Islamabad, May 5 (Agencies): Pakistan on Thursday warned India against any Abbottabad-like operation, saying any such “misadventure” would lead to a “terrible catastrophe.” The fear in Pakistan establishment is genuine as Mumbai serial blast accused Dawood Ibrahim and the Mumbai blast accused are being sheltered there. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir also accused Indian establishment and armed forces of trying to subvert the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by making statements which were “a matter of concern”.
Any country that attempts to “mimic” the unilateral act of the US will find it has made a “basic miscalculation”, Bashir said at the first news conference by a senior Pakistani official on the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in the garrison city of Abbottabad near here by special US forces on Monday. “We see a lot of bravado in our own region. There have been statements that have come from across (the border), by senior people from the military and air force, which state that this can be repeated. “We feel that sort of misadventure or miscalculation would result in a terrible catastrophe,” he said in his opening remarks.
He made the remarks in the wake of the statement by army chief Gen V K Singh that Indian forces had the capability to mount raids like the pre-dawn assault by US special forces that resulted in the killing of bin Laden. Stressing on the military strength of Pakistan, Bashir said if any country would ever act on the assumption that it has a might to unilateralism of any sorts, as far as Pakistan is concerned, will find themselves indulging in misadventure. “There should be no doubt that Pakistan has adequate capacity to ensure its own defence,” he said. Responding to a query on the remarks of Indian military officials about mounting a raid against leaders of Pak-based terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Bashir said such comments are “a matter of concern”.
“I only see them as symptomatic of trends and tendencies within the Indian establishment and their armed forces to subvert the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. I don’t think the Indian leadership would really subscribe to this”. Bashir highlighted the need for a “serious constructive approach” and said Pakistan was engaged in a process of dialogue with India. “We have had good meetings recently between the Home and Interior Secretaries of the two countries on counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics. We have done everything that we can and we are continuing to do in terms of cooperating to avert the possibilities of terror between our two countries”, he said. Bashir even questioned whether the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks could be described as “an intelligence failure or security failure on the part of India.”
He also sought to equate the incident to the questions of “incompetence or complicity” being raised about Pakistani security forces in the context of the US raid that killed bin Laden. Bashir mounted a strong defence of the ISI in the wake of questions raised by US officials about its failure to detect bin Laden even though he was living in a compound located less than a kilometre from the Pakistan Military Academy. He also sought to dispel the impression that the US raid had taken bilateral relations to a fresh low. While acknowledging that the unilateral and covert US operation had been successful in eliminating bin Laden, Bashir said it was “fortunate that a major tragedy that could have happened was averted” as the Pakistan Air Force had scrambled two F-16 jets after learning that some helicopters were present over Abbottabad.
Referring to comments by US officials like CIA chief Leon Panetta about the possible complicity of Pakistani security forces or intelligence agencies in sheltering bin Laden, he said such remarks had “continued to surface periodically” to pressure Pakistan to “do more” in the war on terror. “It’s easy to say the ISI or elements within the government were in cahoots with al-Qaeda. This is a false hypothesis and a false charge. It cannot be validated on any account and it flies in the face of what Pakistan and the ISI has been able to accomplish,” he contended. Bashir claimed the ISI had been more successful than even the CIA in capturing or killing al-Qaeda and Taliban elements. The ISI had shared information on the compound where bin Laden was found since 2009 and had also focussed on Abbottabad since 2004, he said.
Any country that attempts to “mimic” the unilateral act of the US will find it has made a “basic miscalculation”, Bashir said at the first news conference by a senior Pakistani official on the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in the garrison city of Abbottabad near here by special US forces on Monday. “We see a lot of bravado in our own region. There have been statements that have come from across (the border), by senior people from the military and air force, which state that this can be repeated. “We feel that sort of misadventure or miscalculation would result in a terrible catastrophe,” he said in his opening remarks.
He made the remarks in the wake of the statement by army chief Gen V K Singh that Indian forces had the capability to mount raids like the pre-dawn assault by US special forces that resulted in the killing of bin Laden. Stressing on the military strength of Pakistan, Bashir said if any country would ever act on the assumption that it has a might to unilateralism of any sorts, as far as Pakistan is concerned, will find themselves indulging in misadventure. “There should be no doubt that Pakistan has adequate capacity to ensure its own defence,” he said. Responding to a query on the remarks of Indian military officials about mounting a raid against leaders of Pak-based terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Bashir said such comments are “a matter of concern”.
“I only see them as symptomatic of trends and tendencies within the Indian establishment and their armed forces to subvert the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. I don’t think the Indian leadership would really subscribe to this”. Bashir highlighted the need for a “serious constructive approach” and said Pakistan was engaged in a process of dialogue with India. “We have had good meetings recently between the Home and Interior Secretaries of the two countries on counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics. We have done everything that we can and we are continuing to do in terms of cooperating to avert the possibilities of terror between our two countries”, he said. Bashir even questioned whether the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks could be described as “an intelligence failure or security failure on the part of India.”
He also sought to equate the incident to the questions of “incompetence or complicity” being raised about Pakistani security forces in the context of the US raid that killed bin Laden. Bashir mounted a strong defence of the ISI in the wake of questions raised by US officials about its failure to detect bin Laden even though he was living in a compound located less than a kilometre from the Pakistan Military Academy. He also sought to dispel the impression that the US raid had taken bilateral relations to a fresh low. While acknowledging that the unilateral and covert US operation had been successful in eliminating bin Laden, Bashir said it was “fortunate that a major tragedy that could have happened was averted” as the Pakistan Air Force had scrambled two F-16 jets after learning that some helicopters were present over Abbottabad.
