The Jewish Lobby, Mr Pervez Musharraf and other short stories

NOW, something a little different — or not entirely so, perhaps. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres was in Washington last week. In an interview with The Washington Post and Newsweek, he was asked for a comment on reports that President Bush had told him that Israel should pull out of Palestinian-controlled areas that it had re-taken following the assassination of an Israeli cabinet minister. Mr Peres replied: “I said we don’t intend to remain there. The president modified the State Department declaration to pull out ‘immediately’, and said (pull out) as soon as possible. I told him we understand your strategy. As a good Jewish boy, I would have never dreamed that I would pray for the safety of (Gen Pervez) Musharraf, the president of Pakistan. That is a most unexpected experience. But we understand and don’t want to have an agenda of our own.” Reference: Fears of a more combative society: WASHINGTON NOTEBOOK By Tahir Mirza DAWN - Opinion; November 1, 2001 https://www.dawn.com/news/1062232

Did General (R) Hamid Gul Support Jewish Backed Martial Law of Musharraf in 1999

ISLAMABAD: A former chief of Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI has alleged that the United States was behind the October 1999 coup staged by general Pervez Musharraf to overthrow the Nawaz Sharif government. Commenting on president Musharraf's book 'In the Line of Fire,' former ISI chief Hamid Gul said Musharraf has not stated in his memoirs that Washington was behind his military coup of October 12, 1999. US hand in 1999 Pak coup: Hamid Gul Oct 17, 2006, 02.52 AM IST https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/us-hand-in-1999-pak-coup-hamid-gul/articleshow/2181270.cms General (R) Hamid Gul actually supported that Military Coup (watch the clip above) ---> Hamid Gul, a retired general, accuses Mr Sharif of having presided over an administration which had failed to deliver the goods. "Sharif turned out to be a great destroyer of national institutions," he told the BBC. "Look at what he did to the judiciary. "He stripped them of power, put a set of judges against the chief justice, did the same to the press. "He gagged the parliament and finally he wanted to do the same to the army." Reference: World: South Asia Pakistan's coup: Why the army acted Wednesday, October 13, 1999 Published at 23:20 GMT 00:20 UK http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/473297.stm

Jewish Lobby, Israel, Musharraf and Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD, Jan 28: President Pervez Musharraf last week met Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak in Paris and the Foreign Office described it as ‘a chance encounter’. There are reports that the two leaders met again and discussed the nuclear arms issues, especially the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and Iran’s nuclear programme; the Middle East peace process; and the situation in Gaza. The second meeting is said to have lasted about an hour. Pakistan and Israel have no diplomatic ties and their officials rarely meet. But there have been several ‘chance meetings’ between the two sides in the past, apart from an arranged meeting between the then foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri and his then Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Turkey in 2005. Reference: Musharraf met Israeli defence minister by Baqir Sajjad Syed January 29, 2008 https://www.dawn.com/news/286939 NEW YORK: The WikiLeaks documents reveal that Israeli intelligence agency Mossad was concerned for former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s well-being and wanted him to remain in power in 2007. The revelation was made in a secret cable message originating from the American embassy in Tel Aviv. It records a meeting between Mossad chief and US Under-Secretary of State Nicholas Burns under the Bush administration. Mr Burns met Mossad chief Meir Dagan on Aug 17, 2007, to give his assessment of the Middle East region, Pakistan and Turkey. The Israeli spy chief said he was concerned about how long President Musharraf would survive. “He is facing a serious problem with the militants. Pakistan’s nuclear capability could end up in the hands of an Islamic regime.” Dagan observed that Musharraf appeared to be losing control and his coalition partners could threaten him in the future. He linked Musharraf’s retaining control over Pakistan to his dual president and commander-in-chief role. The cable says that if Musharraf cannot retain his army role, he will have problems. The Mossad chief referred to attempts on Musharaf’s life and wondered whether he could survive the coming years. Reference: Israelis wanted Musharraf to stay, says WikiLeaks November 29, 2010 https://www.dawn.com/news/587328

ISLAMABAD, Aug 31: Pakistan and Israel are all set to have the first overt high-level political contact on Thursday. In what is seen as a major diplomatic development the foreign ministers of the two countries will meet in Istanbul, informed sources told Dawn on Wednesday. The meeting between Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri and his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom is taking place in response to Israel’s keenness to establish contact with Pakistan, it is learnt. Reference: Kasuri ‘to meet Israeli minister’ September 01, 2005 https://www.dawn.com/news/154828 KASUR: Former foreign minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri announced his decision to join Imran Khan’s Tehrik-i-Insaf on Tuesday, DawnNews reported. Kasuri, who had parted ways with the PML-Q after developing differences with the Chaudhrys of Gujrat, had been in contact with Khan for over a year. The PTI chief welcomed Kasuri to the party and congratulated him on his decision. Talking to the media in Lahore earlier during the day, Khan credited PTI’s success and popularity to the combined failures of the ruling PPP, their coalition partners the PML-Q and the opposition PML-N. Reference: Former Foreign Minister Kasuri, others join PTI December 20, 2011 https://www.dawn.com/news/681931

Jewish Lobby, Mr Amjad Shoaib and Musharraf

The second factor is the local sleeper cells and facilitators who help the foreigners carry terrorist attacks in Pakistan. The foreigner terrorists mostly come from Afghanistan and have no knowledge of Pakistani areas. Definitely, local facilitators provide them with shelter, weapons and information about the target. As you know, terrorists of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al Almi carried out the attack at Police training center in Quetta. Now this banned outfit has origins in South Punjab and interior Sindh. In South Punjab, areas like Jhang, Muzaffar Garh, DG Khan and Bahawalpur are hotbeds of LeJ terrorists while the same banned outfit has also facilitators and supporters in interior Sindh where many terrorist attacks have been conducted. However, Punjab’s chief minister has been refusing to allow Rangers to carry out operations in South Punjab while Sindh chief minister is reluctant to permit Rangers operation in interior Sindh. On the other hand, the international community blames Pakistan for terrorism but they never care how we are targeted by terrorist organisations. Our foreign ministry and civilian leadership have failed in presenting out case to the world. References: “Our leaders have failed us” – An interview with Lt. Gen (R) Amjad Shoaib OCTOBER 30, 2016 BY MIAN ABRAR https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/10/30/our-leaders-have-failed-us-an-interview-with-lt-gen-r-amjad-shoaib/ Pakistan army pushed political role for militant-linked groups by Asif Shahzad SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-politics-militants/pakistan-army-pushed-political-role-for-militant-linked-groups-idUSKCN1BR02F

Hamid Gul, Musharraf and Banned Terror Jihadi Sectarian Outfits

In a television programme aired recently, former chief of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and an important leader of Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) General (retd) Hamid Gul cast doubts over the authenticity of a picture run by the website of The Express Tribune. The picture in question was that of Malik Ishaq, commander of the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), who was shown to be in attendance at the DPC meeting in Multan – a meeting also attended and addressed by General Gul. During a talk show on Aaj TV, host Wajahat S Khan showed Gul the picture on The Express Tribune’s website as evidence of Ishaq’s attendance – in response to which the retired general alleged that the photo had been doctored. When he was further challenged by the show’s host, Gul resorted to questioning the reporter of the story. The Express Tribune takes strong exception to General Gul’s allegations and contends that the picture is authentic. It was taken by our photographer, who was assigned to cover the gathering. In fact, the picture was also run by other newspapers. If Gul has the slightest doubt regarding the authenticity of the photograph, we ask him to take the matter to court. Express Media Group Published in The Express Tribune, February 16th, 2012. https://tribune.com.pk/story/337252/notice-a-note-to-hamid-gul/ 3. (S) XXXXXXXXXXXX shared with Principal Officer an Urdu-language sticker that he claimed he had confiscated from several of his madrassa students in Faisalabad. The sticker, which he stated was also being printed and distributed as a pamphlet, praised the implementation of Sharia law in Swat and exhorted Muslims to pursue the same sort of Sharia law in Faisalabad. It then recounted five steps that every Faisalabad based Muslim should take to begin the process of implementation in the district. The steps were: : (1) cease business and social activities at the five daily calls to prayer, (2) remove all sources of ""vulgarity"" such as televisions, cd players, and radios from their homes, (3) seek dispute resolution through local imams rather than the courts, (4) take Friday rather than Sunday as the weekly holiday, and (4) strictly enforce purdah for female family members. 4. (S) Maulana XXXXXXXXXXXX told Principal Officer that he had initially dismissed the pamphlet campaign, but became increasingly concerned after learning of specific threats received by several girls' schools (NFI) in Faisalabad. He claimed that these schools had received letters sent from SSP, referencing the situation in Swat, and warning that if these schools did not begin having their students observe complete purdah, the schools could be the target of violence, including suicide bombing. Maulana XXXXXXXXXXXX did not produce a copy of the threat letter. Principal Officer inquired whether any violence had yet occurred in Faisalabad in connection with the SSP campaign. Maulana XXXXXXXXXXXX responded that to his knowledge it had not, but he believed that it could occur in short order if police did not check SSP activities. References: 2009: Was Qaddafi funding Sipahe Sahaba? May 25, 2011 https://www.dawn.com/news/631599 Saudi Arabia, UAE financing extremism in south Punjab May 21, 2011 https://www.dawn.com/news/630599 2008: Extremist recruitment on the rise in south Punjab madrassahs May 21, 2011 https://www.dawn.com/news/630656/2008-extremist-recruitment-on-the-rise-in-south-punjab-madrassahs WikiLeaks cables portray Saudi Arabia as a cash machine for terrorists - Hillary Clinton memo highlights Gulf states' failure to block funding for groups like al-Qaida, Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba by Declan Walsh in Islamabad Sun 5 Dec 2010 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/05/wikileaks-cables-saudi-terrorist-funding

