Talibans political war. The Taliban has been waging a political war for six years. They have been killing any tribal leaders that did not support them, there by ridding the frontier areas of any opposition. At last count they had killed 110 tribal leaders.
This has been with ISI tacit approval and support, consolidating their power in Pashtoon tribal areas, on both sides of the Durand border.
ISI was not so much infiltrated as it was a parent birthing the Taliban. The Taliban are a very bad wayward child still loved by some in ISI. ISI also has close ties to al Qaeda.
The flip side is that the Taliban is a tool for ISI, of course the Taliban have their own agenda but they are also used by the ISI.
Both ISI and the Taliban have learned that the death of opposition leaders strengthens their position, and use assassination as a means of gaining power. Taliban hit list 300 civilians.
Could Pakistan be taken over from with in? Do the Taliban have enough suicide bombers to influence Paki Politics?
Can the Taliban bring in Sharia law across Pakistan thru assassination of the opposition?
Is the ISI assisting the Taliban in implementing Sharia law?
The ISI want the Taliban as an covert force in dealing with their fears about India. And the Pakistani Government and politicians are all aware fo the Great Game and the benefits of having the terrorist around and the $10 billion UDS Great Game. and how the GWOT has created an economic boom in Pakistan. Musharraf Era! Paki Economy BOOMING The Game Pakistan is playing with the Taliban is very dangerous not only for Pakis, but for the rest of the world.
Paki is a nuclear power, controlled by what ever government the people have elected. The Taliban's wet dream is to be that government.
The Pakistani people are looking for the easy way out, The current situation in Pakistan is a corrupt police and judicial system, bribes, abuse, and crooked police. And most view Sharia law as less corrupt and more effective, even preferred.
But they haven't experienced Talibans version of Law, as was prevalent in Afghanistan.
After the Taliban were in control in Afghanistan, society reverted to the 1800's, the economy shrank and the population were abused and persecuted for fanatical ends.
Either the Pakis get some intestinal fortitude and stand up to the Taliban for Paki rights or they will become the surfs of the Taliban and revert to a middle ages type culture. And a end to the economic boom, Depression.
Gerald IATT Supplemental:
By Jeffrey Imm
In the capital of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan today, the widely read newspaper The Nation contained an article entitled "A wake-up call," by Tarik Jan, which should be required reading for American government policy makers to get an insight into the thinking of many Pakistanis today.In the August 4 article "A wake-up call,"Tarik Jan clearly calls for Pakistan government support of the Taliban and calls for Sharia law as a basis for governing the Islamic Republic of Pakistan: .
Urdu-Pashtu Media Project/Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project
Al-Qaeda Commander: Islam Doesn't Distinguish Between American People, American Gov't - Both Are Infidels and At War with Islam
On July 21, 2008, Pakistan's independent television network Geo News aired an exclusive interview with Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid, Al-Qaeda's No. 3 man and top commander in Afghanistan. The interview, conducted in Arabic, was broadcast on Geo News with a voiceover in Urdu. It was later posted on Islamist websites, and its content was published in Pakistani newspapers.
Abu Al-Yazid, also known as Sheikh Sa'id, is a 52-year-old Egyptian with two wives and 14 children. In 1981 he was arrested in Egypt for involvement in the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Al-Sadat, but was released a year later. In 1988, after heading various militant groups, he joined Al-Qaeda and shifted his base of operations to Afghanistan. In 1991 he worked for Osama bin Laden in Sudan as an accountant, and later became director of Al-Qaeda's financial affairs. He has also been a member of Al-Qaeda's Shura Council, in charge of financial planning, organizational affairs, and public relations.(1)
The following are excerpts from the Geo News interview:
Pakistan Caused Great Damage to Al-Qaeda by Supporting U.S.
In the interview, Abu Al-Yazid stated that Al-Qaeda was responsible for the attack on the Danish Embassy in Islamabad last June. He said that the bomber was a Saudi, and added: "We are proud to have carried out [this operation], and we congratulated our brothers for completing this task. We timed the attack in such a way that no Muslims were in the vicinity." Abu Al-Yazid also stated that Al-Qaeda had been responsible for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. On a previous occasion, he claimed that the organization had carried out the December 27, 2007 assassination of former Pakistani prime-minister Benazir Bhutto.
