US tells Pakistan to rein in ISI / US must not cross red lines, says FM Khar

[WatanDost]

[h=1]US fires fresh salvo at Pakistan, tells it to rein in ISI[/h]PTI | Sep 24, 2011, 07.18PM IST

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: Brushing aside Islamabad's rebuttal, the US has fired fresh salvos charging Pakistan's military-run ISI of not only supporting the Haqqani terror network but also 'encouraging' it to launch more brazen strikes on American installations in Afghanistan.
Demanding a "strong and immediate action" against the outfit, US officials said Haqqani group's activities have become "more brazen, more aggressive and more lethal".
Captain John Kirby, spokesperson of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen, told Pentagon reporters last evening that there has been a long-standing historical relationship between the ISI and extremist groups.
Kirby said: "There has been a lot of activity over the course of this summer - the hotel attack in Kabul, Wardak truck bomb, attack on the embassy and others smaller level operations. It has been a very busy summer for the Haqqani network. It has gone worse."
He added "Their (Haqqani's) activities have become more brazen, more aggressive and more lethal. Information has become more available that these attacks have been supported or encouraged by the ISI. The Chairman (Mullen) just had the conversation with (Pakistan army chief) General (Ashfaq Parvez) Kayani last week in Spain. He said this because this is the truth."
"All I can tell you that we are confident that the ISI continues to support and even encourages the Haqqanis to launch these attacks. I am not going into, at this point, specifics of the intelligence that we have about the support they have we believe," he said.
However, Kirby said Mullen has not spoken to Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Pavrvez Kayani after his Congressional testimony on Thursday in which he described the Haqqani network as a "veritable arm" of the ISI.
US remarks unfortunate: Kayani
The war of words between Pakistan and the US on the ISI's alleged links with the Haqqani terror network has further escalated with Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani describing US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen's accusations as "not based on facts".
In a statement issued by the military last evening, the powerful army chief described Mullen's remarks as "as very unfortunate and not based on facts".
He added: "This is especially disturbing in view of a rather constructive meeting with Admiral Mullen in Spain."
The Pakistani military had maintained a studied silence as several US officials linked the Inter-Services Intelligence agency to the Haqqani terror network and called on Islamabad to take action against the Taliban faction based in the North Waziristan tribal region.
Kayani responded a day after Mullen accused the ISI of supporting the Haqqani network in carrying out a string of deadly terror attacks, including an assault on the US Embassy in Kabul on September 13.
Mullen said the Taliban faction was a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's spy agency.
The Pakistani military statement said: "On the specific question of contacts with the Haqqanis, (Kayani) said that Admiral Mullen knows fully well which all countries are in contact with the Haqqanis. Singling out Pakistan is neither fair nor productive."
The statement did not name the other countries that are in contact with the Haqqani network.
Kayani categorically denied US accusations of "proxy war and ISI support to Haqqanis" and said the "blame game in public statements should give way to a constructive and meaningful engagement for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan, an objective to which Pakistan is fully committed".

 

[WatanDost]

US turns heat on ISI, says it spies on Pakistani-Americans

[h=1]US turns heat on ISI, says it spies on Pakistani-Americans[/h]Chidanand RajghattaChidanand Rajghatta, TNN | Jul 24, 2011, 11.41PM IST

WASHINGTON: In further signs that ties between the United States and Pakistan continue to deteriorate, American interlocutors have now accused Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI of spying on the Pakistani diaspora in America and intimidating them.

The latest salvo, aired through leaks in the New York Times on Sunday, comes on the heels of the FBI's arrest of Kashmiri activist Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai on charges that he illegally funnelled money from the Pakistani ISI into the US to influence American policy makers.

Unnamed US officials have released the name of yet another ISI operative, who, working under diplomatic cover in New York, allegedly spied on Pakistani dissidents in America, in what some analysts suggest may be payback for Pakistanis outing CIA operatives and harassing CIA assets in Pakistan.

The FBI affidavit in the Fai case also named several ISI operatives, including high-level Pakistani spook Maj Gen Mumtaz Ahmed Bajwa, who the US says handled overseas Kashmiri militants groups in the ISI's security directorate. The public outing of ISI operatives now is in stark contrast to the Headley-Rana case where the Justice Department held back from naming Pakistani spooks.

