US-Pakistan ties run into snags as both sides trade fresh charges
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
KABUL, Nov. 23 (Xinhua): Pakistan has categorically rejected reports of the Washington Times about presence of Afghan Taliban leader, Mulla Mohammad Omar, in Karachi of the country.
Speaking to a private Pakistani TV channel, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman, Abdul Basit, stressed that Omar was not present in Karachi.
The spokesman also denied Pakistan intelligence service ISI's involvement in shifting Mulla Omar to Karachi, saying that the Washington Times report was part of international propaganda against Pakistan.
Washington Times report has claimed that Mulla Muhammad Omar had fled Quetta and found refuge from potential US attacks in Karachi with the assistance of the Pakistani intelligence.
Two senior US intelligence officials told the newspaper that Mulla Omar traveled to Karachi last month after the end of Muslim holy month Ramazan, adding that the fugitive Afghan insurgent leader also inaugurated a new senior leadership council in Karachi.
The officials accused the ISI of helping the Taliban leaders move from Quetta, where they were exposed to attacks by the US drones.
Bruce Riedel, a CIA veteran and analyst on al-Qaida and the Taliban, alleged that Mulla Omar had been spotted in Karachi recently.
"There are indications of some kind of bleed-out of Taliban types from Quetta to Karachi, but no one should assume at this point that the entire Afghan Taliban leadership has packed up its bags and headed for another Pakistani city," Riedel said.
Talking to CIA Director-General Leon Panetta in Islamabad Friday, President Asif Ali Zardari claimed that al-Qaida and the Taliban leaders were not present in Pakistan, adding that the US leadership must share all kinds of information with Pakistan because the war on terror "was not our war only."
Similarly, Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the ISI chief, while talking to Panetta, recorded his strong protest on linking his organization with Taliban, terming the Washington Times report "fabricated and baseless."
Speaking to a private Pakistani TV channel, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman, Abdul Basit, stressed that Omar was not present in Karachi.
The spokesman also denied Pakistan intelligence service ISI's involvement in shifting Mulla Omar to Karachi, saying that the Washington Times report was part of international propaganda against Pakistan.
Washington Times report has claimed that Mulla Muhammad Omar had fled Quetta and found refuge from potential US attacks in Karachi with the assistance of the Pakistani intelligence.
Two senior US intelligence officials told the newspaper that Mulla Omar traveled to Karachi last month after the end of Muslim holy month Ramazan, adding that the fugitive Afghan insurgent leader also inaugurated a new senior leadership council in Karachi.
The officials accused the ISI of helping the Taliban leaders move from Quetta, where they were exposed to attacks by the US drones.
Bruce Riedel, a CIA veteran and analyst on al-Qaida and the Taliban, alleged that Mulla Omar had been spotted in Karachi recently.
"There are indications of some kind of bleed-out of Taliban types from Quetta to Karachi, but no one should assume at this point that the entire Afghan Taliban leadership has packed up its bags and headed for another Pakistani city," Riedel said.
Talking to CIA Director-General Leon Panetta in Islamabad Friday, President Asif Ali Zardari claimed that al-Qaida and the Taliban leaders were not present in Pakistan, adding that the US leadership must share all kinds of information with Pakistan because the war on terror "was not our war only."
Similarly, Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the ISI chief, while talking to Panetta, recorded his strong protest on linking his organization with Taliban, terming the Washington Times report "fabricated and baseless."