Referring to the permissibility of suicide bombings, Abu Al-Yazid said that eminent Islamic scholars around the world had issued fatwas sanctioning them. He added: "Suicide attacks are justified by Islamic shari'a. [However, Islamic] scholars [who are affiliated with] governments issue whatever fatwas they are told to issue... However, suicide attacks inside mosques are forbidden." BUT BOMBING THE GOLDEN MOSQUE WAS OK? G
aQ killing Moslems, women,children bombing Mosques and market places is OK? G
About the role of the Pakistani government in the U.S.-led war on terror, the Al-Qaeda commander remarked: "The Pakistani government is the government that has caused the greatest damage to the mujahideen. It was [Pakistani President] Pervez Musharraf...who caused the most damage to his neighbors, the mujahideen [of the Taliban], though it was [only] thanks to their sacrifice that the USSR did not invade Pakistan [in the 1980s]."
Abu Al-Yazid praised Khaled Sheikh Muhammad, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, who is currently on trial in the U.S., saying: "Khaled is a fearless man of whom the entire Muslim nation can be proud."(2) KILLING CIVILIANS, WOMEN AND CHILDREN, VERY PROUD INDEED.G
"The Allegation that Al-Qaeda Is Promoting U.S. Interests Is a Lie"
Asked about a conspiracy theory that has gained currency in Pakistan, namely that Al-Qaeda was created by the U.S. in the 1980s with the purpose of fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, Abu Al-Yazid said: "This is a lie and falsehood, and was exposed as such years ago... when Sheikh Osama bin Laden declared jihad against the U.S. Since then, [Al-Qaeda has carried out] a series of operations against the U.S... first the attacks on the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, then the attacks on U.S. targets in Yemen and Somalia, and culminating in the pious action of 9/11. This series of attacks on the U.S. is clear proof that this allegation - [namely] that Al-Qaeda is promoting U.S. interests - is [nothing but] a lie and falsehood."(3)
I AGREE PAKI PARANOIA AND LACK OF CRITICAL THINKING. G
Abu Al-Yazid added: "Al-Qaeda is waging jihad against the U.S. because it is the head of the infidels and the pharaoh of our times. The U.S. is the flag-bearer of the new modern crusade... against the Muslim nation. We are [also] fighting the U.S. because it is standing by Israel and providing it with all sorts of assistance and power..."(4)
"Islam Does Not Distinguish Between the American People and the American Government"
LIES, aQ DOES NOT SPEAK FOR ISLAM. G
Abu Al-Yazid stressed: "Islam does not distinguish between the American people and the American government, since both are in a state of war with Islam. After all, these are the people who elect the [American] governments, and who even elected [President George] Bush for a second term in office, despite their awareness of his agenda against Islam. Despite witnessing Bush's many brutal [actions] against the Muslims, these people re-elected him. They are the ones who pay the taxes that enable the American government and army to wage war and spill the blood of Muslims..."(5)
Abu Al-Yazid added that Al-Qaeda's attacks on the U.S. forces in Afghanistan were becoming more frequent, and that the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai would not last. He also emphasized that Al-Qaeda receives no support from any Muslim government.(6)
Endnotes: (1) www.muslm.net, accessed July 23, 2008. (2) Roznama Jang (Pakistan), July 22, 2008. (3) www.muslm.net, July 23, 2008. (4) www.muslm.net, July 23, 2008. (5) www.muslm.net, July 23, 2008. (6) Roznama Jang (Pakistan), July 22, 2008.
There needs to be something said about the failure of the Paki and Afghan cultures to bring al Qaeda and the Taliban to justice.
About the failure of thier political systems to come to grips with this cancer in their society even with Billion$ and Billion$ of USD in aid, and support of the USA Military.
Taliban and al qaeda killing Muslims, bombing Mosques, Market places, funerals, killing children women. Suicide bombings of civilians, political leaders, Government.
USA needs to set bench marks for these Governments to reach to continue to receive aid and Military support.
The people in these states have a responsibility to the rest of the world to bring the terrorist in their countrys under control, by negotiation or death. Taliban suckers Paki Gov.
Let the Taliban take over these governments, it is much eaiser to take out a state Government vs a war with insurgents, let them suffer the pains of failure to handle the GWOT problem.
USA has demonstrated its ability to strike inside a country and take out select leadership.
USA has a responsibility to protect its citizens from terrorists, and that may be easier to do if the terrorist are running the government of a state rather than dealing with a terrorist insurgency.
