Yasin Malik says thank you to Pakistan minister for terror camp

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Yasin Malik says thank you to Pakistan minister for terror camp
Wednesday June 15 2005 00:00 IST
NEW DELHI: JKLF leader Yasin Malik's statement in Islamabad that Pakistan Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad had helped him set up a large militant camp for infiltration into India in the 1990s has given the Government an opportunity to reiterate that Islamabad is yet to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in PoK.

Ministry for External Affairs spokesperson Navtej Sarna said on Tuesday: ‘‘It's particularly serious that people directly involved in such activities continue to occupy high positions in Pakistan. Our stand remains that no effective action has been taken by Pakistan to dismantle the infrastructure of support to terrorism on a permanent basis.''

‘‘This is contrary to the assurance given by the Pakistani leadership that Pakistan will not allow any territory within its control to be used to support terrorism in any manner. It is our sincere hope that Pakistan will abide by its commitment,'' he added.

The Pakistani media had reported today how at an exhibition of his signature campaign for peace, the JKLF leader had thanked Sheikh Rashid for his aid to militants who infiltrated into India in the early 1990s.

The Minister has however dismissed Malik's claim and reportedly said that the JKLF leader may have been referring to someone else. The government's stand on trans-LoC terrorist infrastructure has been muted since the beginning of the current round of discussions though Malik's revelation has given it an opportunity to stress on the issue in the context of a peace process.

Sheikh Rashid, who is to arrive in Srinagar on June 30 by the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus, has been the visible face of the peace process for statements and information on high-level parleys between New Delhi and Islamabad during the new round of peace talks.

http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEH20050614104415&Title=Top+Stories&Topic=0

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Minister 'backed' Kashmir rebels

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4092072.stm

A top Kashmiri separatist leader has told the BBC that a Pakistan minister had offered separatist militants refuge and support in the 1980s.
But the leader, Yasin Malik, denied having alleged that Pakistani Information Minister, Sheikh Rashid had set up a militant training camp.

Pakistan's Daily Times newspaper reported that Mr Malik had made the claim during a visit to Pakistan.

India has expressed its strong concern over the claim.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40625000/jpg/_40625522_ahmedbody_ap.jpg

But Mr Malik said the Daily Times report was "completely wrong".

He said he and other separatist militants had stayed in Mr Rashid's Rawalpindi farmhouse in 1988 and 1989.

"We got refuge in his farmhouse.... Sheikh Rashid helped us a lot and loved us like brothers," Mr Malik told the BBC.

"I have never mentioned the word training," he added.

Mr Rashid, who is a Kashmiri, has acknowledged that he provided accommodation for militants.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Rashid said that he let separatist leaders stay in his house because he felt that it was his moral duty to provide them with a roof.

But he said he had never been involved in training people for guerrilla warfare or setting up training camps, as the report alleged.

Yasin Malik is a leading separatist in Indian-administered Kashmir who heads the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, the first group to take up arms against India in 1988.

But in 1995 the JKLF gave up violence.

Mr Malik is one of several moderate Kashmiri separate leaders who have been visiting Pakistan - the first time they have been allowed to do so by India.

India concerned

Reacting to the report in the Daily Times, an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said it viewed the "revelations by Mr Yasin Malik" as a matter of great concern.

"It is particularly serious that people directly involved in such activities continue to occupy high positions in Pakistan," the spokesman, Navtej Sarna, said.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40606000/jpg/_40606894_malik203ap.jpg
"Our stand remains that no effective action has been taken by Pakistan to dismantle the infrastructure of support to terrorism on a permanent basis," he added.

In the past, India has accused Pakistan of aiding and abetting armed militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, but Islamabad has always denied the charge.

The spokesman said India hoped Pakistan would abide by its commitment "not to allow any territory within its control to be used to support terrorism in any manner".

There has been no comment on the allegations by Pakistan as yet.

The Daily Times had reported that Mr Malik had revealed some 3,500 militants had been trained in "guerrilla warfare" in the camp.

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PAKISTAN: MINISTER 'SUPPORTED' KASHMIRI MILITANTS













Karachi, 15 June (AKI) - A former agent of Pakistan's secret service has told Adnkronos International (AKI) that the Pakistani information minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has offered refuge and support to separatist Islamic militants in Kashmir - the region contested by Pakistan and India. “Pakistan’s incumbent information minister is a Mujaheed (holy warrior) and he rendered big services to the cause of Jihad.” Khalid Khawaja, formerly with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), told AKI on Wednesday.

“Sheikh Rashid Ahmed established a military training camp at Fateh Jhang Road, near Rawalpindi from late 1980s till early 1990s," said Khawaja. "The training camp was the largest among all established in Pakistan where hundreds of youths got training to make explosives and for guerrilla operations for carry out attack against the Indian forces in Indian held valley of Kashmir," he said.

"I personally visited the camp and also provided assistance to Sheikh Rashid in the cause of Jihad against Indian occupying forces in Indian held Kashmir valley,” Khawaja added.