Referring to comments by US officials like CIA chief Leon Panetta about the possible complicity of Pakistani security forces or intelligence agencies in sheltering bin Laden, he said such remarks had “continued to surface periodically” to pressure Pakistan to “do more” in the war on terror. “It’s easy to say the ISI or elements within the government were in cahoots with al-Qaeda. This is a false hypothesis and a false charge. It cannot be validated on any account and it flies in the face of what Pakistan and the ISI has been able to accomplish,” he contended. Bashir claimed the ISI had been more successful than even the CIA in capturing or killing al-Qaeda and Taliban elements. The ISI had shared information on the compound where bin Laden was found since 2009 and had also focussed on Abbottabad since 2004, he said.
Geelani calls for funeral prayers for Osama
Srinagar, May 5 (Agencies): Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has asked people to hold funeral prayers on Friday for Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda who was shot dead in Pakistan on May 2 by a US Navy team. Geelani has appealed to Imams and people to hold funeral prayers in absentia for bin Laden after Friday prayers on Friday afternoon, a Hurriyat spokesman said in a statement.
Terming him a ‘martyr’, Geelani said bin Laden was not just one person but “he represented a thinking which opposed foreign occupational forces”. “His heart bore the pain of the entire Muslim Ummah (community). He gave up his life of comfort to fight for their cause,” the statement said. The separatist leader said he wanted to participate in the funeral prayers but he has been placed under house arrest by the police since Thursday morning. Geelani appealed to people to pray for the liberation of Kashmir, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan from the occupation of forces.
Srinagar, May 5 (Agencies): Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has asked people to hold funeral prayers on Friday for Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda who was shot dead in Pakistan on May 2 by a US Navy team. Geelani has appealed to Imams and people to hold funeral prayers in absentia for bin Laden after Friday prayers on Friday afternoon, a Hurriyat spokesman said in a statement.
Terming him a ‘martyr’, Geelani said bin Laden was not just one person but “he represented a thinking which opposed foreign occupational forces”. “His heart bore the pain of the entire Muslim Ummah (community). He gave up his life of comfort to fight for their cause,” the statement said. The separatist leader said he wanted to participate in the funeral prayers but he has been placed under house arrest by the police since Thursday morning. Geelani appealed to people to pray for the liberation of Kashmir, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan from the occupation of forces.
Indian missions in Afghanistan on high alert
New Delhi, May 5 (PTI): India has issued a high security alert for its missions and other interests in Afghanistan in the wake of the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Though the Indian embassy in Kabul and its consulates in Kandahar, Jalalabad, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat are always facing serious threat, Osama’s killing in Abbottabad on Monday has increased the level of danger Indian establishments and its people face, sources said. Security has been tightened in view of a heightened threat from Taliban and other terror groups which may carry out a wave of attacks following the killing of Osama.
Sources said intelligence inputs suggested that apart from its missions, other reconstruction projects being carried out by Indians could be targeted by Haqqani faction of Taliban or terrorist groups based in Pakistan like Lashkhar-e-Taiba, which has been expanding its base in Afghanistan. The terrorists could launch a wave of attacks, involving explosion of car-bombs followed by assault by gunmen, the sources said, quoting intelligence inputs. There are nearly 4,000 Indians deployed in various projects such as medical facilities, railway and road construction. Nearly 200 Indo Tibetan Border Police personnel who are guarding the embassy, which has already been targeted twice since 2008, and Indian nationals working on developmental projects, have been alerted of the possibility of the attacks.
The government has ordered maximum security for all of them, the sources said. New Delhi has also requested Kabul to deploy adequate Afghan security personnel in the Indian missions as well as other assets. The embassy staff and Indians working on developmental projects have been advised to exercise caution, restrict their movements to the minimum and maintain secrecy. On February 26, 2010, two hotels in Kabul where Indians engaged in developmental and reconstruction works in that country were targeted by terrorists. The terror attack was on the pattern of the 2 6/11 Mumbai carnage, with terrorists targeting the hotels and hunting for victims.
Sources said intelligence inputs suggested that apart from its missions, other reconstruction projects being carried out by Indians could be targeted by Haqqani faction of Taliban or terrorist groups based in Pakistan like Lashkhar-e-Taiba, which has been expanding its base in Afghanistan. The terrorists could launch a wave of attacks, involving explosion of car-bombs followed by assault by gunmen, the sources said, quoting intelligence inputs. There are nearly 4,000 Indians deployed in various projects such as medical facilities, railway and road construction. Nearly 200 Indo Tibetan Border Police personnel who are guarding the embassy, which has already been targeted twice since 2008, and Indian nationals working on developmental projects, have been alerted of the possibility of the attacks.
The government has ordered maximum security for all of them, the sources said. New Delhi has also requested Kabul to deploy adequate Afghan security personnel in the Indian missions as well as other assets. The embassy staff and Indians working on developmental projects have been advised to exercise caution, restrict their movements to the minimum and maintain secrecy. On February 26, 2010, two hotels in Kabul where Indians engaged in developmental and reconstruction works in that country were targeted by terrorists. The terror attack was on the pattern of the 2 6/11 Mumbai carnage, with terrorists targeting the hotels and hunting for victims.