How Ijazul Haq Fought US War Against Terror

Many Palestinians realized the need to control the movement, so Dr. George Habash founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Yasser Arafat founded Harakat Tahreer Falasteen or Al-Fatah. Habash announced that “the liberation of Palestine will come through Amman [capital of Jordan],” mostly to challenge both King Hussein and a broken Nasser (both of whom came under Israeli hegemony by 1970, something recognized in the US Secretary of State Rogers’ Plan). King Hussein (with help from Zia-ul-Haq of the Pakistani army) sent in his Bedouin army on 27 September to clear out the Palestinian bases in Jordan. A massacre of innumerable proportions ensued. Moshe Dayan noted that Hussein “killed more Palestinians in eleven days than Israel could kill in twenty years.” Dayan is right in spirit, but it is hardly the case that anyone can match the Sharonism in its brutality. Reference: Memories of Barbarity, Sharonism and September by VIJAY PRASHAD APRIL 9, 2002 https://www.counterpunch.org/2002/04/09/memories-of-barbarity-sharonism-and-september/ At that dinner, Crile writes, “Zia had dangerous decisions to make in the coming months about the CIA’s involvement in his inflamed North-West Frontier, and all of them centred on whether he could trust the United States. Joanne’s startling toast was strangely therapeutic for the much-maligned leader, who remembered how quickly Jimmy Carter had turned on him. In Houston that night, Joanne Herring saw to it that a host of powerful Americans actually honoured him. And that same night, Charlie Wilson provided yet another dimension to Zia’s growing partnership with the United States when he took the general into a side room for a private talk. The congressman had a novel proposition for the Muslim dictator. Would Zia be willing to deal with the Israelis? “This was not the sort of proposal just anyone could have made. But by now, the Pakistanis believed that Charlie Wilson had been decisive in getting them the disputed F-16 radar systems. As he saw it, Wilson had pulled off the impossible. Now the congressman, in his tuxedo, began to take Zia into the forbidden world where the Israelis were prepared to make deals no one need hear about. “He told Zia about his experience the previous year when the Israelis had shown him the vast stores of Soviet weapons they had captured from the PLO in Lebanon. The weapons were perfect for the mujahideen, he told Zia. If Wilson could persuade the CIA to buy them, would Zia have any problems passing them on to the Afghans? “Zia, ever the pragmatist, smiled on the proposal, adding, ‘Just don’t put any Stars of David on the boxes.” Reference: Charlie Wilson’s war by Masood Haider DAWN - Features; July 23, 2003 https://www.dawn.com/news/1064817 --- The mystery is that the Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS), General Aslam Beg, having himself hovered over the disaster site, preferred to fly back to Rawalpindi. Major General Mehmud Durrani, the host of the whole episode, moved to Multan for a comfortable sleep. Now, claiming credit for democracy and decorated with the democracy medal, General Aslam Beg did not feel obliged to care for the fallen comrades. Without knowing about the survivors and the urge to take over, he rushed to Rawalpindi where in a high-level meeting, he faced tough resistance. References: A conspiracy against my father (The News - September 8, 2009 https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/195448 ) A conspiracy against my father (The News - September 9, 2009 https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/195563 ) by Ijaz ul Haq - Ejaz says he helped release Ghazi in terror cases Wednesday, April 11, 2007 ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Ejaz-ul-Haq has admitted that he had made personal efforts to get Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Naib Khateeb of Lal Masjid, released in cases of terrorism. Expressing his views in a talk show on Geo TV alongside Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal, Nayyar Bukhari of the Pakistan People’s Party and Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi on Tuesday, the minister said he took the action after a written confirmation from the Maulana guaranteeing his good behaviour. Reference: Ejaz says he helped release Ghazi in terror cases (Wednesday, April 11, 2007 The News) Ziaul Haq in Jordan (1970) Photo Archive By Isa Daudpota's collection TFT ISSUE| May 24-30, 2013 - Vol. XXV, No. 15 http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20130524&page=30 

How Sheikh Rasheed Fought US War Against Terror

RAWALPINDI: Retired army generals said on Tuesday that jihad was the only way to liberate Kashmir. Addressing a seminar on Kashmir Solidarity Day at a local hotel, they said the faulty policies of President Pervez Musharraf over the past eight years had moved the Kashmir issue to the backburner. They said it would remain unresolved while he was in power. They showered praise on sacked chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry for dispensing justice to the masses and Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan for turning the country into a nuclear state. They demanded that both men be released from detention promptly. General (r) Mirza Aslam Baig, General (r) Faiz Ali Chishti, General (r) Hameed Gul, General (r) Jamshaid Gulzar Kiyani, General (r) Asad Durrani, General (r) Sardar Anwar Khan, General (r) Abdul Qayyum and General (r) Ali Quli Khan and former bureaucrat Roedad Khan were prominent among the participants of the seminar, which was organised by the Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society. The participants later rallied outside the hotel to show solidarity with the Kashmiris fighting Indian forces in the held valley for freedom. Former Steel Mills chief General (r) Abdul Qayyum claimed that Kashmir could only be liberated by waging jihad. He said dictators had ruled Pakistan for most of its history, adding that the country was without leadership. Former army chief General (r) Mirza Aslam Baig said freedom was the birthright of Kashmiris and no one could deprive them of it. Former Rawalpindi Corps Commander General (r) Jamshaid Gulzar Kiyani said that Pakistan had rendered many sacrifices for the Kashmir cause. He alleged that Indian forces had sexually assaulted scores of Kashmiri girls and women. Former ISI chief General (r) Hameed Gul said Srinagar was just as important as Islamabad for Pakistanis. He praised ex-servicemen for supporting the Kashmiris fighting Indian forces by making a human chain on the road. REFERENCE: Jihad only way to liberate IHK: ex-generals * Claim there will be no solution to Kashmir issue while Musharraf is in power By Terence J Sigamony Wednesday, February 06, 2008 

The Jewish Lobby is all over the place with Musharraf

Pakistani Women get themselves Raped to get Foreign Visa, said General Pervez Musharraf --> Interview with Pakistan president Musharraf September 23, 2005 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/audio/2005/09/23/AU2005092301253.html - This is nine minutes of a 50-minute interview with the Washington Post, Pakistan president Gen. Pervez Musharraf said that claiming rape has become a "moneymaking concern" in Pakistan. Musharraf later denied saying this to the Post. The remark, in regards to the case of Mukhtar Mai, an illiterate woman who spoke publicly about having been gang-raped on the orders of a village council in 2002, was quoted in the 12th paragraph of an article on Sept. 12. --- Riots disrupts Karachi calm: 34 killed, 134 injured . rivals trade allegation . 13 May 2007 https://www.dawn.com/news/246766 The recent disclosures of Brig (retd) Imtiaz seem to be at the behest of MQM or some one else, said former corps commander Quetta Lt Gen (retd) Tariq Pervez while participating in the Private TV Channel programme. He quoted the then chief of the staff Gen Iqbal that Musharraf used to visit ‘90’ (MQM headquarters) in the staff car when he was a brigadier. Tariq Pervez said the instant appearance of Brig Imtiaz and his disclosures obviously force every one to doubt his sincerity. He said the MQM is the major beneficiary in this regard. Tracing the background of Brig Imtiaz in the intelligence department, he said every one under him used to be afraid of him as he had the tendency not only to tease people on different excuses but at times had spoiled their careers. Reference: Musharraf had already made up mind to remove Nawaz: Gen Tariq 01 September, 2009 (The News) & Pak Tribune http://paktribune.com/news/Musharraf-had-already-made-up-mind-to-remove-Nawaz-Gen-Tariq-218739.html

Saudi Arabia, Osama Bin Laden and Jewish Lobby

ISLAMABAD, March 18: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed has revealed that Osama bin Laden had offered to buy loyalties of legislators to see Mian Nawaz Sharif as prime minister. In an interview appearing in the magazine of an Urdu newspaper on Sunday, Qazi Hussain Ahmed said that Osama had visited the JI headquarters Mansoora and wanted to strike an agreement with the Jamaat but the suggestion was declined by him. Excerpts of the interview were published by the newspaper on Saturday. Qazi said he had met Osama several times in the past. However, the JI on Saturday clarified that meetings between the JI amir and Osama in Peshawar and Lahore were held in days when the Al Qaeda leader was staying in Peshawar. Recalling political events that took place when Mr Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League and JI were components of the then Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, Qazi said Osama was a big supporter of IJI and Nawaz Sharif and wanted to see him Pakistan’s prime minister. “Bin Laden was prepared to pay for buying parliamentarians’ votes to achieve this objective,” said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, who also heads the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal. He said a delegation sent by Osama had visited him in Peshawar and conveyed that they wanted cooperation from JI but “we declined the request”. In a statement issued on Saturday, a JI spokesman said that excerpts from interview were published in the daily and presented on a private TV channel in such a manner that they were creating confusion in the minds of people.—PPI Reference: Osama offered to buy votes for Nawaz: Qazi March 19, 2006 https://www.dawn.com/news/183849 ISLAMABAD, Aug 13: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed held a three-hour long meeting with President Gen Pervez Musharraf to “discuss national and international matters.” The meeting, according to party sources, was not a scheduled one as the JI chief was busy in the Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) central parliamentary board meeting when he received a call from the president’s house. During the meeting, which continued from 1pm to 4pm, the president discussed a host of issues “with Qazi Hussain Ahmed, including national and international matters,” a party press release said. When asked about the circumstances leading to the meeting, a party leader said: “Qazi sahib was in the meeting with other heads of the MMA, as such, he certainly would have met the president with their consent and advice.” Reference: Qazi, Musharraf talk for 3 hours August 14, 2002 https://www.dawn.com/news/52617 The [Pakistan] government of Benazir Bhutto, which came to know that he helped instigate a no-confidence vote against her in Parliament." Reference: Who Killed Abdullah Azzam? By Aryn Baker / PeshawarThursday, June 18, 2009 http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1902809_1902810_1905173-2,00.html "We in Saudi Arabia are not observers in Pakistan, we are participants," the Saudi ambassador to the US, Adel al-Jubeir : Al-Jubeir denied that Musharraf had come to the Kingdom to meet with exiled former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, although he carefully avoided ruling out such a meeting. Instead, he boldly asserted that, "We in Saudi Arabia are not observers in Pakistan, we are participants." 4. (S) Al-Jubeir added that he sees neither Sharif nor former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as a viable replacement for Musharraf. "With all his flaws," he said of Musharraf, "he is the only person that you or we have to work with now." He claimed that Sharif would be unable to control the Pushtun-dominated Islamic insurgency in the tribal region near Afghanistan, while Bhutto would prove to be too divisive a figure to rule the country, which he characterized as "very tribal, much like our own country." 5. (S) Al-Jubeir added that for the SAG, stability in Pakistan is an essential strategic matter. Since Pakistan possesses both nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles, from the Saudi point of view, the policy choice to be made there boils down to a drastic choice: "We can either support Musharraf and stability, or we can allow bin Laden to get the bomb, "he told the Charge'. References: US embassy cables: Saudi influence in Pakistan Wed 1 Dec 2010 https://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/130876 WikiLeaks cables: Saudi Arabia wants military rule in Pakistan : King Abdullah and ruling princes distrust Asif Ali Zardari, the country's Shia president, and would prefer 'another Musharraf' by Declan Walsh in Islamabad Wed 1 Dec 2010 10.00 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/01/saudis-distrust-pakistan-embassy-cables