The official, identified as Mohammed Tasleem, an attache in the Pakistani consulate in New York, went so far as to pose as an FBI agent to extract information from Pakistani immigrants and threatened them if they opposed the Pakistani military's. Tasleem was spirited out of US in a "quiet resolution" of the matter after the then CIA Director Leon Panetta had a "tense conversation" with the ISI chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha on the matter, NYT said.

But in a sign that Washington may have also tried to keep a lid on the spat between law-enforcement foot soldiers of the two countries, the report said the State Department and CIA counseled against FBI arresting Fai and his associate in the Kashmir-ISI case in the past, fearing that such a move would aggravate the already frayed ties between US and Pakistan.

US policy with regards to Pakistan is difficult to discern as this moment. Publicly, officials maintain both sides are working through a "difficult" and "complicated" relationship. But lower down, or perhaps privately, officials from both sides are going eye-ball-to-eyeball, in the process aggravating the already frayed ties.

It now appears the gloves -- and all bets -- are off. After Pakistan's aggressive moves in twice outing CIA station chiefs in Islamabad and playing hardball in the Raymond Davis case, Washington seems intent in showing that two can play the game. The US has now turned the heat on ISI, with the focus on its operations in America including its divisive ties with the Pakistani diaspora.

Some analysts see the timing of Fai's arrest, including the fingering of ISI, as significant, coming as it does on the heels of the arrest of a Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, who assisted the US operation in Abbottabad (targeting Osama bin Laden). Washington is said to be pressing Pakistan to release him.

"So what you have inside of Pakistan is the arrest of a Pakistani national for assisting US efforts. And now here in Washington, you have the arrest of an American citizen of Pakistani origin for his assistance [on] Pakistani efforts. The similarities here are striking, and it...leads to questions in Pakistan as to whether this arrest and this case are being brought intentionally at this time to send a message to Islamabad," says Daniel Markey, a former state department officials who is now a senior fellow at the Council for Foreign Relations.

The US move also comes amid growing fears in the Pakistani community of more arrests in the Fai case. The FBI affidavit in the case cites a dozen unnamed "straw donors" who contributed money to Fai's Kashmir American Council in the US and were reimbursed by the Pakistani government in Pakistan in a typical hawala operation. Many donors are said to be Pakistani-American physicians and businessmen.

At the same time, the latest leaks about ISI shenanigans in US also suggests Washington is concerned about Islamabad targeting Pakistani-Americans who are critical of the militarization of Pakistan and its slide into chaos.

There was further panic in the community over the weekend after Canada arrested what it called a Pakistani "war criminal" near Toronto.

Canadian authorities said they apprehended Arshad Mohammed, 42, just days after Ottawa released a list of 30 "war criminals" sought in Canada, ostensibly to offset the impression that the country is being used as a liberal safe haven by overseas terrorists and criminals. Most men on the list come from failed or failing states such as Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan etc, including two from Pakistan.

Canadian officials did not identify the war crimes Arshad Mohammed is charged with.

 

[CoolDool]

US must not cross red lines, says FM Khar



Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Saturday warned the United States against sending ground troops to her country to fight an Afghan militant group that America alleges is used as a proxy by Pakistan’s top intelligence agency for attacks in neighboring Afghanistan.

The warning came as a top US military commander was in Pakistan for talks with the army chief at a time of intense strain between the two countries.

The US Embassy said Gen. James Mattis, head of US Central Command, arrived in Pakistan late Friday, and that he will meet the army chief, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. Ties between Islamabad and Washington are in crisis after American officials stepped up accusations that Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence was aiding insurgents in neighboring Afghanistan, including those who took part in an attack on the US Embassy last week in Kabul. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said in an interview Saturday that there are red lines and rules of engagement with America, which should not be broken. ”It opens all kinds of doors and all kinds of options,” she told a private TV channel from New York. The comment was in response to a question about the possibility of US troops coming to Pakistan.