Pakistan has demonstrated again and again its lack of ability to come to grips with the Taliban problem. Pakistan believe they can negotiate with the Taliban and will fail like the earlier deals struck between the Pakistani government and the militants in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The Taliban have demonstrated they have no honor, they have even sold out their own.
At what point does the USA quit supporting stupidity? This amounts to duplicity, secret agreements with the Taliban about keeping al Qaeda as pets.
Refusing direct USA military aid and troops to close with their taliban enemy of which they are seem incapable of defeating.
If the Afghans and Pakis can't meet certain bench marks, then let them suffer the Taliban. Impose economic sanctions, they have the responsibility to bear the burden in this struggle not America. Currently Pakistan is in the middle of an economic boom.
Pulling aid and Military support from Paki would kill the economic BOOM! during the ensuing Taliban take over.
Pakistan has admitted they are not pursuing Bin Laden, Paki Not looking for Biny. Comparatively, the area occupied by Pakistan is slightly less than twice the size of the state of California. Give them 6 months to get him, if they don't' then cut aid $ by 50%. Only $5 billion a year. put the other $5 billion into USA's Social Security System. They have had 6 years, and Billion$ and billion$ of UDS and 100,000 troops and can't find Biny? BS.
Establish corruption police in Afghan, with targeted bench marks on transparency and arrests. Cut Afghan aid if the marks are not met.
Currently "they" are playing both ends against each other and pocketing the money.
Bring in the FBI and start investigations , make arrests and send the crooks to prison. The current paradigm is NOT working.
They profit from the GWOT by corruption and keeping the bad guys free to keep the funds flowing for fighting the bad guys.
Afghan and Paki develop a secure Durand line (Durand Line, Talibans stealthborder...) and work together or blanket mine it except for controlled points of entry. Afghan has a right to a secure border when there is an invasion of Taliban killing their citizens.
There is no percentage for Afghan and Paki to get rid of the terrorists. When the GWOT is won, their subsidy from USA isn't going to be $10 billion a year. USA pulling out 100,000 troops will have the reverse effect of Regan's trickle down in their economys.
USA is there to HELP, NOT DO IT FOR THEM.
IF THEY ARE NOT GOING TO TRY, THEN WE NEED TO CHANGE THE PARADIGM.
USA should not be begging to stay but threating to leave.
Tell Paki and Afghan to get off their asses or they loose big money. Stop the corruption or go to prison. Make the aid subject to FBI scrutiny. Start putting the big crooks in prison.
Gerald Anthropologist
UPDATE: AFTER PAKI TALIBAN INVADE AFGHAN AND ATTACK PRISION AFGHAN THREATENS TO INVADE PAKI TO GET BM. UPDATE: Pakistan's Plea For Patience The need for a response helps explain the speed with which Husain Haqqani has been shuttling around Washington. The former adviser to assassinated People's Party leader Benazir Bhutto presented his credentials as Pakistan's new ambassador in Washington on June 6. Within hours he was rushing to and from the CIA, the Pentagon, the State Department and Congress in an attempt to buy tolerance -- and time -- for his fragile government.
I asked Haqqani if he and his new ministers in Islamabad had thought about what would happen to Pakistan and its newly reborn democracy if a major al-Qaeda attack against the United States succeeded and was traced back to the tribal areas. "What do you think keeps me up at night?" he answered. "We want to make sure that it doesn't come to that." Then he was off to the next stop on his tour, and his next plea for patience.
Pakistanis, Fight terrorism and corruption: So American's can go home. We keep all information about members a strict secret. We can report information to the US Government anomalously. We have the contacts, to get things done.
Support Pakistan and fight corruption.
Looking for Paki civilians or military to help fight corruption and terrorism. So Americans can go home.
Join the Wiki now, it will go black at 20 members. Complete secrecy.STOP CORRUPTION AND TERRORISM
Pakistani Taliban leader sending fighters to Afghanistan
Image via WikipediaPakistani Taliban leader sending fighters to Afghanistan
May 25, 2008
KOTKAI, Pakistan — Pakistan's top Taliban leader said Saturday that he is sending fighters to battle U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Addressing reporters invited to a hideout in South Waziristan, Baitullah Mehsud said his group "sincerely wants" peace talks with the new Pakistani government to succeed. But he said the holy war would continue until U.S. forces leave Afghanistan.