Hate Speakers, Bigots, Patriots and Fascists in Jang Group - 2

An Editorial in Arab News on Salmaan Taseer's Tragic Death  : Murder in Pakistan - Leaders should stand up and rally the country against the forces of intolerance Jan 5, 2011 Unfortunately, Pakistan’s detractors will use this slaying to try and blacken its name. They will claim that bigotry and extremism have infiltrated every level of society. It will be used too by those who want to pressure the country into pursuing their political and military agendas. They will say it proves it is a chaotic and dangerous state and that if it is not to fall apart completely, it has to take tougher measures against terrorists and extremists — as if it were not already fighting with all its might against them! But that has not stopped the leaders of Germany, France and the UK demanding it do more. There will be those too, who use this killing to flaunt their fear and ignorance of Islam, claiming it as proof, after the church massacres in Baghdad and Alexandria, of growing Muslim extremism and bigotry worldwide. That is demonstrably untrue. There is bigotry in Pakistan but then it exists in every society. Clearly the murder was an act of religious fanaticism. But it was individuals who were responsible, not a mass movement. Taseer was murdered by one or perhaps more bigots who believed that he wanted to repeal the country’s blasphemy law. But he was a Muslim, not his murderer or those who, sickeningly, celebrate this evil deed. He worked for the good of his country trying to promote tolerance and understanding and peace between its different communities. He stood up against extremism and violence. It cost him his life and that makes him a martyr and his heartless, grinning murderer an ignorant instrument of evil. But while Pakistan has lost a bold campaigner for truth and justice, there is comfort for it in the knowledge that Taseer was not alone. There is a host of other activists whose faith is generous and embracing and who refuse to be intimidated by the twisted advocates of hatred. Pakistan is deeply shocked by this murder. This could be a defining moment for its leaders to stand up and rally the country against the deviant forces that would bring darkness to it and Islam. As for those Islamophobes who would see in Taseer’s murder proof of fanaticism, they should look instead to the Islam he stood for — a faith that pursues justice, truth and respect, the real Islam. REFERENCE: Murder in Pakistan - Leaders should stand up and rally the country against the forces of intolerance EDITORIAL Jan 5, 2011 22:38 http://arabnews.com/opinion/article229917.ece

Jang Group & GEO TV Murdered Salman Taseer (Abbas Athar BBC)

Jang Group & GEO TV Murdered Salman Taseer... by SalimJanMazari

سلمان تاثیر کے قتل اور میڈیا میں ان کے قاتل کی کوریج پر سینیئر صحافی اور ایکسپریس اخبار کے ایڈیٹر عباس اطہر سے گفتگو

پير 10 جنوری 2011 ,‭ 16:39 GMT 21:39 PST

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/multimedia/2011/01/110110_abbas_athar_media_taseer_uk.shtml

I must confess, I have been very wary of a certain media house and its group of publications. Consider, for example, the so-called historian Dr Safdar Mahmood, who has used the pages of the media house’s Urdu newspaper to distort history week after week. One such example, now accepted as fact, is that Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani was tasked by Quaid-e-Azam to raise the Pakistani flag on August 14, 1947. The video of the August 14 ceremony is available on the BBC Urdu website as well as YouTube and it shows a Pakistani army officer raising the flag with Shabbir Ahmad Usmani not visible anywhere in the video. This is just one lie out of thousands that irresponsible columnists like Dr Safdar Mahmood have perpetuated over the years. Then you have Mr Ansar Abbasi, the foremost votary of bigotry in the publication business. He specialises in labelling people as anti-Islamic and anti-national. Some of his more prominent victims include people like Malala Yousafzai who he accuses of nothing less than blasphemy. He has railed day in and day out against evil “secularists” and “liberals” for destroying the “Islamic identity” of Pakistan. The media group’s television channel promotes Dr Aamir Liaqat Hussain who had on his show famously called for the killing of the Ahmedis leading to targeted killings of that community. Even Hamid Mir — with whom one sympathises — has in the past resorted to most intemperate language against people who disagree with him. The overall discourse of this media group has been right-wing with a conservative nationalist editorial policy. It is therefore amusing that now the same group is being accused of being anti-national. One cannot help but indulge in some Schadenfreude at this turn of events. REFERENCE: Freedom of the press BY Yasser Latif Hamdani May 05, 2014 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/05-May-2014/freedom-of-the-press Murder in Pakistan - Leaders should stand up and rally the country against the forces of intolerance EDITORIAL Jan 5, 2011 22:38 http://arabnews.com/opinion/article229917.ece

Taliban Journalist of Jang Group Justify Salmaan Taseer Murder (GEO TV 2011)



Taliban Journalist of Jang Group Justify... by SalimJanMazari

Note the angling by the Jang Group, The News, GEO TV and Hamid Mir before and after Salmaan Taseer's tragic assassination  

Liberal extremism vs religious extremism — both are wrong BY Hamid Mir Tuesday, January 11, 2011 ISLAMABAD: It’s very difficult for me to write about Salmaan Taseer, the assassinated Punjab Governor. Once he was a good friend and later he became a ferocious enemy. He spoke against me and against Geo TV on many television shows as the governor and I wrote against him many times in the last couple of years because he had joined hands with dictator Pervez Musharraf after the imposition of emergency on November 3, 2007. I was standing with the deposed chief justice of Pakistan and Taseer tried to stop the restoration of deposed judges, first by helping Musharraf and then by helping President Asif Ali Zardari. Musharraf appointed him the governor of Punjab in May 2008 with the hope that Taseer will convince Zardari to accept the former dictator as the president for five years. Musharraf was wrong. Zardari ultimately forced him to resign and occupied the Presidency with the help of Taseer. Within a few days of becoming the President, Zardari arranged my meeting with Taseer and forced us to forget our past differences because Zardari was aware that we enjoyed a friendship of 20 years (from 1987 to 2007). Unfortunately, President Zardari failed to remove the mistrust between his governor and a journalist. We embarrassed the President of Pakistan. In the next two years, we spoke against each other many times, especially when Zardari imposed the Governor’s Rule in the Punjab to suppress the movement for the restoration of deposed judges. Zardari and Taseer failed to stop that movement and finally they were forced to restore the judges. My differences with President Zardari and Taseer were over after that. Thanks to the floods last year, Taseer showed a big heart and made truce with me. It was August 2010 when Taseer surprised me. He saw me in the flood affected area of Multan and sent a message of reconciliation through his media adviser Farrukh Shah. I accepted because I was impressed that the governor was trying his best to help the flood victims. 

We had tea together after many years. He praised my visits to the flooded areas in boats and I praised his commitment to the flood victims. Taseer wanted to discuss many things but I was going to Muzaffargarh with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. We talked and laughed and then I said goodbye to him with a promise to meet him again in Lahore. I saw him again in the reception for the Chinese premier in Islamabad. Just one day before his assassination, I was in Lahore and tried to contact him. I wanted his views on the gas loadshedding in the Punjab. I was informed that he was in Islamabad. The next day, I arrived back in Islamabad and in late afternoon my colleague Rana Jawad told me that Taseer was shot in front of my favorite restaurant in the capital. I was stunned but then I smiled. I told my colleague “Taseer is a hard nut to crack, he will survive.” My colleague said that only a miracle could save him because Taseer got more than one bullet in his neck. Now I was nervous. After a few minutes, I came to know that a police guard had fired more than 27 bullets on Taseer. He was angry with Taseer because he took a position against the country’s blasphemy laws. There was no justification for any individual to kill someone just for criticising a law. I was more disturbed when I started receiving SMS in support of his killer the same evening. Many religious leaders refused to condemn the assassination of Taseer. 

I took it as a challenge and decided to get condemnation from the head of the biggest religious party of the country — Jamiat Ulema Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. I contacted him on phone on my television show and just asked, “Will you condemn the murder of Salmaan Taseer?” I was surprised when Maulana Sahib tried to avoid my question. He was not in a mood to condemn the murder but I was repeating my question again and again. Finally, the Maulana Sahib condemned the murder of Taseer. It was not my victory. It was the victory of all those who believed in the teachings of founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He believed in the rule of law. No individual has the right to become a judge and punish someone without hearing his point of view. When I finished my show, many extremists started threatening me. But I was not alone. A big majority of my colleagues encouraged me, including the critics of Taseer. More than 500 religious clerics issued a statement in support of the assassin and declared that no Muslim should participate in his funeral prayers because the late governor was trying to release a Christian woman convicted under the blasphemy case. This statement came from the anti-Taliban Barelvi scholars, who lost their leaders like Mufti Safaraz Naeemi at the hands of the Taliban in 2009. All the top religious scholars of the Lahore city refused to lead the funeral prayers of Taseer, including the prayer leader of the mosque in the Governor House of Lahore. The Barelvi Ulema took a very extreme position. On the other side, some English newspapers declared that blasphemy law was the main cause for the killing of Taseer. It was also an extreme position. It is a very difficult situation for the host of a popular TV talk show. I took another risk. On the day of the funeral, I interviewed another important Islamic scholar Mufti Muneebur Rehman, who expressed his condolences with the family of Taseer. Mufti Muneeb belongs to the Barelvi school of thought. He was one of the first Islamic scholars who came out openly against the suicide bombings of Taliban in my TV show five years ago. Mufti Muneeb also opposed Taseer’s views on the blasphemy laws but he never approved the murder of Taseer. I was relieved after the statement of Mufti Muneeb. At least, someone from religious clergy came out openly against the killing. I think Salmaan Taseer was a misunderstood person. His son Aatish Taseer portrayed his father as an enemy of Jews and Hindus in his writings just because Taseer left his Indian Sikh mother Talveen Singh in 1980. In fact, Taseer represented the western way of life in his private life but Aatish wrongly accused his father for having a religious hatred against the Jews and Hindus. The assassin of Taseer also had a wrong impression about Taseer and he killed him as an enemy of Islam. Aatish Taseer and the assassin, Malik Mumtaz Qadri, represent two different extremes. One is a liberal extremist who leveled unfounded charges against his father. The other is a religious extremist. I am sure that both these two extremes are very dangerous for our values. We must fight both, the religious extremists and the liberal extremists. 

I must say that the ruling Pakistan People’s Party is also responsible for Taseer’s death. When Taseer criticised the blasphemy laws, his own party, including President Zardari, never took a stand for him. Law Minister Babar Awan said that nobody would be allowed to make a change in the blasphemy laws. The views of Taseer were misunderstood because the US is also demanding that Pakistan repeal the blasphemy laws. The common Pakistanis don’t like the US interference and that was why Taseer was declared an American agent by many rightwing parties. We can compare this controversy with the cases of Binayak Sen and Arundhati Roy in India. They are facing sedition charges because they are outspoken like Salmaan Taseer and they are hated by the right wing like Taseer. They are facing death threats and they are supported by the US and unfortunately the support from the US is definitely a disadvantage in South Asia. Personally, I also believe that there is no need to change the blasphemy laws right now because these laws were passed by our parliament in 1992 and we cannot afford new controversies these days. Prime Minister Gilani has written in his autobiography published in 2006 that the late Benazir Bhutto was also an opponent of changing the blasphemy laws. But we must not allow a person to kill another person just for criticising these laws. Freedom of expression is assured in Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan. I think that human rights bodies must fight the case of poor Christian woman convicted in blasphemy in the high court and the Supreme Court. They should not force the President of Pakistan to announce a pardon because it will create further divisions in our society. We must resolve our problems through the rule of law. Religious parties once again showed their street power on January 9 in Karachi in support of the blasphemy laws. Interestingly, Sunni and Shia scholars never condoned the murder of Taseer but they were together in defending the blasphemy laws. The Punjab Assembly showed maturity on Monday by condemning the murder of Salmaan Taseer. I think that blasphemy law is a safety valve against violence but I also believe that we must condemn the murder of Salmaan Taseer. Now some PPP leaders are trying to put the blame of his assassination on the PML-N. This is dirty politics. We need unity to fight extremism. I am sure we can defeat extremism not with the help of US but with the help of our own values based on tolerance. We need a made-in-Pakistan solution for fighting terrorism and extremism. A made in US solution will completely destroy us. REFERENCE: We need a ‘made-in-Pakistan’ solution for fighting terrorism - Liberal extremism vs religious extremism — both are wrong BY Hamid Mir Tuesday, January 11, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-3234-We-need-a-made-in-Pakistan-solution-for-fighting-terrorism Hamid Mir on Asia Bibi & Blasphemy Law & Salmaan Taseer Thursday, November 25, 2010 in Jang Group, The News and GEO TV as well http://jang.com.pk/jang/nov2010-daily/25-11-2010/col4.htm Thursday, October 13, 2011, Ziqad 14, 1432 A.H. http://jang.com.pk/jang/oct2011-daily/13-10-2011/col2.htm

