Seized Phone Offers Clues to Bin Laden’s Pakistani Links

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The cellphone of Osama bin Laden’s trusted courier, which was recovered in the raid that killed both men in Pakistan last month, contained contacts to a militant group that is a longtime asset of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, senior American officials who have been briefed on the findings say.

The discovery indicates that Bin Laden used the group, Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, as part of his support network inside the country, the officials and others said. But it also raised tantalizing questions about whether the group and others like it helped shelter and support Bin Laden on behalf of Pakistan’s spy agency, given that it had mentored Harakat and allowed it to operate in Pakistan for at least 20 years, the officials and analysts said.

In tracing the calls on the cellphone, American analysts have determined that Harakat commanders had called Pakistani intelligence officials, the senior American officials said. One said they had met. The officials added that the contacts were not necessarily about Bin Laden and his protection and that there was no “smoking gun” showing that Pakistan’s spy agency had protected Bin Laden.


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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/asia/24pakistan.html

Militant attack in Pakistan's northwest kills at least

Around 150 militants armed with rockets attacked a security checkpost in Pakistan's Waziristan on Thursday, killing eight soldiers, intelligence officials said, as tensions rise in the border region.

Twelve militants were killed in retaliatory firing by security forces.

The attack came on the heels of stepped-up missile strikes by U.S. drone aircraft in the tribal region along the Afghan border regarded as a hub of militants from around the world.

"The militants were carrying rockets and heavy weapons and attacked the checkpost shortly after midnight," an intelligence official in the region told Reuters.

"Eight soldiers were killed and twelve were wounded," he added.

Security forces hit back at the militants, killing at least 12 of them and wounding five, another official said.

The attack took place in Makeen, an area on the border between North and Waziristan, which was once a stronghold of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the main alliance of Pakistan's homegrown militant groups involved in suicide and bomb attacks across the country.

Pakistan army launched a major offensive in South Waziristan in 2009, driving TTP fighters out of their bases in the restive region.

Many TTP leaders, including its chief Hakimullah Mehsud, were believed to have fled into North Waziristan.

The United States has been urging the Pakistani military to launch a ground offensive in North Waziristan, which is also the main of the Haqqani network that leads the insurgency just over the border in eastern Afghanistan.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/09/us-pakistan-violence-idUSTRE7580IM20110609

Pakistani Taliban claims responsibility for Pakistan naval base attack

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for a deadly weekend attack on a naval base in Karachi.

The group's spokesman, Ihsan Ullah, told CNN on Monday that the attack at the naval air station in the coastal city was to avenge the killing of innocent civilians. The group said Pakistani security forces are carrying out the killings on the instruction of the United States in the name of a "war on terror."

At least 10 militants attacked the base with guns and grenades about 11 p.m. Sunday, leading to several explosions and an hours-long gun battle with Pakistani forces that killed four naval officials, authorities said.

Besides the four dead, nine navy personnel were injured in the attack on the grounds of the Mehran base, said Pakistani navy spokesman Irfan Ul Haq early Monday. He did not have the number of militants who died or were injured.

Two witnesses -- Amjad Bashir and Talha Hashmi -- reported at least 10 explosions in the subsequent hours.

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http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/23/pakistan.base.attack/

Pakistan's prime minister rejects backlash on Bin Laden

Pakistanis in Karachi watch a televised address by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to parliament in which Gilani rejected allegations that the sanctuary of Osama bin Laden in the country showed Pakistani incompetence or complicity.

Reporting from Washington and Islamabad, Pakistan—
In signs of worsening relations with Washington, Pakistan's prime minister angrily rejected claims that collusion or incompetence allowed Osama bin Laden to hide near the Pakistani capital for years, and news media made public what they claim is the name of the top CIA agent in the country.

A private TV station and a right-wing newspaper with ties to Pakistan's spy agency have each reported the name in recent days, marking the second time in six months that journalists here have sought to expose the local CIA station chief.

The U.S. and Pakistan have strongly criticized each other in the week since a team of Navy SEALs killed Bin Laden, although they say they intend to continue security cooperation.

U.S. officials have demanded an explanation of how Pakistan failed to find Bin Laden for more than five years in Abbottabad, a city with a heavy military presence that is close to Islamabad. The Pakistanis have complained that the U.S. raid was an infringement of their sovereignty and have called for a scaling back of U.S. counter-terrorism efforts in their country.

In a speech to parliament Monday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani denied U.S. suggestions that the government harbored Bin Laden or was incompetent because it failed to track him down. Gilani vowed to find out how the terrorist leader was able to hide for so long, but he also lashed out at Washington for the raid.

