By Shafqat Ali
Islamabad: July 14: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday feared that incidents like 9/11 could happen again as foreigners are present in the country's lawless tribal areas.
Talking to reporters here, Mr Gilani said Chechens, Uzbeks and other foreigners are present in Pakistan's tribal region who can once again shake the world by a big terrorist act.
"We are trying to control them (the terrorists) and the whole world is with us," Mr Gilani said, adding, "The United States is supporting Pakistan's three-point policy in war on terror."
Mr Gilani, however, said that nobody except the country's forces will be allowed to take action against the terrorists. "This is our policy, we will not allow anyone to operate inside Pakistan. We can share what we can (intelligence)," he added.
The Premier denied the impression that decisions are being taken in Zardari House, the residence of Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari. "I never visited the Zardari House after assuming the office of Prime Minister," he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan was doing its utmost to check cross-border movements as stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in the country's own interest.
He rejected allegations of commanding officer of Nato troops in Afghanistan and said, "I assure you that Pakistan is doing what it can to ensure peace and tranquillity in Afghanistan."
He said such statements are meant to pass the buck to others.
Source: http://www.asianage.com
Pak rebels had secret meeting in June
Rawalpindi, July 14: Early June, about 300 fighters from jihadist groups came together for a secret gathering here, in the same city that serves as headquarters to the Pakistani Army. The groups were launched long ago with the Army’s clandestine support to fight against India in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. But at the meeting, they agreed to resolve their differences and commit more fighters to another front instead: Afghanistan.
"The message was that the jihad in Kashmir is still continuing but it is not the most important right now. Afghanistan is the fighting ground, against the Americans there," said Toor Gul, a leader of the militant group Hezb-ul Mujahedeen. He said the groups included the Al Qaeda-linked Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, banned by Pakistan and branded terrorists by the US. The US military says militant attacks in eastern Afghanistan have increased 40 per cent in 2008 over 2007. And for two straight months, the death toll of foreign troops in Afghanistan has exceeded that of Iraq. On Sunday, nine US soldiers were killed in an ambush in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province, the deadliest single attack for the US since June 2005.
URL: https://newageislam.com/war-terror/pakistan-fears-major-9-11/d/226
