Pak army ordered to hit back US forces September 12, 2008 presstv.ir

Pak army put on high alert to confront any US agression The Pakistani Army has been given orders to retaliate against any unilateral strike by the Afghanistan-based US troops inside the country. Army Spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas confirmed the orders in a brief interview with Geo News on late Thursday night. The decision was made on the first day of the two-day meeting of Pakistan's top military commanders to discuss the US coalition's ground and air assault in Waziristan region which killed dozens of civilians. Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani chaired the meeting which began in Rawalpindi on Thursday at the Army General Headquarters. Pakistan's military commanders expressed their determination to defend the country's borders without allowing any external forces to conduct operations inside the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, sources said. A senior official said the military commanders also discussed the implications of the American attacks inside Pakistan and took stock of the public feeling. "In his statement, Genral Kayani has represented the feeling of the entire nation, as random attacks inside Pakistan have angered each and every Pakistani," he said. Earlier on Wednesday, Kayani rebuffed the American policy of including Pakistani territory in their operations against the al-Qaeda and Taliban linked militants hiding in the areas near Afghan border. Also, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani noted that Kayani's remarks on country's defense were true reflection of the government policy. The army decision followed bloody incursions by the US ground troops into tribal belt as well as a string of missile strikes by CIA-operated drone aircraft. The reaction also comes after US President George W. Bush approved US military raids on militants inside Pakistan without Islamabad's agreement. The development also brought into the open the increasing mistrust between the Americans and the Pakistanis over how to handle the Taliban and al-Qaeda linked militants in Pakistan's tribal areas. Some political expert predict the break out of an all-out war between the United States troops and Pakistani army following the Bush administration's approval of ground and air assaults inside the country. JR/DT

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Blackwater in Pakistan

islamonline.net
Aamir Latif, IOL Correspondent
June 22, 2008


ISLAMABAD — The notorious US security firm Blackwater has reportedly established a presence in the restive tribal belt on the Afghan borders to help the FBI and CIA track down Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants allegedly hiding there and protect USAID projects.

"We have sent a report to the government regarding Backwater's presence in the country," an intelligence official told Islamonline.net requesting anonymity for not being authorized to discuss the sensitive issue.

Intelligence sources say that currently 20 to 25 Blackwater agents are operating in the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP), which borders Afghanistan, masquerading themselves as US intelligence and diplomatic officials.

"They are trying to establish their feet. They are hiding themselves under the diplomatic and FBI covers."

He said Blackwater has hired the services of some local security agencies to work for them.

"We are keeping an eye on the security agencies they have hired."

The intelligence official says Blackwater came to the tribal belt for two reasons.

"First, to track down Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders, which US agencies believe are hiding along the Pak-Afghan border. Secondly, to provide security to the various projects launched by USAID in NWFP, and some tribal areas."

The South Carolina-based security firm gained world notoriety over involvement in dozens of unprovoked civilian killings in Iraq.

Established 10 years ago by Erik Prince , a former Navy SEAL and a right-wing son of a multi-millionaire, the security consulting firm has grown into what US investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill describes as the "world's most powerful mercenary army."

Riding machine-gun mounted utility vehicles, Blackwater’s armed contractors have gained notoriety for shooting first and not bothering to ask questions later.

A recent US congressional report discovered Blackwater has been involved in 195 shooting incidents since 2005, mostly unprovoked.

Connections

The intelligence official says that the Pakistani security agencies hired by Blackwater are providing security services to the country’s major financial and trade institutions.

"We have been told by some senior bank officials that they have recently been quizzed by some US and Pakistani people who showed themselves as diplomats about funding and accounts of pro-Al-Qaeda and Taliban organizations," he told IOL.

"We believe after checking with the US embassy that they were not diplomats, but Blackwater agents.

"It seems they are interested in getting information about funding sources for militant organizations."

A FBI-sponsored "Spider Group" comprising retired Pakistani intelligence and military officers, mostly Christians, has already been operating in different parts of the country for the last five years.

Various spies hired by the Spider Group to track down Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders have been killed by militants in the tribal area.

The intelligence official argues that Blackwater agents are very much active in neighboring Afghanistan too.

"They have been working there, especially in the southern provinces for at least the last year."

Defense and security analysts argue that the presence of Blackwater would rather complicate the security situation in Pakistan.

"This is a huge threat for our national security," Hamid Mir, an Islamabad-based defense and security analyst, told IOL.

He claims that Blackwater is not only operating in Peshawar but is also active in the southern port city of Karachi.

"The US (intelligence) agencies think that a number of Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders are hiding in Karachi and Peshawar. That is why, its (Blackwater) agents are operating in these two cities."

Mir believes that unlike Iraq and Afghanistan, Blackwater would not operate with impunity in Pakistan.

"In Iraq and Afghanistan, Blackwater has had the cover and support of occupational forces, but the situation is different in Pakistan," he contends.

"Here, it has to depend on local informers, who unfortunately or fortunately are double agents. And many of them who really worked for the US agencies, have been killed by the militants."


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Comment:

Blackwater is a terrorist group.