A senior U.S. official said the United States was "committed to having this relationship continue and grow" and noted that despite some harsh words, Pakistani officials had not yet taken any steps to curb security cooperation.

But he added: "It's going to be more difficult.... Some of this may be bombast for public consumption, but they certainly feel aggrieved by what's happening and are struggling to figure out what's next." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-us-pakistan-20110510,0,4688802.story

Terrorists safe havens in Pak a challenge: Pentagon

WASHINGTON: Continued presence of terrorist safe havens and role of certain "actors" in Pakistan remains a challenge in the war against terror, a US defence official has said.

"The concern about the role of safe havens in Pakistan and the role of actors in Pakistan, including the Haqqani Network, the Afghan Taliban who are located primarily, the leadership is located either in the south or in the north around Peshawar, that remains a significant challenge," a senior defense official said at a Pentagon briefing.

Pentagon has sent its six-monthly report to the Congress on progress made in Afghanistan, the official said, adding that the United States is looking for continued and increased cooperation with the Pakistanis on the border.

"As we've seen it some areas; other areas we've seen it doing very well in some areas; other areas it's gotten better; other areas we're seeking much more improvement. That's something that we continue to look at very closely. It's certainly an area of strategic risk," the official said.

"At the same time, given the progress that we've made in areas that we've put our effort into over the last 18 months ... are we through that success on the ground able to mitigate that?"

One of the keys is the fact that some of the people who are coming in to reintegrate were in Pakistan before, the official said adding that there was a recent ceremony in Kandahar where a group of about 40 or 50 Taliban fighters appear to have come in and reintegrated.

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Terrorists-safe-havens-in-Pak-a-challenge-Pentagon/articleshow/8123993.cms

Pakistan media, general public call for Kamran Akmal''s head

Angry fans voiced their anger on social networking site like Facebook and popular micro-blogging site Twitter with many of them calling for his head immediately. "He should be sacked from the team and sent back home at once. If required the management must make him fake a injury and call for a replacement. He is a total disaster for Pakistan cricket," an angry fan wrote on his facebook page. Kamran who has been given the responsibility of batting at the No. 3 in the World Cup has also not clicked with the bat so far. The glovesman was kept on the sidelines after the England tour but recalled for the World Cup after being cleared of corruption charges by PCB's integrity committee.

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http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/pakistan-media-general-public-call-for-kamran-akmals-head/602695.html

Pakistan: Mass Protest Demands Hanging Of American Diplomat

15,000 people yesterday took to the streets of Lahore many demanding the hanging of a United States diplomat.

A Consular employee appeared before a Lahore court last week, after being charged with the murder of two Pakistani men. The judge order that the man be detained in prison for 6 days until a full inquiry into the incident can be carried out by Police.

While the Pakistani government named the employee detained was Raymond Davis, the US State Department have stated that this information is incorrect.

On January 29, the United States stated that the detaining of the employee was illegal, and demanded the release of the official as he had claimed diplomatic immunity. In response thousands of Pakistanis took to the streets.

From documents it appears that the American had withdrawn money from an ATM in the capital of Pakistan, Lahore. As he drove away two men on a motorbike, both armed with pistols, attempted to block the car.

In self defense the American shot both men, a third, innocent bystander was also killed after another consular vehicle attempted to intervene.

The Pakistani Government is caught in an impossible balancing act between placating Islamist groups against the interests of the United States.

Yet it appears that the government have no intention of releasing the American after Interior Minister Rehman Malik, told parliament that "I will never abet a criminal."

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http://www.cultureclashdaily.com/page1111409.php

Thousands demonstrate in support of Pakistan's blasphemy law

Thousands of people turned out in Karachi Sunday to show their support for Pakistan's current blasphemy laws and warn the government against changing the laws.

The rally, called by the leaders of several hard-line Islamic groups, closed main roads and markets throughout the city. Demonstrators demanded Pakistan leave its blasphemy laws untouched. They make it a crime punishable by death to insult Islam, the Quran or the Prophet Mohammed.

A number of banners at the rally stated support for Muhammad Mumtaz Qadri, accused of shooting the governor of Punjab province earlier this month. Qadri was a bodyguard for Gov. Salman Taseer, a liberal lawmaker who spoke out against

the blasphemy laws. Qadri told police he assassinated Taseer because "he did blasphemy of the Prophet Mohammed."

A bill is now before the Pakistani parliament that would change the current blasphemy laws. It calls for a tighter definition of the term, to avoid cases like that of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who was sentenced to death under the law. A court found the 45-year-old woman guilty of defiling the name of the Prophet Mohammed during a 2009 argument with fellow Muslim field workers.

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http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/01/09/pakistan.protests