Jang Group on the Death of Osama Bin Laden (Capital Talk 02 May 2011)



Jang Group on the Death of Osama Bin Laden... by SalimJanMazari

Liberal fascism? Hamid Mir Tuesday, November 03, 2009 Jonah Goldberg is a columnist for The Los Angeles Times. He recently wrote a book on liberal fascism. He started his book with Mussolini who was the father of fascism in Italy. Jonah also discussed American liberalism as a new totalitarian political religion very close to fascism. Finally Jonah Goldberg declared Hillary Clinton as "The First Lady of Liberal Fascism." Jonah avoided using the term of liberal fascist for President Barack Obama but he feared that America was slowly becoming a fascist country. It was difficult for me to believe that Hillary could be a fascist because she is a fascinating person. I read the book just a few days ago when I was travelling from the US to Pakistan. Luckily I got a chance to meet Hillary Clinton during her official visit to Pakistan on the evening of Oct 28 at the Islamabad residence of the US ambassador. I was one of the six TV anchors invited for a candid talk with the secretary of state. She was very much concerned about the bad image of her country in Pakistan and she said that "we must listen to each other and we must be honest with each other." I put just three short questions to Hillary Clinton. My first question was about the rule of law. I referred to the Kerry-Lugar bill in which the US expressed desire for the rule of law in Pakistan and humbly asked why US officials were breaking Pakistani laws again and again in Islamabad. I informed her that four US marines were arrested at 3 a.m. on Oct 27 in Islamabad with illegal weapons in their hands. They were released within one hour of their arrest. I asked: "Who ordered them to patrol the roads of Islamabad? Will you allow Pakistani soldiers to patrol the roads of Washington DC with weapons in their hands?" Hillary said that diplomats enjoyed immunity and they carried weapons. I again informed her that diplomats did not come out on the roads at three in the morning. She said: "I will look into this matter." I was not satisfied with her answer. She told us that the US wanted a strong and vibrant democracy in Pakistan. I again asked her that if the US cared too much about democracy, then why it didn't care about the unanimous resolution of our new parliament against US drones attacks. I said, "Instead of listening to the voice of democracy coming through our parliament you have increased drone attacks which means that you have no respect for our democracy." Once again she just said, "We have to win the war against terror and we have to support democracy in Pakistan." My third question was about the American desire for civilian control on the security establishment of Pakistan expressed in the Kerry-Lugar bill many times. I asked, "Do you want a civilian to head the ISI?" She never said no, but explained, "We can have a head of the CIA both from military and civilians and you can also have the head of the ISI from military and civilians." The answer clearly gave a message that the US wants a civilian to head the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. Hillary Clinton never said anything new to us. When I was coming back after meeting her I was thinking about Liberal Fascism written by Jonah Goldberg. Hillary Clinton must give clear and straight answers to the questions burning in the minds of common Pakistanis. Otherwise, we will be forced to believe that she is taking America into a new era of liberal fascism. REFERENCE: Liberal fascism? Hamid Mir Tuesday, November 03, 2009 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=206525&Cat=9&dt=11/4/2009 Hamid Mir Daily Jang Thursday, January 20, 2011 http://jang.com.pk/jang/jan2011-daily/20-01-2011/col5.htm

Jang Group , The News and GEO TV and their Journalists played Ugliest role during Memogate Scandal but Hamid Mir in the Garb of Attacking Mansoor Ijaz, attacked the most marginalized Minority in Pakistan Hamid Mir Target Minorities via Jang Group 26 January 2012. In 2009, the same Hamid Mir had alleged that a Secret Cell is being run by Husain Haqqani in the President House against Army and the Media.

Taliban Journalist of Jang Group VS Bloggers (Capital Talk 5th Nov 2009)

Taliban Journalist of Jang Group VS Bloggers... by SalimJanMazari

The man who played with four govts . Mansoor Ejaz once urged Benazir to recognise Israel BY Hamid Mir  ISLAMABAD: Once again Islamabad is ripe with rumours that the PPP-led coalition government might not survive till March 2012 but President Asif Ali Zardari is not worried. He does not see any “extra-constitutional” threat to his government because he thinks there is no reason for the Army to take over. He recently told his friends that the political government and Army leaders have no differences over issues relating to foreign policy and security but even then some diehard critics say the countdown has begun. The rumours spread fast after the publication of an article in the Financial Times by Mansoor Ejaz who claimed President Zardari had sent a secret memo to the White House through Admiral Mike Mullen immediately after the killing of Osama bin Laden in the Abbottabad operation on May 2. President Zardari allegedly informed the US officials that his government was under threat from the Army and the US must stop General Kayani from taking over. According to the article President Zardari also promised to make some major changes in the Army and ISI leadership. Many opposition politicians raised questions about the alleged secret memo when this article was published but the Presidency remained silent. Many friends and colleagues advised President Zardari to issue a contradiction but he said: “let them spread the dirt for some days; we must know who is friend and who is foe?” Farhatullah Babar, the presidential spokesman, informally contradicted Mansoor Ejaz’s claim but he was not ready to say anything on the record. One intelligence agency informed the government that this “memo controversy” was part of an international conspiracy to create differences between political and military leadership of Pakistan. In the meantime US secretary of state Hillary Clinton during her recent visit met a group of journalists in Islamabad. One of our colleagues Mazhar Abbas asked her about the secret memo but she neither contradicted nor confirmed. Her careful response was a bombshell for many in the government. More articles with more speculations started appearing in the Pakistani media. Rumourmongers confused many seasoned politicians. One federal minister from a coalition party decided to speak against his own government in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. That was when the Foreign Office decided to issue a formal contradiction. Next day the President’s spokesperson also broke his silence on the issue and said that “Mansoor Ejaz’s allegation is nothing more than a desperate bid by an individual whom recognition and credibility has eluded, to seek media attention through concocted stories”. Farhatullah Babar further said: “why would the President of Pakistan choose a private person of questionable credentials to carry a letter to US officials? Since when Mansoor has become a courier of messages of the President of Pakistan?” He recalled that 16 years ago during the visit of late Benazir Bhutto to US Mansoor Ejaz wanted to see her. Farhatullah Babar was press secretary to the PM at that time. He mentioned the name of Mansoor to Benazir Bhutto and she said: “Mansoor is not to be trusted”. Late Benazir Bhutto advised her Press Secretary to “stay away from Mansoor Ejaz” but he never mentioned these words in his denial issued on October 29. Mansoor Ejaz also issued a statement in response in which he said: “I have the facts, all the facts. Every word I say or write is backed with hard evidence and proof. Challenging me on that would be a grave mistake” since “the evidence is crystal clear”. Background interviews with well-informed officials in Islamabad and conversations with top Pakistani diplomats in Washington and London revealed some more information. This is not the first time Mansoor Ejaz has created a problem for the PPP government. He did so in 1995 when tried to meet Benazir Bhutto through Zafar Hilali who was then working with the prime minister. He informed Hilali that Yusuf Haroon was hatching a conspiracy against the government with the help of some Army officials. Hilali asked him to write all these things in black and white. Mansoor Ejaz wrote a letter to Benazir Bhutto on June 29, 1995 claiming that the then Director General of Military Intelligence Ali Quli Khan was hatching a conspiracy to overthrow her government with the help of Yusuf Haroon. He offered his services for lobbying in the US Congress. He also proposed that Pakistan must recognise Israel and US will write off all its foreign debt. Benazir Bhutto spoke to Army chief General Abdul Waheed Kakar and informed him about the allegations made by Mansoor Ejaz against General Ali Quli Khan. Kakar initiated an inquiry but nothing was proved. After some weeks Ali Quli Khan reported to Kakar about a coup plan made by some hardliners and arrested many officers including a Major General. A few months later Benazir Bhutto visited New York to address the UN General Assembly. This writer was part of the delegation as a journalist. Mansoor Ejaz tried to meet Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari. She not only refused to meet him she even advised the journalists accompanying her “never to meet this person”. Mansoor Ejaz claims he persuaded US Vice President Al Gore to say that a military coup against democratic government will not be accepted. Al Gore said this in a reception organised by a Pakistani-American Rashid Chaudhry in Washington. Rashid Chaudhry has requested Benazir Bhutto not to send the former ambassador to that reception but someone more trust-worthy. She sent Wajid Shamsul Hasan. Mansoor Ejaz met Wajid Shamsul Hasan but the latter told Benazir Bhutto “we must not trust him”. Mansoor Ejaz tried to become a lobbyist for Pakistan but the then Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington, Maleeha Lodhi, raised many questions about his credibility and then Mansoor Ejaz started writing articles against Benazir Bhutto in the Wall Street Journal. Benazir Bhutto said privately many times in those days that he was a double agent working for Israel and also for some people in the ISI. In October 1996 the Pakistan Embassy in Washington accused Mansoor Ejaz of writing against the PPP government because he was denied 15 million dollars he had demanded to deliver votes in the US House of Representatives in support of the Brown Amendment. The embassy also said that Mansoor Ejaz had been pushing the PPP government to recognise Israel and he himself visited Israel on several occasions, once on the invitation of Jerusalem’s mayor. The embassy mentioned that he was given ‘humanitarian of the year’ award by a major Jewish organisation “for establishing clinics and schools in Belgium and in many parts of the Eastern Europe for the Jewish communities. Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Ahmad Kamal was close to Mansoor Ejaz but then Foreign Secretary Najmudin Sheikh addressed a press conference against him and declared his articles “vindictive and without credibility”. After the dismissal of Benazir Bhutto’s government by President Farooq Leghari in November 1996 Mansoor Ejaz became very close to some ministers of the Nawaz Sharif government, which was installed in 1997. He even claimed to act as a middleman between US and Sudan and then between Pakistan and India in 2000 on behalf of US President Bill Clinton. He visited the Indian Army headquarters in Srinagar and then came to Islamabad for a meeting with the ISI officials who ignored him but one day he was able to informally meet General Pervez Musharraf through his mother. He entered in Army House to meet Musharraf’s mother but succeeded in having a brief chitchat with the military dictator. Musharraf at that time was diplomatically isolated ruler but he too never trusted Mansoor Ejaz due to his close links with some PML-N leaders. After meeting Musharraf he met Hizbul Mujahedeen chief Syed Salahudin in Islamabad through a Jamat-e-Islami leader and tried to deliver him an alleged letter from US President Bill Clinton but the Kashmiri militant leader never accepted that letter. Mansoor tried to give an impression to both Islamabad and Delhi that he was an unofficial negotiator of President Clinton. When the Indian government approached Washington about the credentials of Mansoor Ejaz some senior Clinton administration officials clarified publicly that Mansoor Ejaz was not given any mandate to act as a negotiator in the Kashmir dispute. After 9/11 Mansoor Ejaz tried to interact with both CIA and Taliban. He sent messages to Taliban through a retired ISI official and offered his services for mediation between Taliban and the US but his efforts never materialised because Taliban were not ready to hand over Osama bin Laden to US. After the change of command in the ISI the new DG ISI General Ehsanul Haq denied him access to all the government circles. He tried to become partner of a newspaper owner but failed. He remained silent for many years and then wrote an article in the Christian Science Monitor after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto on December 28, 2007 in which he said: “I knew Benazir Bhutto well. I am often blamed by her supporters for having helped bring her government down in 1996 by exposing her hypocrisy and corruption in two Wall Street Journal Op-Ed pieces”. His words raise the question that how can President Asif Ali Zardari trust him and why would he send a secret memo through a person who wrote against him and his wife many times? It is obvious now that President Zardari neither met him recently nor spoke to him on telephone. Mansoor Ejaz is claiming that one top diplomat was instrumental in the making of the alleged memo and he can prove that whatever he wrote in the memo was approved by the top diplomat. PTI Chief Imran Khan claimed in the Lahore rally that it was Pakistan Ambassador in US Hussain Haqqani who gave this memo to Mansoor Ejaz. Hussain Haqqani denies that. He says that when he can talk to Admiral Mike Mullen directly why would he use a person like Mansoor Ejaz to send a secret memo? Some government sources suspected that maybe Mansoor Ejaz had spoken to Ambassador Haqqani on phone after the May 2 incident and recorded his conversation with him but he cannot present that recording as evidence because it is an offence under the US law. These sources accuse the PML-N of being part of the conspiracy because some PML-N leaders enjoy friendly relations with Mansoor Ejaz sine late 90’s. Sources close to Mansoor Ejaz claim that the PPP government is inviting big trouble by denying the memo. They say Mansoor Ejaz is an American citizen and he would not like to be involved in Pakistani politics but he is ready to produce the evidence in any Pakistani court of law if required. Mansoor Ejaz is playing with the fourth Pakistani government in the last 16 years. It seems that someone tried to play with someone through Mansoor Ejaz but this clever person has created a big trouble for a small-time power player. President Zardari may not lose anything in this whole controversy but Mansoor Ejaz is capable of destroying the credibility of the diplomat who spoke to him on phone or sent him some email. One PPP insider claimed that Mansoor Ejaz has special hatred for PPP. He belongs to a sect that was declared non-Muslim by the Pakistani Parliament when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the prime minister. That is why he has always tried to punish PPP through his conspiracies. The insider claimed that President Zardari has no problem with General Kayani. President Zardari wrote an article in Washington Post on May 3, 2011 and defended his intelligence agencies by saying “a decade of cooperation and partnership between the US and Pakistan led up to the elimination of Osama bin Laden and we in Pakistan take some satisfaction that our early assistance in identifying an Al Qaeda courier ultimately led to this day”. After five months President Zardari again wrote in Washington Post on October 1 and said: “must we fight alone in our region all those that others now seek to embrace? And how long can we degrade our capacity by fighting an enemy that the might of NATO’s global coalition has failed to eliminate?” PPP sources insisted that Mansoor Ejaz tried to create differences between army and the president and also tried to create misunderstanding between Pakistan and US but he has miserably failed. The PPP leaders play down the delay in contradicting the alleged secret memo from President Zardari to President Obama. But this delay was not a mistake but a blunder, which forced many in Pakistan to believe that the secret memo was true. REFERENCE: The man who played with four govts . Mansoor Ejaz once urged Benazir to recognise Israel BY Hamid Mir Wednesday, November 02, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=10015&Cat=13