Pakistan’s information minister became the focus of controversy recently when high profile Kashmiri separatist leaders visited Pakistan and one of the leaders, the chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Yasin Malik, publicly expressed his appreciation for Rashid’s support for the movement's struggle in Kashmir, adding that hundreds of Kashmiri fighters were trained in camps established by Rashid.

The information minister immediately refused to comment on Yasin Malik’s statement and later denied that he established any training camps in Pakistan. Yasin Malik also retracted his earlier statement and maintained that he was “misquoted” by the Pakistani media.

According to the Pakistani daily Dawn, Malik, still on his trip to Pakistan, suffered a stroke on Tuesday and was advised a complete rest by his doctor. He is due to return to India with the rest of the delegation of separatist leaders on Thursday.

The Indian foreign ministry responded angrily to Malik's statement and reiterated that whatever Pakistan is doing to stop cross border infiltration and militancy is not enough and the Kashmiri separatist's claims were proof that pro-militancy people still occupy top decision making posts in Pakistan.


http://www.adnki.com/Italiano/Assets/Personaggi/Q-R/RashidsheikhPAKminister--133x198.jpg

I do not think that Sheikh Rashid Ahmed would deny the fact that he ran a militant training camp as he was always proud of supporting a cause for the liberation of Kashmir,” Khawaja told AKI.

Sources in the Indian capital, New Delhi, said that this new controversy would badly damage the recent peace efforts between the two arch rivals, India and Pakistan, especially since Rashid, himself a Kashmiri, was scheduled to visit Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir.

According to the Indian news website, Rediff: “Well-placed sources in New Delhi said that the minister may not be given permission to travel to Jammu and Kashmir, particularly after the disclosure by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Yasin Malik in Islamabad on Sunday that Rashid had organised camps for training Kashmiri militants in the early 1990s.”

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.177468782&par=0

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Monday, February 27, 2006

EDITORIAL: The various ‘camps’ in Pakistan

Talking to Doordarshan, the state-run Indian TV channel, President George Bush said on Saturday that on his trip to Pakistan he would talk about “the terrorist activities, the need to dismantle training camps and to protect innocent life”. The question put to him was specifically about the Azad Kashmir ‘training camps’. The same day there was news from Kabul that President Hamid Karzai had shared intelligence with Pakistan indicating that Mullah Mohammed Omar, leader of the Taliban regime, and his key associates were hiding in Pakistan. Afghanistan also allegedly provided information about “the location of terrorist training camps along the border and in Pakistani cities”. The Afghan president also claims to have handed over a list of wanted Afghan men to President Pervez Musharraf and asked for their repatriation to Afghanistan.

Pakistan denies that there are terrorist camps of any kind on Pakistani territory. But there have been sporadic reports in 2005 that “training” could have restarted. In Balochistan, it is virtually impossible for the government to say with certainty that the Taliban are not “present and training”. President Karzai should know this as he was ensconced there before he was taken out and sent to Afghanistan to head the new post-9/11 government. Pakistan too has accused Afghanistan of colluding with India to send weapons to Balochistan, with Kabul vehemently denying it. The situation could be out of the hands of both parties. No one sitting in Kabul can say that weapons are not going across to the “farari” camps in Balochistan.

The Afghans say Mullah Omar could be anywhere in Pakistan; they have no proof of his location. Pakistan is not a small country. Large parts of it are outside the jurisdiction of the state, just like warlord-controlled Afghanistan. President Karzai has asked Islamabad to close down terrorist camps, but has he given documentary proof of where these are located? For that matter, Pakistan is supposed to have told President Karzai that Indian consulates in Afghanistan were sending weapons to Balochistan. But where is the proof? Interestingly there were front-page reports in the Pakistani press that Islamabad had actually done that and that President Karzai had denied involvement despite documentary proof. But then, talking to AAJ TV on February 21, 2006, the interior minister, Aftab Khan Sherpao, stated clearly that he was present at the Musharraf-Karzai meeting and saw no documentary proof being given to the other side about Indian involvement in Balochistan!

If Pakistan has a credibility problem, it is linked to the jihadi leaders still operating in Pakistan with renamed militias. The world interprets their presence in civil society as the retention of the “jihadi option” by President Musharraf in the event that the world is unable to persuade India to settle the Kashmir dispute. Certainly, in Azad Kashmir and the NWFP not long ago, the world was witness to jihadis busy in the work of rescue and rehabilitation, spending colossal amounts of money in the areas where they have always been known to have training camps. Indeed, a youth on trial in the United States actually confessed last year that he had received “training” recently in a camp run by a jihadi warlord now living safely in Islamabad. In fact, the biggest jihadi warlord of all — with clear links to Kunar in Afghanistan where the Arabs lived during the Taliban rule — is in Lahore publishing his defiant anti-Musharraf message in the Urdu press on a daily basis. And if the Bajaur incident is any indicator, there could be many more “loopholes” in the jurisdictional control of the government in Pakistan than most people realise. Therefore the “camps” are still Pakistan’s number one problem with the international community.

