A
suspected Taliban militant captured in Kabul: Is the Pakistan
intelligence
service, the ISI, still training and supplying Taliban
fighters?
Recent reports suggest it is - a charge Pakistan denies.
The Nation, Pakistan
Activity of Americans
in Our Cities 'Must Be Restricted'
"It's
time for the government to move with determination to restrict American access to our
cities, where their very presence, suspicious activities and total disregard
for the law pose a security risk to citizens. … How long will the government of Pakistan put
the lives of its citizens in danger simply to appease the United States?"
WHAT was the slow infiltration
by American operatives into the provincial capital Quetta has become widespread
and overt. This has become clear as a result of the large-scale rental
of properties in expensive residential areas of the city. The operation has been
exposed as a result of the fortifications and surveillance systems, now
something of a tradition, put in place by Americans residing in different parts
of Pakistan. It is unfortunate that the federal and provincial governments
haven't restricted U.S. access to sensitive parts of the country, particularly
when we know what America's end goal is - over and above destabilizing the
regime in Iran through Baluchistan. The United States is looking for the Taliban's
so-called Quetta Shura.
With the U.S. now resigned to
holding a dialogue with the Afghan Taliban and its recognition that any post-withdrawal
arrangement will have to include the Taliban, Washington remains determined to
undermine Pakistan’s role in any future Afghan settlement. On this count, India
seems to have been fairly successful, witnessed by the suspiciously timed BBC-LSE report
on alleged ties between the Taliban and the state of Pakistan - a story that
was printed in the British press on Sunday. [The report implicates
Pakistan's intelligence service - the Directorate for Inter-Services
Intelligence - or ISI].
The Pakistan Army says the
report is part of a malicious propaganda campaign against the security and
intelligence set-up in Pakistan, with an intent that is clear to anyone without
U.S. blinkers! But what the army and government seem to have missed is the timing
of the story: it emerged immediately after Pakistan's demand of the U.S. and
India for more information sharing on their interrogation of the American
suspect involved with the Mumbai terrorism case [David Headley].
Another thread is the attempt
to bring the president of Pakistan into the conspiracy, in order to malign Pakistan's
entire leadership, hoping this will further pressure our leadership to “do
more” - again!
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
It's time for the government to move with determination to restrict American access to our cities, where their very
presence, suspicious activities and total disregard for the law pose a security
risk to citizens. Given the implications, we certainly cannot afford a U.S.
Consulate in Quetta - not only for the sake of Pakistan but for our neighbor
and friend, Iran. How long will the government of Pakistan put the lives of its
citizens in danger simply to appease the United States?
Nor should one be fooled by American
efforts to “appease” us by asking Pakistan and India to move toward a viable
framework for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute. If the U.S. was serious on
this count, it would realize that U.N. Security Council resolutions centering
on a plebiscite already provide the only viable settlement mechanism. All America
has to do is push its strategic ally India into accepting this reality.