Perpetual Confusion of Hamid Mir
on Blasphemy Law Thursday November 01 2012

In 2001 Hamid Mir filed a report in Daily Dawn Pakistan that Osama Bin Laden had Nuclear Bombs (as if these are peanuts and then Abbottabad happened in 2011. Isn't it funny that Jang Group, GEO TV, The News love Osama Bin Laden and Saudi Arabia both and least bothered to read Saudi Religious Edict of Apostasy against Osama Bin Laden .

Jang Group on the Life of Osama Bin Laden - 1 (Capital Talk 5 May 2011)



Jang Group on the Life of Osama Bin Laden - 1... by SalimJanMazari

Saudi Fatwa on Usaamah Ibn Laadin Al Khaarijee http://www.scribd.com/doc/98399399/Saudi-Fatwa-on-Usaamah-Ibn-Laadin-Al-Khaarijee

Saudi Fatwa on Usaamah Ibn Laadin Al Khaarijee by Aamir Mughal

Jang Group on the Life of Osama Bin Laden - 2 (Capital Talk 5 May 2011)



Jang Group on the Life of Osama Bin Laden - 2... by SalimJanMazari

Nov 10, 2001 Osama claims he has nukes: If US uses N-arms it will get same response KABUL, Nov 9: Osama bin Laden has said that “we have chemical and nuclear weapons as a deterrent and if America used them against us we reserve the right to use them”. He said this in a special interview with Hamid Mir, the editor of Ausaf, for Dawn and Ausaf, at an undisclosed location near Kabul. This was the first interview given by Osama to any journalist after the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington. The correspondent was taken blindfolded in a jeep from Kabul on the night of Nov 7 to a place where it was extremely cold and one could hear the sound of anti-aircraft guns firing away. After a wait of some time , Osama arrived with about a dozen bodyguards and Dr Ayman Al-Zuwahiri and answered questions.

 Hamid Mir: After American bombing on Afghanistan on Oct 7, you told the Al-Jazeera TV that the Sept 11 attacks had been carried out by some Muslims. How did you know they were Muslims ?

 Osama bin Laden: The Americans themselves released a list of the suspects of the Sept 11 attacks, saying that the persons named were involved in the attacks. They were all Muslims, of whom 15 belonged to Saudi Arabia, two were from the UAE and one from Egypt. According to the information I have, they were all passengers.Fateha was held for them in their homes. But America said they were hijackers.

 HM: In your statement of Oct 7, you expressed satisfaction over the Sept 11 attacks, although a large number of innocent people perished in them, hundreds among them were Muslims. Can you justify the killing of innocent men in the light of Islamic teachings ?

 OBL: This is a major point in jurisprudence. In my view, if an enemy occupies a Muslim territory and uses common people as human shield, then it is permitted to attack that enemy. For instance, if bandits barge into a home and hold a child hostage, then the child’s father can attack the bandits and in that attack even the child may get hurt. America and its allies are massacring us in Palestine, Chechenya, Kashmir and Iraq. The Muslims have the right to attack America in reprisal. The Islamic Shariat says Muslims should not live in the land of the infidel for long. The Sept 11 attacks were not targeted at women and children. The real targets were America’s icons of military and economic power. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was against killing women and children. When he saw a dead woman during a war, he asked why was she killed ? If a child is above 13 and wields a weapon against Muslims, then it is permitted to kill him. The American people should remember that they pay taxes to their government, they elect their president, their government manufactures arms and gives them to Israel and Israel uses them to massacre Palestinians. The American Congress endorses all government measures and this proves that the entire America is responsible for the atrocities perpetrated against Muslims. The entire America, because they elect the Congress. I ask the American people to force their government to give up anti-Muslim policies. The American people had risen against their government’s war in Vietnam. They must do the same today. The American people should stop the massacre of Muslims by their government.

 HM: Can it be said that you are against the American government, not the American people ?

 OSB: Yes! We are carrying on the mission of our Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him). The mission is to spread the word of God, not to indulge massacring people. We ourselves are the target of killings, destruction and atrocities. We are only defending ourselves. This is defensive Jihad. We want to defend our people and our land. That is why I say that if we don’t get security, the Americans, too would not get security. This is a simple formula that even an American child can understand. This is the formula of live and let live.

 HM: The head of Egypt’s Jamia Al-Azhar has issued a fatwa (edict) against you, saying that the views and beliefs of Osama bin Laden have nothing to do with Islam. What do you have to say about that ?

 OSB: The fatwa of any official Aalim has no value for me. History is full of such Ulema who justify Riba, who justify the occupation of Palestine by the Jews, who justify the presence of American troops around Harmain Sharifain. These people support the infidels for their personal gain.The true Ulema support the Jihad against America. Tell me if Indian forces invaded Pakistan what would you do? The Israeli forces occupy our land and the American troops are on our territory. We have no other option but to launch Jihad.

 HM: Some Western media claim that you are trying to acquire chemical and nuclear weapons. How much truth is there in such reports?

 OSB: I heard the speech of American President Bush yesterday (Oct 7). He was scaring the European countries that Osama wanted to attack with weapons of mass destruction. I wish to declare that if America used chemical or nuclear weapons against us, then we may retort with chemical and nuclear weapons. We have the weapons as deterrent.

 HM: Where did you get these weapons from ?

 OSB: Go to the next question.

 HM: Demonstrations are being held in many European countries against American attacks on Afghanistan. Thousands of the protesters were non-Muslims. What is your opinion about those non-Muslim protesters ?

 OSB: There are many innocent and good-hearted people in the West. American media instigates them against Muslims. However, some good-hearted people are protesting against American attacks because human nature abhors injustice. The Muslims were massacred under the UN patronage in Bosnia. I am ware that some officers of the State Department had resigned in protest. Many years ago the US ambassador in Egypt had resigned in protest against the policies of President Jimmy Carter. Nice and civilized are everywhere. The Jewish lobby has taken America and the West hostage.

 HM: Some people say that war is no solution to any issue. Do you think that some political formula could be found to stop the present war ?

 OSB: You should put this question to those who have started this war. We are only defending ourselves.

 HM: If America got out of Saudi Arabia and the Al-Aqsa mosque was liberated, would you then present yourself for trial in some Muslim country ?

 OSB: Only Afghanistan is an Islamic country. Pakistan follows the English law. I don’t consider Saudi Arabia an Islamic country. If the Americans have charges against me, we too have a charge sheet against them.

 HM: Pakistan government decided to cooperate with America after Sept 11, which you don’t consider right. What do you think Pakistan should have done but to cooperate with America ?

 OSB: The government of Pakistan should have the wishes of the people in view. It should not have surrendered to the unjustified demands of America. America does not have solid proof against us. It just has some surmises. It is unjust to start bombing on the basis of those surmises.

 HM: Had America decided to attack Pakistan with the help of India and Israel, what would have we done ?

OSB: What has America achieved by attacking Afghanistan ? We will not leave the Pakistani people and the Pakistani territory at anybody’s mercy. We will defend Pakistan. But we have been disappointed by Gen Pervez Musharraf. He says that the majority is with him. I say the majority is against him. Bush has used the word crusade. This is a crusade declared by Bush. It is no wisdom to barter off blood of Afghan brethren to improve Pakistan’s economy. He will be punished by the Pakistani people and Allah. Right now a great war of Islamic history is being fought in Afghanistan. All the big powers are united against Muslims. It is ‘ sawab ‘ to participate in this war.

