpart as well, is coming to Pakistan on an invitation extended by him and that the two will be meeting.

Malik said talks between him and Meng would focus on those Chinese separatists who were arrested by Pakistani law enforcers and handed over to authorities in Beijing.

Officials said China had assured Pakistan of diplomatic and economic support in case the US kept piling up pressure on Islamabad for its alleged inaction against the Haqqani network, a group of Afghan militants allegedly based in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region.

“Short of physical intervention, they (Chinese) are willing to stand by Pakistan by all means,” said General (retd) Hamid Gul, a former head of ISI who returned from a week-long visit to China over the weekend.

Experts say the support from China or lack of it would determine how well Pakistan can hold its nerves together in the face of mounting US pressure in the run-up to the Afghan endgame.

(Read: The irony of Afghanistan and the real endgame)

Meng is also likely to take part in some ceremonies scheduled to be held in connection with the 60th anniversary of Pakistan-China friendship and will be meeting heads of various political parties.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2011.

---------- Post added at 01:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:35 AM ----------

Fun?!...Absolutely not!..Now I'm offended...

Well, I used to read your posts, you made some of Anti-Pakistans comments. You have been banned before. I don't know if you still continue same ways by now supporting Pakistan, many other Indian trolling don't.

Hope you don't mind my comments.