Curbs on Musharraf? The senior party in Pakistan's ruling coalition unveiled a package of constitutional reforms aimed at sharply reducing President Pervez Musharraf's powers. The president no longer would have the power to dissolve parliament or appoint provincial governors and the head of the military. Asif Ali Zardari, head of the Pakistan People's Party, said the reforms would be put before lawmakers by late June.
Image via WikipediaMEMRI.ORG Urdu-Pashtu Media Blog http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=Announcement7008
Pakistani Taliban Hold Jihad Conference, Issue 6-Point Shari'a Implementation Program ( Pakistani Taliban Hold Jihad Conference: THEY HELD A JIHAD CONFERENCE ..WTF...g ) The Pakistani Taliban has successfully held a two-day jihad conference at the shrine of 20th-Century local Islamic preacher Haji Sahib Turangzai in Pakistan's tribal district of Mohmand Agency. According to the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Mashriq, the local Emir of the Movement of Pakistani Taliban Umer Khalid issued a 6-point program for the implementation of shari'a in Mohmand Agency.
The Pakistani Taliban have asked the Pakistani government to release 250 of their leaders from detention, in exchange for freeing 80 to 100 government officials who were kidnapped in Pakistan's tribal districts. The Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Mashriq quoted Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Maulvi Omar as saying that demands for freeing prisoners from both sides were discussed during their talks on establishing peace in the border region. According to the report, the Taliban spokesman said that as part of the peace agreement being worked out, Pakistani Taliban are not barred from carrying out attacks on NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan. He said that the recent release of Islamist leader Maulana Sufi Muhammad from prison was part of a deal with the government.
( THEY ANNOUNCED IT; THEN HAD A TWO DAY CONFERENCE ) Taliban To Hold Jihad Conference In Pakistan's Tribal District Of Mohmand Agency
The Movement of Pakistani Taliban has announced its plan to hold a conference of ulema on Jihad at the shrine of local preacher Haji Sahib Turangzai in Pakistan's tribal district of Mohmand Agency. Haji Turangzai was an Islamic preacher who also fought against the British in the early 20th century.
Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician and Tehreek-e-Insaf party president Imran Khan has said that President Pervez Musharraf should be hanged for ordering the military operation in the Islamabad-based Red Mosque last year. The Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Jang quoted Imran Khan as saying: "On the issue of the Red Mosque [operation], President Musharraf should be hanged [because he] committed extreme atrocities on girls and children in order to endear [himself to] the United States."
Activists Demand Release Of Nuclear Scientist Dr. Qadeer Khan Activists of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party hold placards demanding the release of Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who is in detention after he admitted his role in international nuclear proliferation.
The government of Pakistan recently relaxed restrictions on Khan's movements, allowing him to meet a limited number of friends. However, the restrictions were reimposed after Khan gave interviews to the media. Dr. Qadeer Khan is considered a national hero due to his role in Pakistan's nuclear bomb.
Source: Roznama Express (Pakistan), April 14, 2008
Former Pakistani President: The U.S. Is World's Greatest Satan
Former Pakistani President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar has described the United States as "the world's greatest Satan." The Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Express reported that Rafiq Tarar made the statement during an address to a conference in the honor of Prophet Muhammad. According to the report, the former President said: "The United States is the world's greatest Satan and is playing its satanic game across the world. And unfortunately, its trusted advisor [meaning President Musharraf] has been thrust on Pakistan and is extending its policies." Rafiq Tarar also urged the Organization of Islamic Conference to terminate its relations with all countries where cartoons of Islam's Prophet Muhammad were published.
Militant Tribal Leader: "We Are Out To Spread Islam In The Entire World" The Chief of militant Islamic tribal group Lashkar-e-Islam Mangal Bagh has said that the group's activities are not limited to Pakistan's tribal district of Khyber Agency. The Urdu-language Roznama Khabrain quoted him as saying: "Allah revealed the Koran, which was not sent for any one particular region of the world...We are out to spread Islam throughout the world." In the ongoing fighting between Lashkar-e-Islam and rival tribal groups in the tribal district of Khyber Agency, where dozens of people have been killed in recent days. In the image above, people are fleeing the conflict-affected regions of Khyber Agency. (Photo courtesy: Roznama Jang (Pakistan), April 18, 2008)
Taliban Commanders Take Control Of Several Towns In Pakistan's Swat District
The Taliban have regained control of several areas in the Swat district of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province and their armed units are patrolling the region. The Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Mashriq reported that the Taliban have regained the control of the Imam Dheri Markaz, once the stronghold of their leader Maulana Fazlullah.
