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US pressing Pakistan to allow anti-Iran intelligence operations
Everyone wants to have a hand to play in Pakistain's Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... province. The latest player to unmask itself is the United States. Even as tensions brew between Pakistain and the U.S. over a resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives seeking illusory sovereignty for the volatile province, officials reveal that the U.S. has been pushing Islamabad for permission to establish bases in Balochistan for intelligence operations against bordering Iran. "Like always, things are not what they look like, and how they unfold ... lies at the heart of all (this). The outburst in America for Balochistan is part of an ambition to set up intelligence bases close to the Iranian border," an official told The Express Tribune on Sunday, indicating that the Congressional hearing and proposed resolution were playing their part as pressure tactics. "They (Americans) want to use our soil against Iran, which we can never allow," said the official, who did not want to be named. Three officials, two from the security agencies and one from diplomatic circles, confirmed that American diplomats and military leaders have been requesting permission for their agents to operate near the Iranian border in Balochistan. The revelation came days after a bill was moved in the House of Representatives, blaming Pak security agencies for forceful disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan and calling for the liberation of the country's largest province. It also follows the visit of Iran's diminutive President  Mahmoud Short RoundAhmadinejad to Pakistain for a trilateral summit. Officials said that ostensibly, U.S. authorities were seeking Pakistain's permission to establish bases in Balochistan, claiming to counter the activities of the Afghan Taliban, whom they blame for operating out of the picturesque provincial capital under the umbrella of the so-called Quetta Shura. Islamabad, however, denies the presence of any such Taliban shura or council. The proposed resolution adds to the rising chorus of voices across the country pointing fingers over the troubles of the violence-ridden province, including the Pakistain Mohammedan League- Nawaz (PML-N) which has vowed to introduce a resolution in the National Assembly, Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... , the Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... and even the Pakistain Bar Council among others. Trilateral Summit Statement Earlier last week, a joint declaration was issued at the conclusion of the Pakistain-Iran-Afghanistan summit in Islamabad, where all three sides vowed to put up collective resistance to any new misadventure by any force in the region. Experts say the statement was a veiled reference to American ambitions to put an end to Iran's nuclear drive. In December last year, President  Asif Ali President Ten PercentZardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... delivered a speech at a gathering of Pakistain Peoples Party workers, saying he would never allow his country to become part of any other war theatre in the region. "We are the well wishers of all and don't want to make any more enemies," the president said in remarks that officials interpreted as a snub to American pressure seeking permission for anti-Iran intelligence operations. Posted by: trailing wife 2012-02-20 |
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