 HM: A French newspaper has claimed that you had kidney problem and had secretly gone to Dubai for treatment last year. Is that correct ?

 OSB: My kidneys are all right. I did not go to Dubai last year. One British newspaper has published an imaginary interview with Islamabad dateline with one of my sons who lives in Saudi Arabia. All this is false.

 HM: Is it correct that a daughter of Mulla Omar is your wife or your daughter is Mulla Omar’s wife ?

 OSB: (Laughs). All my wives are Arabs ( and all my daughters are married to Arab Mujahideen). I have spiritual relationship with Mulla Omar. He is a great and brave Muslim of this age. He does not fear anyone but Allah. He is not under any personal relationship or obligation to me. He is only discharging his religious duty. I, too, have not chosen this life out of any personal consideration. REFERENCE: Osama claims he has nukes: If US uses N-arms it will get same response Updated Nov 10, 2001 12:00am BY Hamid Mir http://www.dawn.com/news/5647/osama-claims-he-has-nukes-if-us-uses-n-arms-it-will-get-same-response

Irfan Siddiqui and TTP Jang Group.

ISLAMABAD: A four-member committee tasked to hold peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban and end years of bloodshed says it has been given an open mandate and complete authority to initiate the dialogue process. At the first meeting of the committee on Friday morning, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave guidelines for holding negotiations, discussed in detail the framework and strategy for the talks, and instructed the team to immediately initiate the process. The four member committee formed by the prime minister comprises of his Special Assistant on National Affairs Irfan Siddiqui, veteran journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai, former ambassador and expert on Afghanistan affairs Rustam Shah Mohmand, and former ISI official Major (retd) Amir Shah. Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was also present at the committee meeting. According to sources, the meeting also touched upon topics in the committee's mandate and rules of negotiations with militants, which would be discussed in detail during the next meeting. Irfan Siddiqui was appointed as coordinator of the group, and he would inform the prime minister and interior minister of any progress made. Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Siddiqui said that the team has conveyed its message to the militants. He called on the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to announce its team of negotiators as soon as possible after a meeting of its Shura (council). He said that the Taliban should communicate and explain their stance on the peace talks as soon as possible so the dialogue process can be initiated. He said that the committee was waiting for a response from the Taliban, and was ready to hold negotiations wherever they wished. The committee wishes to enter the dialogue with open hearts and without any preconditions, he said. He added that the committee may involve the services of other individuals to facilitate talks if it feels the need to do so. Earlier, the Federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments were assigned with the responsibility to provide security and travel facilities to the members of the committee. Premier Sharif had only one precondition for talks, which he had explained in the National Assembly on Wednesday that there should be no terrorist attacks during negotiations. REFERENCE: PM directs committee to initiate peace talks immediately 2014-01-31 14:08:27 http://www.dawn.com/news/1083985/pm-directs-committee-to-initiate-peace-talks-immediately

Press Conference of PMs Advisor Irfan Siddiqui.

 
Press Conference of PMs Advisor Irfan Siddiqui. by SalimJanMazari

2006 Osama offered to buy votes for Nawaz: Qazi  ISLAMABAD, March 18: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed has revealed that Osama bin Laden had offered to buy loyalties of legislators to see Mian Nawaz Sharif as prime minister. In an interview appearing in the magazine of an Urdu newspaper on Sunday, Qazi Hussain Ahmed said that Osama had visited the JI headquarters Mansoora and wanted to strike an agreement with the Jamaat but the suggestion was declined by him. Excerpts of the interview were published by the newspaper on Saturday. Qazi said he had met Osama several times in the past. However, the JI on Saturday clarified that meetings between the JI amir and Osama in Peshawar and Lahore were held in days when the Al Qaeda leader was staying in Peshawar. Recalling political events that took place when Mr Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League and JI were components of the then Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, Qazi said Osama was a big supporter of IJI and Nawaz Sharif and wanted to see him Pakistan’s prime minister. “Bin Laden was prepared to pay for buying parliamentarians’ votes to achieve this objective,” said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, who also heads the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal. He said a delegation sent by Osama had visited him in Peshawar and conveyed that they wanted cooperation from JI but “we declined the request”. In a statement issued on Saturday, a JI spokesman said that excerpts from interview were published in the daily and presented on a private TV channel in such a manner that they were creating confusion in the minds of people.—PPI REFERENCE: Osama offered to buy votes for Nawaz: Qazi 2006-03-19 00:00:00 http://www.dawn.com/news/183849/osama-offered-to-buy-votes-for-nawaz-qazi

General (R) Khawaja Ziauddin with Azaz Syed in Dawn News (11 Dec 2011)

 
General (R) Khawaja Ziauddin with Azaz Syed in... by SalimJanMazari

Osama: CIA had trained Pakistani commandos DAWN WIRE SERVICE: Week Ending : 6 October 2001 Issue : 07/40 WASHINGTON, Oct 3: The US Central Intelligence Agency had trained some Pakistani commandos in 1999 to enter Afghanistan and capture Osama bin Laden, but the plan was shelved when the Nawaz Sharif government was displaced by the military. The revelation is made in a story published by The Washington Post under banner headlines. It says the operation was arranged by Nawaz Sharif and his chief of intelligence with the Clinton administration, which in turn had promised to lift sanctions on Pakistan and provide an economic package the precise steps that the Bush administration is now undertaking following Islamabad's pledge of support for the US-led campaign against terrorism. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage refused in a television interview on Wednesday morning to comment on the Post story, saying intelligence matters could not be discussed in public, but unnamed administration officials were quoted as confirming the report. The Post also said a proposal by Sudan in 1996 to arrest Osama, who was then in that country, and deport him to Saudi Arabia had fallen through after Riyadh refused to agree to accept Osama. Talking of a record of "missed opportunities" in the drive against Osama and Al Qaeda, the Post said the US-Pakistani intelligence plan was set in motion less than 12 months after American Tomahawk missiles were launched on Afghanistan. The Pakistani commando team trained by the CIA "was up and running and ready to strike by October 1999", according to one official, when the plan was aborted after the Oct 12 overthrow of the Sharif government by Gen Pervez Musharraf and the army. The Post says Gen Musharraf, who has now committed himself to back the US, had refused to continue with the operation despite attempts at persuasion by the Clinton administration. It adds: "The record of the CIA's aborted relationship with Pakistan two years ago illustrates the value - and the pitfalls - of such an alliance in targeting bin Laden." 

The paper says Pakistan and its intelligence services have valuable information about what is occurring inside Afghanistan. "But a former US official said joint operations with the Pakistani service are always dicey, because the Taliban militia that rules most of Afghanistan has penetrated Pakistani intelligence." According to the Post, president Clinton's national security adviser Samuel "Sandy" Berger says Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden were the number one security threat to America after 1998 (the year when, in August, 200 people were killed in bomb attacks at the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania). "It was the highest priority and a range of appropriate actions were taken". REFERENCE: Osama: CIA had trained Pakistani commandos DAWN WIRE SERVICE: Week Ending : 6 October 2001 Issue : 07/40 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/spa/zohkohb0i282t94/Area%20Studies/public/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/2001/oct0601.html#osam Irfan Siddiqui Column on the Death of Osama Bin Laden Daily Jang 4 May 2011 http://jang.com.pk/jang/may2011-daily/04-05-2011/col1.htm

Osama Bin Laden & Memory Loss of Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan & Pervez Musharraf

 
Osama Bin Laden & Memory Loss of Chaudhry Nisar... by SalimJanMazari

In 1999, the CIA secretly trained and equipped approximately 60 commandos from the Pakistani intelligence agency to enter Afghanistan for the purpose of capturing or killing Osama bin Laden, according to people familiar with the operation. The operation was arranged by then-Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his chief of intelligence with the Clinton administration, which in turn promised to lift sanctions on Pakistan and provide an economic aid package. The plan was aborted later that year when Sharif was ousted in a military coup. The plan was set in motion less than 12 months after U.S. cruise missile strikes against bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan that Clinton administration officials believe narrowly missed hitting the exiled Saudi militant. The clandestine operation was part of a more robust effort by the United States to get bin Laden than has been previously reported, including consideration of broader military action, such as massive bombing raids and Special Forces assaults. It is a record of missed opportunities that has provided President Bush and his administration with some valuable lessons as well as a framework for action as they draw up plans for their own war against bin Laden and his al Qaeda network in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. The Pakistani commando team was up and running and ready to strike by October 1999, a former official said. "It was an enterprise," the official said. "It was proceeding." Still stung by their failure to get bin Laden the previous year, Clinton officials were delighted at the operation, which they believed provided a real opportunity to eliminate bin Laden. "It was like Christmas," a source said. The operation was aborted on Oct. 12, 1999, however, when Sharif was overthrown in a military coup led by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who refused to continue the operation despite substantial efforts by the Clinton administration to revive it. Musharraf, now Pakistan's president, has emerged as a key ally in the Bush administration's efforts to track down bin Laden and destroy his terrorist network. The record of the CIA's aborted relationship with Pakistan two years ago illustrates the value -- and the pitfalls -- of such an alliance in targeting bin Laden. Pakistan and its intelligence service have valuable information about what is occurring inside Afghanistan, a country that remains closed to most of the world. But a former U.S. official said joint operations with the Pakistani service are always dicey, because the Taliban militia that rules most of Afghanistan has penetrated Pakistani intelligence. "You never know who you're dealing with," the former senior official said. "You're always dealing with shadows." 

 'We Were at War' :  In addition to the Pakistan operation, President Bill Clinton the year before had approved additional covert action for the CIA to work with groups inside Afghanistan and with other foreign intelligence services to capture or kill bin Laden. The most dramatic attempt to kill bin Laden occurred in August 1998, when Clinton ordered a Tomahawk cruise missile attack on bin Laden's suspected training camps in Afghanistan in response to the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. At the time, the Pentagon informed the president that far more ambitious and riskier military actions could be undertaken, according to officials involved in the decision. The options included a clandestine helicopter-borne night assault with small U.S. special operations units; a massive bombing raid on the southeastern Afghan city of Kandahar, the spiritual home of the Taliban and a place frequently visited by bin Laden and his followers; and a larger air- and sea-launched missile and bombing raid on the bin Laden camps in eastern Afghanistan. Clinton approved the cruise missile attack recommended by his advisers, and on Aug. 20, 1998, 66 cruise missiles rained down on the training camps. An additional 13 missiles were fired at a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan that the Clinton administration believed was a chemical weapons factory associated with bin Laden. Clinton's decision to attack with unmanned Tomahawk cruise missiles meant that no American lives were put in jeopardy. The decision was supported by his top national security team, which included Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen and national security adviser Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger, officials said. In the aftermath of last month's attacks on the United States, which the Bush administration has tied to bin Laden, Clinton officials said their decision not to take stronger and riskier action has taken on added relevance. "I wish we'd recognized it then," that the United States was at war with bin Laden, said a senior Defense official, "and started the campaign then that we've started now. That's my main regret. In hindsight, we were at war." Outside experts are even more pointed. "I think that raid really helped elevate bin Laden's reputation in a big way, building him up in the Muslim world," said Harlan Ullman, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. "My sense is that because the attack was so limited and incompetent, we turned this guy into a folk hero." Senior officials involved in the decision to limit the attack to unmanned cruise missiles cite four concerns that in many ways are similar to those the Bush administration is confronting now. One was worry that the intelligence on bin Laden's whereabouts was sketchy. Reports at the time said he was supposed to be at a gathering of terrorists, perhaps 100 or more, but it was not clear how reliable that information was. "There was little doubt there was going to be a conference," a source said. "It was not certain that bin Laden would be there, but it was thought to be the case." The source added, "It was all driven by intelligence. . . . The intelligence turned out to be off." 

