ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Sunday said that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States not Pakistan created the Haqqani network and trained its members.
Talking to media representatives at a ceremony here, Malik said that the Haqqani network was present in Afghanistan and those claiming otherwise should provide evidence of its presence in Pakistan.
“We will fight the terrorists as our forces are capable of handling them and countering any challenge,” the minister said.
He said Pakistan never blamed the CIA or Afghanistan directly over various attacks in Mohmand Agency or other areas.
Malik stressed for a strong immigration system at the Pak-Afghan border and urged the international community not to forget the sacrifices of Pakistan in the fight against terrorism.
“Pakistan has so far suffered a loss of $ 68 billion in fighting terrorism,” he added.
He said that the on-going operation in Karachi was successful because of coordination among Rangers, Police and Frontier Constabularly.
He told the media that Islamabad Police had foiled a bid to smuggle a huge cache of heavy arms including six mini machine guns, 14 Kalashnikovs from a vehicle near Motorway Interchange.
Earlier, the IGP Islamabad briefed the minister
Haqqani network backed by ISI: US think-tank
Talking to media representatives at a ceremony here, Malik said that the Haqqani network was present in Afghanistan and those claiming otherwise should provide evidence of its presence in Pakistan.
“We will fight the terrorists as our forces are capable of handling them and countering any challenge,” the minister said.
He said Pakistan never blamed the CIA or Afghanistan directly over various attacks in Mohmand Agency or other areas.
Malik stressed for a strong immigration system at the Pak-Afghan border and urged the international community not to forget the sacrifices of Pakistan in the fight against terrorism.
“Pakistan has so far suffered a loss of $ 68 billion in fighting terrorism,” he added.
He said that the on-going operation in Karachi was successful because of coordination among Rangers, Police and Frontier Constabularly.
He told the media that Islamabad Police had foiled a bid to smuggle a huge cache of heavy arms including six mini machine guns, 14 Kalashnikovs from a vehicle near Motorway Interchange.
Earlier, the IGP Islamabad briefed the minister
Pak PM Gilani recalls foreign minister Khar from US
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday called back foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar from the US amid strained ties with Washington following an accusation that Pakistan was supporting the Haqqani terror network.
Khar was called back for consultations over the related stories
Pakistani commanders meet after US criticism
strained relationship between Pakistan and the US, Online news agency quoted sources as saying.
Khar was called back for consultations over the related stories
Pakistani commanders meet after US criticism
strained relationship between Pakistan and the US, Online news agency quoted sources as saying.
US military commanders have accused Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), of supporting the Haqqani network for carrying out two attacks on the US embassy in Kabul and US military base in Afghanistan's Wadak province this month.
Gilani also called an all-party conference to build consensus on Pakistan's stance over the US threats. Khar will attend the conference to brief the political parties over Islamabad's ties with Washington.
The Prime Minister also called up President Asif Ali Zardari and took him into confidence regarding the developments.
He also telephonically discussed with different political parties the situation arising out of US accusing Pakistan of supporting Haqqani network.
Gilani spoke to Sheikh Rasheed of the Awami Muslim League, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Altaf Hussain of the Muttahid Quami Movement, the Nation quoted sources as saying.
Ties between Washington and Islamabad have been strained after the May 2 killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.
They dipped further when the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, on Thursday accused the Pakistani government of supporting the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network.
Mullen called the Haqqani network a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's ISI, the country's spy agency, as he testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the US strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He said the ISI supported Haqqani network was behind recent attacks in Afghanistan including the Sep 11 truck bomb attack and the Sep 13 assault on the US embassy in Kabul.
Mullen said the Pakistani government's link to the extremist group would undermine the already troubled US-Pakistani relationship as well as the US-led counterterrorism campaign in Afghanistan.
Pakistan, however, dismissed US accusations that the ISI is using the Haqqani network for a proxy war in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Haqqani network backed by ISI: US think-tank
Washington: The Haqqani network, which is blamed for the recent attack on American embassy in Kabul, receives protection and support from the Pakistani spy agency ISI, an influential think-tank has told US lawmakers.
"They receive protection and support from facets of Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI, which continues to drag its feet on taking action against the Haqqanis because they see the network as a useful proxy to expand their influence and establish footholds in Afghanistan," said Frank J Cilluffo, Director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at the George Washington University.
"Because the Haqqani network is seen by parts of Pakistan's government as a valuable ally, the government has refused to take action in the tribal regions of Waziristan which creates safe havens, not only for the Haqqanis but for al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, with which the Haqqanis are intimately involved," Cilluffo told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing last week.
Noting that the network poses a significant threat to US and India, he observed that "strangely, and inadvisably" it has not been designated a foreign terrorist group.