نیویارک : پاکستانی وزیرخارجہ حنا ربانی کھر نے کہا ہے کہ امریکی رہنماؤں کے بیانات سے بات چیت کا دروازہ بند بھی ہوسکتا ہے، برداشت سے زیادہ ہمیں نہ آزمایا جائے۔ الجزیرہ ٹی وی کو انٹرویو دیتے ہوئے ان کا کہنا تھا کہ اگر ہم شدت پسندوں سے رابطوں کی بات کریں تو مجھے یقین ہے کہ سی آئی اے کے بھی دنیا بھر میں دہشت گرد تنظیموں سے رابطے ہیں جیسا کہ دیگر انٹیلی جنس ایجنسیوں کے ہوتے ہیں۔
حنا ربانی کھر نے کہا کہ ماضی میں حقانی نیٹ ورک کئی برس تک امریکا کی آنکھ کا تارہ تھا، اگر پاکستان کے شدت پسندوں سے رابطے ہیں تو سی آئی اے بھی یہی کام کررہی ہے۔
امریکی رہنماؤں کے بیانات پاکستان میں سراہے جانے کے قابل نہیں، پاکستان کے ساتھ معلومات کا تبادلہ نہیں کیا گیا، انہوں نے امید ظاہر کی کہ ہمیں ایک دوسرے سے تعاون کے لیے ایک موقع لازما فراہم کیا جائے گا جب کہ دونوں ممالک کو بات چیت کادروازہ کھلا رکھنا ہوگا۔ علاوہ ازیں پاکستانی وزیر خارجہ نے نیویارک میں اپنے افغان ہم منصب سے ملاقات کی جس میں انہوں نےسابق افغان صدر برہان الدین ربانی کی ہلاکت پر اظہار تعزیت کیا۔ اس موقع پر ان کا کہنا تھا کہ افغانستان میں امن پورے خطے کے مفاد میں ہے اور پاکستان اس سلسلے میں اپنا تعاون جاری رکھے گا۔ حنار ربانی نے یہ بھی کہا کہ افغانستان کی خوشالی پاکستان کی خوشحالی ہے اور اسلام آباد کابل میں استحکام کے لیے کوششیں کررہا ہے۔

 

[atensari]

Re: US must not cross red lines, says FM Khar

انہوں نے کہا اور امریکہ نے مان لیا، امریکہ کا جواب ہو گا "ہماری بلی ہمیں کو میاؤں"ا
​

 

[gazoomartian]

Re: US fires fresh salvo at Pakistan, tells it to rein in ISI

" Captain John Kirby, spokesperson of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen, told Pentagon reporters last evening that there has been a long-standing historical relationship between the ISI and extremist groups.
Kirby said: "There has been a lot of activity over the course of this summer - the hotel attack in Kabul, Wardak truck bomb, attack on the embassy and others smaller level operations. It has been a very busy summer for the Haqqani network. It has gone worse."

Gazoo told the reporters that there has been long-standing historical relationship between the CIA and internal terrorists in Pakistan such TTP, etc. And also between CIA/Mossad/RAW - a cartel

Gazoo said: There has been a lot of activity over the course of years - the Mehran attack, target killing in KHI, terrorist attacks in Quetta, school attacks in KPK and other parts of the country. Last 10 years have been very busy for the cartel.

 

[Star Gazer]

Re: US must not cross red lines, says FM Khar

There are other possibilities like prompting and using india to attack us or firing missiles and drones from Afghanistan, or heightening the use of the internal rife by doling out more money to their cronies in the political parties. There are many many ways to up the anti, now the question is how to deal with it? Again there are many ways but two general directions would be Defense or Offence with defense.
In my opinion the allies who always bully us are trying to have Gen K. removed along with Gen P. so that they can bring in their own chosen ones to carry out the rest of the agenda and push us deeper into a quagmire of hopeless desperation.
I think it is time to resist their agenda and tell them these are the people that you have to work with it otherwise we are ready. It is going to be hard but if we do not stand up for ourselves then the future is going to be harder.

 

[ir@pk]

Re: US must not cross red lines, says FM Khar

no body is dear to attack pak thats just tectics to put more and more pressure.

 

[Lodhi]

US and Pakistan in war of words. CCTV News And Aljazeera Report

The most senior US military officer has accused Pakistan's spy agency of supporting the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network in last week's attack on the US Kabul embassy.

Admiral Mike Mullen, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, said the Haqqani group "acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency."

Mullen added Pakistan is "exporting violence" and, as a result, has "eroded their internal security and their position in the region".

"They have undermined their international credibility and threatened their economic well-being," he said.

Mullen's testimony will be the last, as he is due to retire next week. He will be succeeded by Army General Martin Dempsey, who was confirmed by the Senate last month.