Presidents Bush and Karzai may look to their own interests, but Pakistan should review the policy on “camps” from its own perspective. There is no arguing against the fact that the jihadi camps hurt the state sovereignty of Pakistan more than they hurt either India or the new order in Afghanistan. By being in denial we may actually be ignoring a very significant aspect of reality in Pakistan. Just as the elected prime ministers during the 1990s were unable to control their Kashmir policy in the face of the jihadi warlords, President Musharraf too may have already reached the limit of his operative control of Pakistan in the presence of these “camps”. Thus Pakistan has to come out of this “mercenary” syndrome and learn to be master of its own policies. The camps — jihadi, Taliban, Al Qaeda — must all go in the interest of the people of Pakistan. The cost of retaining them is prohibitive. *

Religious war in Bara

The NWFP governor has finally decided to launch an operation in Bara, in the Khyber Agency, to put an end to a year-old religious war, waged through illegal radio stations by two “mullahs” intent on ruling the tribes there. The tribesmen are in the thrall of the traditional Pir Saif ur Rehman while the dominant and powerful Qambarkhel tribe is with the challenger Mufti Naeem Shakir. Both came to Bara from outside, established their constituencies and began preaching. Because of their clashing beliefs a war of words soon began between the two. The Pir, an old Afghan refugee, was traditional “low church”; the Mufti was “high church” radical-orthodox. Both got their radio stations going and started spreading hatred.

The two troublemakers were asked by the “authorities” to leave but both defied the order. Typically, the government stepped back, hoping that the trouble would go away by itself. A big jirga was called but its verdict too was useless, proving that the institution that most city-dwelling Pushtuns prefer to municipal law is in fact quite irrelevant, as we have seen in South Waziristan. Not surprisingly, the Mufti then threatened the Pir with a suicide attack. Now the governor wants to get into the act, but things could already be a bit out of control. Mufti Naeem Shakir is reported to have gone beyond Bara and enlisted the allegiance of the powerful Zakhakhel tribe of Landi Kotal. After this it is going to be really hard to get him out of the area. The local clerics are already growling in Peshawar. The governor faces an escalating situation because early action was not taken. *

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C02%5C27%5Cstory_27-2-2006_pg3_1

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a bump

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Sunday, November 05, 2006

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\11\05\story_5-11-2006_pg7_17



Taliban said to have ‘de facto sanctuary’ in Pakistan
WASHINGTON: The Pakistani leadership, particularly the leadership of religious parties, offers support and “a de facto sanctuary” to the Taliban in Pakistan. The Taliban also take advantage of financial and military resources they receive in Pakistan to reorganise and strengthen themselves, according to Pamela Constable of the Washington Post.

The former South Asia correspondent and the current deputy foreign editor of the newspaper, who recently returned form the area and is making another visit this month, told a meeting at the Johns Hopkins University that the situation in Afghanistan was “bleak”, but it also had some “bright” spots. Referring to the Taliban insurgency, she pointed out that the majority of Afghans did not want the Taliban in power. However, given the leadership void in the central government in Afghanistan, the Taliban see an opportunity for assuming power, and have now re-emerged from villages and stepped into leadership roles.

The role of Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf in Afghanistan, she stressed, was “significant”. The recent peace deal he signed with tribal leaders in Waziristan could be interpreted in a number of ways. One perspective is that Musharraf is acting on the belief that the security of Pakistan is inextricably intertwined with the security of Afghanistan. Another view is that he is responding to the enormous international pressure his nation faces to cooperate in the war on terror. She noted that talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan were predicated on a “timeless tradition” to solve problems by negotiating deals. However, although Musharraf is a “tough and smart leader, with his heart in the right place”, he has “not been able to make progress” in a number of cases ranging from tax reform to honour killings.

Constable also observed that there was a “growing globalisation of the Taliban’s message”. Empowered by technology, the Internet and the global pop culture, “the Taliban have become more sophisticated as the world has become more sophisticated”.

At the same time, the Achilles’ heel of Afghanistan is not simply the Taliban insurgency, but rather an institutionalisation of corruption. She said weak institutions and a lack of public support and conviction in the central government were the root causes of Afghanistan’s instability.

Constable also highlighted some promising signs of progress in Afghanistan. Universities in Kabul are “bursting with female students,” and economic and social development is taking place in some areas. The work of mobile rural midwives has been very successful, as it emphasises training and learning in communities. Japanese aid and UNICEF projects are making headway in building and financing elementary schools. Unfortunately, local conflict often kept children home, thus undermining these development efforts, she added. khalid hasan

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and a bump

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Pakistan’s Islamist press calls for jihad

http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/28/stories/2007082855781200.htm

[Globetrotter]

Thanks for the articles.
Unfortunately it's not getting much attention because the United States views Pakistan as a major ally in the war on terror, and half the United States believes Pakistan is an ally.

[candypreet]

Thanks for the articles.
Unfortunately it's not getting much attention because the United States views Pakistan as a major ally in the war on terror, and half the United States believes Pakistan is an ally.

I know..... but its us Indians who are being killed because of that bloody belief