According to the report, the Taliban commanders appeared Wednesday at the Imam Dheri Markaz, cleaned the mosque and offered evening prayer. The Taliban leaders also announced they will offer weekly Friday prayers on April 11. According to the report, the key commanders loyal to the militia leader Maulana Fazlullah are meeting tribal elders in the region. A spokesman for Maulana Fazlullah told Roznama Mashriq: "Our demand is the implementation of shari'a and we will stand by it." The Taliban had taken control of most of the Swat district in the North West Frontier Province last year before being repulsed by the Pakistani army. The new secular government in the province has said it will start a process of dialogue with the Taliban in order to eliminate extremism in the region.
The Taliban are working the Pashtu culture on all levels, religious, sports and political.
Since Google doesn't have a Urdu translator, the Urdu section of the WWW is to all effects is BLACK. And makes OSINT very difficult.
The only "in" the West has to the Pashtu culture is the WWW, radio and newspapers. And the Taliban's Pashtu Social Change Engine is in full swing and calls for a major effort as part of any COIN efforts.
Many of the Talibans front line, non-cadre troops can be hired away, and sent somewhere.
There are several weakness in the Taliban paradigm, a return to the 1600's, rejection of modern entertainment, subsistence economic level, damage to tourism, enforceable anti-drug laws, high death rates, suicide bombers. All of which can be run against the Taliban.
Paki just doesn't learn. They keep turning them loose.G
Pakistan Releases over 2,500 Taliban, al Qaeda
By Bill Roggio: September 15, 2006 4:46 PM
Pakistan follows the truce to the letter and releases thousands of Taliban and al Qaeda members captured since 2001
Maulana Sufi Mohammad, head of the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e- Shariat-e-Mohammed, freed from Pakistani prison.
The Pakistani government is living up to its commitments on the "Waziristan Accord," and has emptied the prisons of Taliban and al Qaeda who have been captured since the fall of 2001. The "Waziristan Accord" calls for the Pakistani government to "release prisoners held in military action and would not arrest them again," and that is exactly what is happening.
The Daily Telegraph discloses that Pakistan has released over 2,500 Taliban and al Qaeda, although an American military intelligence source estimates the number is higher. The Pakistani military has in the past put the number of al Qaeda and Taliban captured at around 500-700.
The Daily Telegraph then tracks down some of those released. The resultant interviews give the impression those released were somehow incorrectly identified as jihadis. A "young Tajik who entered Pakistan last year to study... at a madrassa in Peshawar... was shot in the side by Pakistani police as he tried to escape when the madrassa was raided." A "37-year-old Algerian... worked in the honey business when he was arrested last year." Al-Qaeda was deeply involved in the "honey business" and use this and other industries to mask their terror financing. A "Bangladeshi who has an American degree in engineering, admitted helping the Taliban against US-led forces in Afghanistan five years ago" was released to the al-Khidmat Foundation. The Daily Telegraph fails to recognize the al-Khidmat Foundation is in fact the Makhtab al-Khidmat, or the MAK, which was founded by Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden in the 1980s and was used to funnel men and material into Afghanistan. The MAK is on the U.S. Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List.
But beyond the three low level operatives interviewed are a host of senior and mid level al Qaeda and Taliban operatives. A sample of those released included the following individuals, including the killers of journalist Daniel Pearl:
Ghulam Mustafa: "He was once close to Osama bin Laden, has intimate knowledge of al Qaeda's logistics and financing and its nexus with the military in Pakistan."
Maulana Sufi Mohammad: "Maulana Sufi Mohammad was Faqir Mohammed's first jihadi mentor who introduced him to militancy in Afghanistan in 1993. Sufi Mohammad was one of the active leaders of Jamat-e-Islami (JI) in the 1980s. He was the principal of the JI madrassa in Tamaergra, a town in the northwestern part of NWFP. He was an instinctive hardliner and in due course developed differences with JI and left them in 1992 to form Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammed [TNSM]." Sufi Mohammad organized Pakistanis to fight jihad in Afghanistan and along with the TNSM fought in Kunduz November of 2001.
Mohammad Khaled: A brigade leader who led the Taliban in against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. ""It is a difficult time for Islam and Muslims. We are in a test. Everybody should be ready to pass the test - and to sacrifice our lives," said Mohammad Khaled.