Al Jazeera's Scott Heidler spoke with Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's foreign minister, to gauge her reaction to the claims made against the country's spy agency.

Khar has warned that if the US continues to alienate Pakistan, it could risk losing an ally.

'Unsubstantiated evidence'

"It is something that goes very, very unappreciated on our side. This is unsubstantiated. No evidence has been shared with us," Khar told Al Jazeera in remarks broadcast on Friday.

"If we talk about links, I am sure the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) also has links with many terrorist organisations around the world, by which we mean intelligence links.

"And this particular network, which [the United States] continues to talk about, is a network which was the blue-eyed boy of the CIA itself for many years.

"I just hope that we'll be given a chance to co-operate with eachother and the doors will remain open - because statements like this are pretty much close to shutting those doors.

"I think we must not be tested more than we have the ability to bear."
Pakistan's army chief also dismissed Mullen's claims as mere allegations, saying they were "unfortunate" and "not based on facts".
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said the US knows which countries are in contact with the Haqqanis, and that "singling out Pakistan is neither fair nor productive".
Pakistan's prime minister also responded to the US criticism by saying Washington was in a tight spot.

"They can't live with us. They can't live without us," Yousuf Raza Gilani told reporters on Friday in the southern city of Karachi. "So, I would say to them that if they can't live without us, they should increase contacts with us to remove misunderstandings."

It is the most serious allegation levelled by the US against Pakistan since they began an alliance in the "war on terror" a decade ago.

 

[TruPakistani]

Re: US must not cross red lines, says FM Khar

something positive.............

 

[Star Gazer]

Re: US and Pakistan in war of words. CCTV News And Aljazeera Report

It was a good measured response by Ms Khar, I only hope that all the politicians will now be able to drop their petty political differences and unite against the common threat and postpone the politics for another day.

 

[hamza100]

Re: US and Pakistan in war of words. CCTV News And Aljazeera Report

bachelors from LUMS and master from university of Massachusetts , i am not impressed by her communication skills at all

 

[desicad]

Re: US must not cross red lines, says FM Khar

There are other possibilities like prompting and using india to attack us or firing missiles and drones from Afghanistan, or heightening the use of the internal rife by doling out more money to their cronies in the political parties. There are many many ways to up the anti, now the question is how to deal with it? Again there are many ways but two general directions would be Defense or Offence with defense.
In my opinion the allies who always bully us are trying to have Gen K. removed along with Gen P. so that they can bring in their own chosen ones to carry out the rest of the agenda and push us deeper into a quagmire of hopeless desperation.
I think it is time to resist their agenda and tell them these are the people that you have to work with it otherwise we are ready. It is going to be hard but if we do not stand up for ourselves then the future is going to be harder.

gen k. and gen p., both were US chosen ones and so were their two year extensions.....

 

[Lodhi]

Hina Khar's latest attack on US (Response to US media war against Pakistan.)

http://www.geo.tv/9-25-2011/u156248.htm

 

[Afsr]

Re: Hina Khar's latest attack on US (Response to US media war against Pakistan.)

Wdone Miss.

 

[Star Gazer]

Re: US must not cross red lines, says FM Khar

gen k. and gen p., both were US chosen ones and so were their two year extensions.....

You are mistaken about that, but what is your point?

 

[Star Gazer]

Re: Hina Khar's latest attack on US (Response to US media war against Pakistan.)

pretty good! Keep up the pressure and cool headed thinking.

 

[NADIA pak]

Re: Hina Khar's latest attack on US (Response to US media war against Pakistan.)

pakistan kay mard jab chooriyaan pehan lain gay to phir khawateen ko he kuch kerna hao ....(clap)

 

[rana14801]

Re: Hina Khar's latest attack on US (Response to US media war against Pakistan.)

http://www.geo.tv/9-25-2011/u156248.htm

she is proving much better and not keeping reservations. truly conveying the sentiments of Pakistani people which our male foreign ministers failed. weldon madam. keep it up. nation is behind u and at the back of our forces.

 

[sunnyzohaib]

Re: Hina Khar's latest attack on US (Response to US media war against Pakistan.)

Good job ,, (clap)

 

[desicad]

Re: US must not cross red lines, says FM Khar

You are mistaken about that, but what is your point?

The point is us is not trying to get rid of them, but only wants them to severe ties with the militants groups........