It is believed that the group is a powerful insurgent force in Afghanistan, one that targets coalition forces as well as Indian investments and interests in the country, he said.
Siraj Haqqani, the son of the famous anti-Soviet fighter Jalaluddin Haqqani, is the current leader of the network. The group originated in the 1970s and has formed significant ties with al-Qaeda and Taliban in the years since its inception.
Today, it is operationally based in North Waziristan, the remote border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Cilluffo said Lashkar-e-Taiba too receives support from the Pakistani establishment.
"Before the United States can take actions to assume a lighter footprint (especially in Afghanistan), it is paramount that we hold Pakistan accountable to take action against the extremist forces festering under their watch," he said.
"The litmus test here is whether Pakistan will sever its historic ties to its proxies, namely LeT in India and the Haqqani Network in Afghanistan. While we acknowledge the fact that there are some factions in Pakistan that will never cut these ties, we must also realize that some in Pakistan recognize the threat these groups pose," he said.
"Those individuals are motivated to cooperate with the US, and we should continue to do all we reasonably can to encourage and support their efforts. This is not only in the best interests of the US and India, but also of Pakistan," Cilluffo added.
WASHINGTON — A top US senator pressed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday to add the militant Haqqani network to a formal terrorism blacklist, citing recent attacks in Afghanistan.
"I request that the State Department take the additional step of listing the network as a Foreign Terrorism Organization and look forward to receiving your response," said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein.
Feinstein, a Democrat, said "there is no question that the Haqqani network meets the standards" for joining the list.
"It conducts attacks against US targets and personnel in Afghanistan, and poses a continuing threat to American, Afghan, and allied personnel and interests," she said in a statement.
Her comments came after the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, charged that the Haqqani network "acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan?s Inter-Services Intelligence agency."
Washington blames Haqqani militants for an assault on the US embassy in Kabul last week, a June attack on the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, and a bloody September 10 truck bombing in Afghanistan's Wardak province.
The Haqqani network is probably the most dangerous faction in the Afghan Taliban. A CIA asset turned Al-Qaeda ally, the United States in the 1980s funneled arms and cash to the Haqqani faction to counter Soviet forces.
"They receive protection and support from facets of Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI, which continues to drag its feet on taking action against the Haqqanis because they see the network as a useful proxy to expand their influence and establish footholds in Afghanistan," said Frank J Cilluffo, Director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at the George Washington University.
"Because the Haqqani network is seen by parts of Pakistan's government as a valuable ally, the government has refused to take action in the tribal regions of Waziristan which creates safe havens, not only for the Haqqanis but for al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, with which the Haqqanis are intimately involved," Cilluffo told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing last week.
Noting that the network poses a significant threat to US and India, he observed that "strangely, and inadvisably" it has not been designated a foreign terrorist group.
It is believed that the group is a powerful insurgent force in Afghanistan, one that targets coalition forces as well as Indian investments and interests in the country, he said.
Siraj Haqqani, the son of the famous anti-Soviet fighter Jalaluddin Haqqani, is the current leader of the network. The group originated in the 1970s and has formed significant ties with al-Qaeda and Taliban in the years since its inception.
Today, it is operationally based in North Waziristan, the remote border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Cilluffo said Lashkar-e-Taiba too receives support from the Pakistani establishment.
"Before the United States can take actions to assume a lighter footprint (especially in Afghanistan), it is paramount that we hold Pakistan accountable to take action against the extremist forces festering under their watch," he said.
"The litmus test here is whether Pakistan will sever its historic ties to its proxies, namely LeT in India and the Haqqani Network in Afghanistan. While we acknowledge the fact that there are some factions in Pakistan that will never cut these ties, we must also realize that some in Pakistan recognize the threat these groups pose," he said.
"Those individuals are motivated to cooperate with the US, and we should continue to do all we reasonably can to encourage and support their efforts. This is not only in the best interests of the US and India, but also of Pakistan," Cilluffo added.
Key senator says Haqqani should be on terror list
"I request that the State Department take the additional step of listing the network as a Foreign Terrorism Organization and look forward to receiving your response," said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein.
Feinstein, a Democrat, said "there is no question that the Haqqani network meets the standards" for joining the list.
"It conducts attacks against US targets and personnel in Afghanistan, and poses a continuing threat to American, Afghan, and allied personnel and interests," she said in a statement.
Her comments came after the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, charged that the Haqqani network "acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan?s Inter-Services Intelligence agency."
Washington blames Haqqani militants for an assault on the US embassy in Kabul last week, a June attack on the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, and a bloody September 10 truck bombing in Afghanistan's Wardak province.
The Haqqani network is probably the most dangerous faction in the Afghan Taliban. A CIA asset turned Al-Qaeda ally, the United States in the 1980s funneled arms and cash to the Haqqani faction to counter Soviet forces.
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