A second concern was about killing innocent people, especially in Kandahar, a city already devastated by the Soviet Union's 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. Large loss of civilian life, the thinking went, could have cost the United States the moral high ground in its efforts against terrorism, especially in the Muslim world. The risks of conducting a long-range helicopter assault, which would require aerial refueling at night, were another factor. The helicopters might have had to fly 900 miles, an official said. Administration officials especially wanted to avoid a repeat of the disastrous 1980 Desert One operation to rescue American hostages in Iran. During that operation, ordered by President Jimmy Carter, a refueling aircraft collided with a helicopter in the Iranian desert, killing eight soldiers. A final element was the lack of permission for bombers to cross the airspace of an adjoining nation, such as Pakistan, or for helicopters to land at a staging ground on foreign soil. Since Sept. 11, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have offered the United States use of bases and airspace for any new strike against bin Laden. Bin Laden, 44, a member of an extended wealthy Saudi family, was expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1991 and stripped of his citizenship three years later. In early 1996, the CIA set up a special bin Laden unit, largely because of evidence linking him to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. At the time, he was living in Sudan, but he was expelled from that country in May 1996 after the CIA failed to persuade the Saudis to accept a Sudanese offer to turn him over. After his subsequent move to Afghanistan, bin Laden became a major focus of U.S. military and intelligence efforts in February 1998, when he issued a fatwa, or religious order, calling for the killing of Americans. "That really got us spun up," recalled retired Marine Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, who was then the chief of the Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia. When two truck bombs killed more than 200 people at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August of that year, and the U.S. government developed evidence that bin Laden was behind both attacks, the question was not whether the United States should counterattack, but how and when. And when depended on information about his whereabouts. Two weeks later, intelligence arrived in Washington indicating that bin Laden would be attending a meeting in eastern Afghanistan. 

Much turned on the quality of the intelligence provided by CIA Director George J. Tenet, recalled a senior official who had firsthand knowledge of the administration's debate on how to respond. "Some days George was good," the official said, "but some days he was not so good. One day he would be categorical and say this is the best we will get . . . and then two days later or a week later, he would say he was not so sure." 'It Was a Sustained Effort' The quality of the intelligence behooved restraint in planning the raid. Hitting bin Laden with a cruise missile "was a long shot, very iffy," recalled Zinni, the former Central Command chief. "The intelligence wasn't that solid." At the same time, new information surfaced suggesting that bin Laden might be planning another major attack. Top Clinton officials felt it was essential to act. 

At best, they calculated, bin Laden would be killed. And at a minimum, he might be knocked off balance and forced to devote more of his energy to hiding from U.S. forces. "He felt he was safe in Afghanistan, in the mountains, inside landlocked airspace," Zinni said. "So at least we could send the message that we could reach him." In all, 66 cruise missiles were launched from Navy ships in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Pakistan into the camps in Afghanistan. Pakistan had not been warned in advance, but Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston, then the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with Pakistani officials at the precise time of the launch to tell them of the operation. He also assured them that Pakistan was not under surprise attack from India, a potential misapprehension that could have led to war. At least one missile lost power and crashed in Pakistan, but the rest flew into Afghanistan and slammed into suspected terrorist training camps outside Khost, a small town near the Afghan-Pakistani border. Most of the cruise missiles were carrying loads of anti-personnel cluster bomblets, with the intention of killing as many people as possible. Reports from the scene were inconclusive. Most said that the raid killed about 30 people, but not bin Laden. Intelligence that reached top Clinton administration officials after the raid said that bin Laden had left the camp two or three hours before the missiles struck. Other reports said he might have left as many as 10 or 12 hours before they landed. Sources in the U.S. military said the launch time was adjusted some to coordinate it with the Sudan attack andto launch after sundown to minimize detection of the missiles. This had the effect of delaying the launch time by several hours. An earlier launch might have caught bin Laden, two sources said. Cohen came to suspect that bin Laden escaped because he was tipped off that the strike was coming. Four days before the operation, the State Department issued a public warning about a "very serious threat" and ordered hundreds of nonessential U.S. personnel and dependents out of Pakistan. 

Some U.S. officials believe word could have been passed to bin Laden by the Taliban on a tip from Pakistani intelligence services. Several other former officials disputed the notion of a security breach, saying bin Laden had plenty of notice that the United States intended to retaliate. There also is dispute about the follow-up to the 1998 raid, specifically about whether the Clinton administration, having tried and failed to kill bin Laden, stopped paying attention. There were attempts. Special Forces troops and helicopter gunships were kept on alert in the region, ready to launch a raid if solid intelligence pinpointed bin Laden's whereabouts. Also, twice in 1999, information arrived indicating that bin Laden might possibly be in a certain village in Afghanistan at a certain time, officials recalled. There was discussion of destroying the village, but the intelligence was not deemed credible enough to warrant the potential slaughter of civilians. In addition, the CIA that year launched its clandestine operation with Pakistani intelligence to train Pakistani commandos for operations against bin Laden. "It was a sustained effort," Cohen said recently. "There was not a week that went by when the issue wasn't seriously addressed by the national security team." Berger said, "Al Qaeda and bin Laden were the number one security threat to America after 1998. It was the highest priority, and a range of appropriate actions were taken." But never again did definitive information arrive that might have permitted another attempt to get bin Laden, officials said. "I can't tell you how many times we got a call saying, 'We have information, and we have to hold a secret meeting about whether to launch a military action,' " said Walter Slocombe, the former undersecretary of defense for policy. "Maybe we were too cautious. I don't think so." REFERENCES:  CIA Trained Pakistanis to Nab Terrorist But Military Coup Put an End to 1999 Plot BY By Bob Woodward and Thomas E. Ricks Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, October 3, 2001; 12:18 AM Researcher Jeff Himmelman contributed to this report. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/18/AR2007111800629.html Irfan Siddiqui on War on Terror Daily Jang 5 March 2009 http://jang.com.pk/jang/apr2009-daily/05-04-2009/col3.htm 2  http://jang.com.pk/jang/apr2009-daily/06-04-2009/col1.htm  Irfan Siddiqui on Swat Peac Treat 13 April 2009 Daily Jang http://jang.com.pk/jang/apr2009-daily/13-04-2009/col1.htm

Jasmeen Manzoor on Khalid Khawaja & Osama Bin Laden - 1 (ARY NEWS)

 
Jasmeen Manzoor on Khalid Khawaja & Osama Bin... by SalimJanMazari

 KK: The story starts in 1986-87, when out of emotion I wrote a letter to General Zia ul-Haq saying that he was a hypocrite and he was only interested in ruling Pakistan, rather than imposing Islamic law in the country. General Zia immediately ordered my dismissal from my basic services in the Pakistan air force, where I was a squadron leader, and from the ISI, where I was deputed at the Afghan desk. I went to Afghanistan and fought side-by-side with the Afghan mujahideen against Soviet troops. There I developed a friendship with Dr Abdullah Azzam [a mentor of bin Laden], Osama bin Laden and Sheikh Abdul Majeed Zindani [another mentor of bin Laden's]. At the same time, I was still in touch with my former organization, the ISI, and its then DG [director general], retired Lieutenant General Hamid Gul. After General Zia's death in a plane crash [1988], elections were announced and there was a possibility that the Pakistan People's Party [PPP] led by Benazir Bhutto would win, which would be a great setback for the cause of jihad. We discussed this situation, and all the mujahideen thought that they should play a role in blocking the PPP from winning the elections. I joined my former DG Hamid Gul and played a role in forming the then Islamic Democratic Alliance comprising the Pakistan Muslim League and the Jamaat-i-Islami. The PPP won the elections by a thin margin and faced a strong opposition. Osama bin Laden provided me with funds, which I handed over to Nawaz Sharif, then the chief minister of Punjab [and later premier], to dislodge Benazir Bhutto. Nawaz Sharif insisted that I arrange a direct meeting with the "Sheikh", which I did in Saudi Arabia. Nawaz met thrice with Osama in Saudi Arabia. The most historic was the meeting in the Green Palace Hotel in Medina between Nawaz Sharif, Osama and myself. Osama asked Nawaz to devote himself to "jihad in Kashmir". Nawaz immediately said, "I love jihad." Osama smiled, and then stood up from his chair and went to a nearby pillar and said. "Yes, you may love jihad, but your love for jihad is this much."

He then pointed to a small portion of the pillar. "Your love for children is this much," he said, pointing to a larger portion of the pillar. "And your love for your parents is this much," he continued, pointing towards the largest portion. "I agree that you love jihad, but this love is the smallest in proportion to your other affections in life." These sorts of arguments were beyond Nawaz Sharif's comprehension and he kept asking me. "Manya key nai manya?" [Agreed or not?] He was looking for a Rs500 million [US$8.4 million at today's rate] grant from Osama. Though Osama gave a comparatively smaller amount, the landmark thing he secured for Nawaz Sharif was a meeting with the [Saudi] royal family, which gave Nawaz Sharif a lot of political support, and it remained till he was dislodged [as premier] by General Pervez Musharraf [in a coup in 1999]. Saudi Arabia arranged for his release and his safe exit to Saudi Arabia. That was a typical situation, when Osama was famed for his generosity, and even politicians like Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, who was president of the National People's Party and president of the Islamic Democratic Alliance, and then interim prime minister, were also after me to arrange meetings with the "Sheikh". Then Nawaz Sharif introduced me to Sheikh Rashid, and he took me to his Freedom House camp near Fateh Jang Road near Rawalpindi. He asked me to get support from Arabs. I took several of my Arab friends to his training camp, and they provided him with some money, though they were not satisfied with the environment. The youths were mostly trained to fire AK-47 rifles, but there was no arrangement for the ideological training of youths. That was the point on which the Arabs objected, that it is ideological training that makes a difference between a mercenary and a mujahid. Rashid was the least bothered about ideological training, he was interested in money - Rs50,000 per person. Some money was provided to Rashid, and he claimed that he procured AK-47 guns with that money. How many, I do not remember. REFERENCE: The pawns who pay as powers play By Syed Saleem Shahzad South Asia Jun 22, 2005 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GF22Df04.html Irfan Siddiqui on GHQ and Parade Lane Mosuqe Daily Jang 6 Dec 2009 http://jang.com.pk/jang/dec2009-daily/06-12-2009/col2.htm

 Jasmeen Manzoor on Khalid Khawaja & Osama Bin Laden - 2 (ARY NEWS)

 
Jasmeen Manzoor on Khalid Khawaja & Osama Bin... by SalimJanMazari

 The momentum for finding a strategy that will allow for an honorable exit is becoming irresistible. Enter Mansoor Ijaz, a US citizen of Pakistani origin with close ties to the right wing of the Republican Party. In London, with the help of British authorities, he began the peace process. Mansoor's point man in Pakistan is Khalid Khawaja, a former Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) official who was a close friend of Osama bin Laden. Khawaja's associates included Paracha, a former member of the provincial assembly in North West Frontier Province and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group). His claim to fame is his advocacy for the families of al-Qaeda operators detained by Pakistani authorities. One of the inducements put on the table for the Taliban leadership was their inclusion in the government of President Hamid Karzai, but Mullah Omar rejected this, saying there could not be any form of a deal until all foreign forces were pulled out of Afghanistan. Thus there was no possibility of the Taliban laying down their weapons. "Actually, the media have jeopardized the peace initiative when it is still in its initial stages, though part of the news is correct, that yes, there is a discourse between the Taliban and the US, but it is wrong that any US officials met Javed Ibrahim Paracha," Khalid Khawaja told Asia Times Online. Asia Times Online sources in the Afghan resistance across the border from Pakistan confirm that there has been recent contact between Karzai and the Taliban leadership. This took place through a go-between. Karzai, according to the contacts, sought support for himself and agreed that any cooperation with the Taliban would hinge on one single point - the evacuation of foreign troops. The contact was confirmed at a time the Afghan parliamentary results confirmed that members of the former Taliban regime and former mujahideen leaders had won seats in parliament with heavy mandates. 