Fazl-e-Raziq: A senior aide to Osama bin Laden, and "an ethnic Pakhtoon resident of Swabi district of the North West Frontier Province."
Khalid Khawaja: "Khalid Khawaja is a retired squadron leader of the Pakistan Air Force who was an official in Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, in the mid 1980s. After he wrote a critical letter to General Zia ul-Haq, who ruled Pakistan from 1977 till 1988, in which he labeled Zia as hypocrite, he was removed from the ISI and forced to retire from the airforce. He then went straight to Afghanistan in 1987 and fought against the Soviets along side with Osama Bin Laden, developing a relationship of firm friendship and trust. Khalid Khawaja’s name resurfaced when US reporter Daniel Pearl was abducted and subsequently killed. Pearl had come to Pakistan and met Khalid Khawaja in order to investigate the jihadi network of revered sufi, Syed Mubarak Ali Gailani."
Mansour Hasnain: A member of the group that kidnapped and murdered Danny Pearl. He also was "a militant of the Harkat-al-Mujahedin group, is one of those who hijacked an Indian Airlines jet in December 1999 and forced New Delhi to release three militants -- including Omar and Azhar."
Mohammad Bashir: Another Pakistani complicit in the murder of Daniel Pearl.
Aamni Ahmad, Hala Ahmad and Nooran Abdu: Facilitators/couriers, and wives of al Qaeda members. "Pakistani authorities arrested 23 Arabs, including two children, suspected of links to Osama bin Laden, officials said Wednesday. All of them sneaked into the country from Afghanistan in recent weeks. The suspects include three women, identified as Aamni Ahmad, Hala Ahmad and Nooran Abdu, who are believed to be relatives of bin Laden. An interior ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the arrests were made in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan."
Gul Ahmed Shami & Hamid Noor: Al-Qaeda foot soldiers who fought in Afghanistan. "I want to be the next Osama bin Laden," said Shami in 2001. "Allah is with us. The Americans have technology but they don't have the courage to face death, which we do. I will be there until my death if need be. I know I probably won't come back," said Hamid.
These “miscreants” and “foreigners” are said to be streaming back to al Qaeda's new safe haven of the Islamic Emirate of Waziristan, and reconstituting al Qaeda's organization.
As the Pakistani government lives up to their end of the “Waziristan Accord,” the Taliban and al Qaeda have broken it repeatedly. Anti-Taliban clerics and tribal leaders have been shot and beheaded in Waziristan. A government official was also kidnapped in Waziristan, and a reporter was murdered in Dera Ismail Khan. The Taliban flaunts the terms of the truce and expends into neighboring agencies, and the Pakistani government continues to look the other way.
Govt won't be blackmailed by militants, says Gillani
* 'Parliament will strip Musharraf of his power to dissolve govt'
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: The government will neither be "blackmailed" by militants nor will it listen to their "unrealistic" demands, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani has said. "We won't listen to their demands that are totally unrealistic. If they want us to hand over [jailed] terrorists as a [precondition] for talks, that will not happen," Gillani said in an interview with Newsweek, published on its website on Monday. Gillani said there would be no talks with militants "until our preconditions are met". "They should [put down] their arms first. Not only [Baitullah] Mehsud but also other [armed] tribes who are not militants," he added. He also ruled out any unilateral US military strikes into Pakistan, saying that they [the United States] have to have prior permission. Power: The premier also hinted that parliament would strip President Pervez Musharraf of his power to dissolve the government and would soon restore the judges sacked by Musharraf last year. "The 1973 Constitution of Pakistan is the only document that is acceptable to the people of Pakistan … amendments [which gave Musharraf extraordinary powers to dismiss the government] were made afterward. So we don't accept these amendments. We believe in balance of power between the parliament and the president," he said. Gillani said the resolution to restore the sacked judges "maybe" tabled in parliament this week. He said his priority would be to try to establish law and order in the country. "My priority would be to control the law-and-order situation in the country, so we have to discourage this extremism and terrorism," Gillani said. He said Pakistan wanted a three-pronged strategy to combat terrorism – improving people's well-being and giving them employment, overhauling the education system [without the] old madrassas, where the students are being groomed for the Taliban, and improving health and communication facilities. Gillani said he was confident he could work with Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Kayani, whom he praised as a good, highly professional soldier.
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