Beware Of The New Game In Swat, Tribal Belt
The Americans and the pro-Indian Afghan security officials, in addition to the Indian intelligence outposts on Afghan soil, all have exploited Pakistani weaknesses in the area and pushed their own 'fake Islamists' inside to confuse the entire situation. Now when there is peace in Swat, this TTP comes into action to discredit the implementation of Shariah in the region.
By AHMED QURAISHI
Sunday, 5 April 2009.
WWW.AHMEDQURAISHI.COM
ISLAMABAD, PakistanEveryone knows that a public flogging like this one will create a stir. The fake Taliban who also call themselves 'Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan' [TTP] did this intentionally. And the Pakistani media played along, repeating the footage endlessly for ratings.
The problem is that this appears to be a deliberate attempt by these suspicious 'Pakistani Taliban' to derail the peace deal that has robbed them from the excuse to fight their own country and people by claiming that Shariah is not implemented.
This attempt is another indicator in the piles of circumstantial evidence collected over the past two years that proves that while most of the foot soldiers of the 'Pakistani Taliban' are our own misguided young Pakistanis, the real handlers behind this shadowy group are people with links to the border area with Afghanistan where, according to the latest statement by Interior Adviser Rehman Malik, some 4000 foreign fighters are present.
These foreign fighters are not the remnants of the jihad of the 1980s. These are professionally trained killers, experts in recruiting, organizing and unleashing 'death squads', and psyop experts. During President Musharraf's time, while he thought the Americans were his allies, CIA and Karzai's NDS and the Brits penetrated the Pakistani territory and established an elaborate network of their own operatives and spies on the ground. Tens of U.S. operatives fluent in Pashto and Uzbek and Chechen and other languages were released in the area and are still there. No one in Pakistan knows what they are exactly doing. When you see the strength of a fake Taliban like Baitullah Mehsud who has 25,000 fighters under his command, you wonder about his never-ending supply of money and modern weapons. He has never been chased by the Americans. CIA has started bombing some places under his command to convince the Pakistani military that the U.S. is not double crossing Pakistan.
The Americans and the pro-Indian Afghan security officials, in addition to the Indian intelligence outposts on Afghan soil, all have exploited Pakistani weaknesses in the area and pushed their own 'fake Islamists' inside to confuse the entire situation. Now when there is peace in Swat, this TTP comes into action to discredit the implementation of Shariah in the region. This Shariah has nothing to do with TTP. The deal was brokered and struck with genuine local known religious figures. The TTP is basically based in the tribal belt and is linked to Mehsud. Also remember that the Afghan Taliban in Afghanistan, who are the real Taliban, have ceased their links with this TTP long time back. In fact many Afghan Taliban have directly and indirectly conveyed to Pakistani authorities that they are busy in Afghanistan and have nothing to do with TTP which pays lip service to fighting the Americans and focuses on killing Pakistani citizens.
News editors in our TV channels need to understand this. They should not have given these criminals who are hiding behind the name of 'Taliban' the satisfaction of giving a successful media blow to the peace deal. It is also interesting to note that everything the TTP and Baitullah Mehsud does - from attacking Lahore on the day Obama was to release his new Afghan policy, to trying to sabotage the Swat deal which Washington opposes, not to mention attacking Pakistani targets and kidnapping the Chinese- all of this generally ends up supporting the American designs in Pakistan.
This column is based on Mr. Quraishis posting at The Lounge.
The Americans and the pro-Indian Afghan security officials, in addition to the Indian intelligence outposts on Afghan soil, all have exploited Pakistani weaknesses in the area and pushed their own 'fake Islamists' inside to confuse the entire situation. Now when there is peace in Swat, this TTP comes into action to discredit the implementation of Shariah in the region.
By AHMED QURAISHI
Sunday, 5 April 2009.
WWW.AHMEDQURAISHI.COM
ISLAMABAD, PakistanEveryone knows that a public flogging like this one will create a stir. The fake Taliban who also call themselves 'Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan' [TTP] did this intentionally. And the Pakistani media played along, repeating the footage endlessly for ratings.
The problem is that this appears to be a deliberate attempt by these suspicious 'Pakistani Taliban' to derail the peace deal that has robbed them from the excuse to fight their own country and people by claiming that Shariah is not implemented.
This attempt is another indicator in the piles of circumstantial evidence collected over the past two years that proves that while most of the foot soldiers of the 'Pakistani Taliban' are our own misguided young Pakistanis, the real handlers behind this shadowy group are people with links to the border area with Afghanistan where, according to the latest statement by Interior Adviser Rehman Malik, some 4000 foreign fighters are present.
These foreign fighters are not the remnants of the jihad of the 1980s. These are professionally trained killers, experts in recruiting, organizing and unleashing 'death squads', and psyop experts. During President Musharraf's time, while he thought the Americans were his allies, CIA and Karzai's NDS and the Brits penetrated the Pakistani territory and established an elaborate network of their own operatives and spies on the ground. Tens of U.S. operatives fluent in Pashto and Uzbek and Chechen and other languages were released in the area and are still there. No one in Pakistan knows what they are exactly doing. When you see the strength of a fake Taliban like Baitullah Mehsud who has 25,000 fighters under his command, you wonder about his never-ending supply of money and modern weapons. He has never been chased by the Americans. CIA has started bombing some places under his command to convince the Pakistani military that the U.S. is not double crossing Pakistan.
The Americans and the pro-Indian Afghan security officials, in addition to the Indian intelligence outposts on Afghan soil, all have exploited Pakistani weaknesses in the area and pushed their own 'fake Islamists' inside to confuse the entire situation. Now when there is peace in Swat, this TTP comes into action to discredit the implementation of Shariah in the region. This Shariah has nothing to do with TTP. The deal was brokered and struck with genuine local known religious figures. The TTP is basically based in the tribal belt and is linked to Mehsud. Also remember that the Afghan Taliban in Afghanistan, who are the real Taliban, have ceased their links with this TTP long time back. In fact many Afghan Taliban have directly and indirectly conveyed to Pakistani authorities that they are busy in Afghanistan and have nothing to do with TTP which pays lip service to fighting the Americans and focuses on killing Pakistani citizens.
News editors in our TV channels need to understand this. They should not have given these criminals who are hiding behind the name of 'Taliban' the satisfaction of giving a successful media blow to the peace deal. It is also interesting to note that everything the TTP and Baitullah Mehsud does - from attacking Lahore on the day Obama was to release his new Afghan policy, to trying to sabotage the Swat deal which Washington opposes, not to mention attacking Pakistani targets and kidnapping the Chinese- all of this generally ends up supporting the American designs in Pakistan.
This column is based on Mr. Quraishis posting at The Lounge.