The general perception is that these new parliamentarians are split into small political groups, and will therefore not be able to make much of an impression. However, most of the Taliban warlords who won in the elections are still in contact with the Taliban leadership, and so are the members of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hizb-i-Islami, whose leadership sits quietly in Peshawar, Pakistan. Veteran warlord Hekmatyar is still active in the Afghan resistance. Far from being splintered, these new parliamentarians are believed to be in a decisive position, and they are taking guidance from their Taliban or Hizb leaders. For instance, once Mullah Omar received Karzai's communication agreeing that the withdrawal of foreign troops was the minimum starting point for any negotiations, Mullah Omar called a shora (council) and then sent messages to all former Taliban members in parliament to support Karzai. REFERENCE: Time to talk: US engages the Taliban By Syed Saleem Shahzad Central Asia Nov 22, 2005 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/GK22Ag02.html 

Irfan Siddiqui on Suicide Bombing Daily Jang 9 Dec 2009 http://jang.com.pk/jang/dec2009-daily/09-12-2009/col3.htm

 Jasmeen Manzoor on Khalid Khawaja & Osama Bin Laden - 3 (ARY NEWS)

 
Jasmeen Manzoor on Khalid Khawaja & Osama Bin... by SalimJanMazari

 KARACHI - There was a day when former premier Nawaz Sharif was part of Pakistan's ruling military oligarchy. He tried to be independent and a strongman, and consequently was removed from power in a bloodless coup by now President General Pervez Musharraf on October 12, 1999. However, after serving a year in jail and then going into exile in Saudi Arabia to avoid charges of treason and hijacking, he has once again dealt with the military and finalized a deal with the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj, in Saudi Arabia. As a result, they both returned to Pakistan - on flights half an hour apart - on Sunday. Sharif returned to the country two months ago, but was hustled straight back onto a plane to Saudi Arabia. This time there was no such drama as the circumstances have changed. According to Asia Times Online contacts, a retired military brigadier and the publisher of a large media group were involved in backroom negotiations between the military, Sharif and Saudi Arabia which resulted in him being given the go-ahead to return to Pakistan provided "he did not make trouble". Musharraf is expected to be sworn in as a civilian president this week, which means he will step down as chief of the army staff in preparation for national elections in January. According to the contacts, following the elections, Shabaz Sharif, the younger brother of Nawaz, has been earmarked to lead a unity government comprising liberal democratic forces, but under the umbrella of the military. Initially, former premier Benazir Bhutto had been chosen for this job and she, too, returned from exile, only to fall out with the United States-inspired plan and Musharraf himself. It is not yet clear what part Nawaz Sharif, considered a conservative and traditionalist and an acceptable face for Pakistan's religious forces, will play in this new political dispensation. Just a day before his return, two devastating suicide attacks killed at least 16 people in the garrison town of Rawalpindi adjoining Islamabad. One attacker targeted a vehicle carrying ISI personnel, the other a gate at the military's general headquarters (GHQ). 

The attacks serve as a strong hint to the Pakistani army to reverse its intervention in the Taliban's fight against foreign forces in Afghanistan. The attacks, impeccable sources at GHQ reveal, were based on precise intelligence. However, the sources refused to name the victims or their ranks. Mounting US pressure has forced Pakistan this year to do more in the fight against Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in the country, leading to head-on confrontation. As a result, Pakistan's channels of communication with militants have been choked and the situation is reaching a point of no return in the battle between the Pakistani Taliban and the Pakistani army. The deal with Sharif has both internal and external aspects. The Pakistani military is concerned that the "war on terror" is spilling far too much into the country. The Pakistani Taliban already have a strong presence in the tribal areas and in North-West Frontier Province. Pakistan's leading security think-tank, the National Defense University, has floated the idea that Afghanistan and Pakistan could be prevented from falling into the clutches of extremism by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces withdrawing from Afghanistan and being replaced by troops from the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC). Ironically, four Muslim countries with the strongest armies in the OIC are non-Arab - Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh. If a decision is taken to send in the OIC, these four countries would be at the helm. With the insurgency in Afghanistan spiraling out of control with every passing day, Washington is giving an ear to this suggestion. But the biggest problem would be for Muslim countries to find leaders to speak to the insurgents in a spirit of mutual trust. Otherwise, OIC forces could be just as much of a problem as NATO's. For instance, if the militants declare the troops infidels, it would only add to the hopelessness of the situation. Apparently, the deal brokered by Saudi Arabia to allow Nawaz Sharif back into Pakistan aims to bring his brother Shabaz into the spotlight. Nawaz Sharif had personal interactions with Osama bin Laden (The pawns who pay as powers play, Asia Times Online, June 22, 2005) many times when both were planning to dislodge Bhutto's government in the late 1980s. In Pakistan's charged environment, anything is worth a try, including this old wine in a new bottle - it's worked before. REFERENCE: Strings attached to Sharif's return By Syed Saleem Shahzad South Asia Nov 27, 2007 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IK27Df02.html Irfan Siddiqui on Suicide Bombing Daily Jang 10 Dec 2009 http://jang.com.pk/jang/dec2009-daily/10-12-2009/col2.htm

Jang Group on the Life of Osama Bin Laden - 1 (Capital Talk 5 May 2011)

 
Jang Group on the Life of Osama Bin Laden - 1... by SalimJanMazari

 Saudi Fatwa on Usaamah Ibn Laadin Al Khaarijee http://www.scribd.com/doc/98399399/Saudi-Fatwa-on-Usaamah-Ibn-Laadin-Al-Khaarijee

Saudi Fatwa on Usaamah Ibn Laadin Al Khaarijee by Aamir Mughal

Jang Group on the Life of Osama Bin Laden - 2 (Capital Talk 5 May 2011)
Jang Group on the Life of Osama Bin Laden - 2... by SalimJanMazari

2009 Even children not spared . General among 40 dead: Carnage in Pindi army mosque as Taliban breach security 2009-12-05 RAWALPINDI, Dec 4 Armed militants stormed a mosque during Friday prayers in Rawalpindi`s supposedly secure military residential area and killed at least 40 people, almost half of them children and five senior military officers, and wounded over eighty others before being gunned down by security forces. In what appeared to be one of the worst incidents of terrorism in recent years, militants opposed to Pakistan army`s operation against Al Qaeda and the Taliban touched a new low in their activities when they violated the sanctity of a mosque to kill and maim worshippers in cold blood. Besides 16 children, an army major general, a brigadier, two lieutenant colonels, a major and a number of soldiers were among those killed in a multi-pronged attack at the Parade Land Askari mosque that involved grenade throwing, firing from automatic guns and deadly explosions. The siege ended after two suicide bombers blew themselves up. Although mosques and imambargaghs have in the past been targeted by sectarian terrorists, this was the first time that such a such large number of children were gunned down by any militant group even though the apparent target were military officers offering Friday prayers in the community mosque. Most of the children were at the mosque along with their fathers or other relatives and belonged to military families, officials said. “Like every Friday my son had accompanied me to the mosque. Now he is dead and I am standing here in front of you,” said a highly disturbed elderly man, his clothes soaked in blood. As word spread about the terrorist attack in the city, scores of people gathered outside the Westridge area, but were prevented by military police and security personnel from going near the mosque as for many hours the situation in the area had remained volatile. It was late in the evening when authorities cleared the area and allowed the people to go in. A military spokesman said the dead included Major General Bilal Umer, Brigadier Abdul Rauf, Lt-Col Mansoor Saeed, Lt-Col Fakhr and Major Zahid. Several senior serving and retired military officers were also among the injured. They included a former vice chief of the army staff, Gen Muhammad Yousuf (retd) (also known as Gen Joe), a brigadier, a colonel and a couple of majors. As anger and sadness gripped Rawalpindi and rest of the country, a top leader of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the brazen attack. The head of TTP`s South Waziristan operations, Waliur Rehman, told the BBC that militants loyal to his organisation had carried out the attack on the mosque. The chief military spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas, condemned the incident and described it as a work of anti-state terrorists whose sanctuaries have been destroyed by the military in the tribal areas. He said the same group was now using their remaining assets in cities to terrorise the nation. The ISPR chief told DawnNews that authorities would investigate if there was any serious breach. Security in areas housing military installations or residences had been beefed up manifold in recent weeks, particularly after the audacious attack on the General Headquarters in October. Resident told Dawn nearly 150 people, including women and children, were offering their prayers when a group of four militants scaled a high brick wall of the mosque by using a small ladder, landing among the worshippers. An injured man said one of the attackers first threw hand grenades into the worshipers. A deafening boom followed. Later there were two more explosions, followed by machinegun fire. Gunfire, mayhem Ali, a witness, said another attacker started firing randomly into the mosque, creating mayhem among worshippers. He said he saw wounded people lying in the courtyard of the mosque. A large number of shoes dripped with blood were scattered all around in the mosque premises. Security sources said that the group of militants who attacked the mosque had come on a car bearing Islamabad`s registration, defying all security checks and they were spotted scaling the mosque`s wall by some children playing in a nearby ground. At least seven handgrenades, two national identity cards, two sports bags and some documents were found from the boot of the grey colour car the militants had used to come there. Officials later said the dark grey colour Toyota car that militants used to travel to the Parade Lane had a fake registration plate of Islamabad, which in fact was that of a white colour car. REFERENCE: Even children not spared . General among 40 dead: Carnage in Pindi army mosque as Taliban breach security 2009-12-05 00:00:00 http://www.dawn.com/news/854742/even-children-not-spared-general-among-40-dead-carnage-in-pindi-army-mosque-as-taliban-breach-security Swat Taliban welcome Osama bin Laden 2009-04-21 http://www.dawn.com/news/955474/swat-taliban-welcome-osama-bin-laden