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India-Pakistan
Suspected Marriott bombing 'mastermind' Qari Zafar emerges
2008-09-25
(AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - The alleged mastermind of last Saturday's deadly truck bombing of the Marriott hotel in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, has emerged.

The suspect, Qari Zafar, has become part of Al-Qaeda's hardline Takfiri inner circle. He enjoys the protection of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud and is believed to be hiding out in the lawless South Waziristan tribal area of North West Frontier Province.

Zafar is not only the suspected mastermind of the Marriot bomb blast, but has created a network which will shortly target strategic installations belonging to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, military headquarters in Karachi and police stations across the country, according to security officials. "Zafar is behind the planning, arrangement of transportation and procurement of explosives for the attack against the Marriott Hotel on 20 September," a top security source told Adnkronos International on Thursday on condition of anonymity. "Some of his men have been arrested in Punjab which further confirms his involvement in the whole scheme," the official added.

The connection to Zafar was established from phone numbers found on the mobiles of some of those arrested in Punjab.

According to security agencies, the chances of arresting Zafar are slim as he rarely moves from his alleged hideout in South Waziristan to visit the various cities of North West Frontier Province.

To most Pakistanis he is an obscure figure, and is considered by security agencies to be a ghostlike figure whose trail went cold after he managed to escape from custody last year. But he is known to international intelligence services which credit him with fox-like cunning and great bravery when organising and carrying out attacks against identified targets.

Originally from Karachi, Zafar was previously named as the leader of the banned militant Laskhar-i-Jhangvi group.
Originally from Karachi, Zafar was previously named as the leader of the banned militant Laskhar-i-Jhangvi group. In 2007, he escaped from the custody of security services in the Punjabi capital, Lahore. The United States government has put a 5 million dollar bounty on Zafar, according to the Rewards for Justice website.

Zafar is wanted for questioning in connection with the 2 March, 2006 bombing of the US Consulate in Karachi. The attack killed three Pakistani citizens and US diplomat David Foy. Zafar is suspected of being a key figure involved with this attack.
Posted by:Fred

#8  Ebang, I have to agree with you. While it is a dirty bird that shits in its own nest, these are decidedly dirty birds. Pakistan is a soft target. The government and the military have shown neither the will nor the ability to defend themselves effectively against these swine.

Your points about our supply lines and the nukes are also spot-on. These are rich and very achievable targets. However accomplishing the task is going to require patience and unanimity within the Al Q/Taliban side. They will have to muster a substantial force, or turn a subtantial component of the Pak military. I'm not sure they are going to be able to do it piecemeal with terrorist-style attacks. But I am confident that they are going to try.

Few things hone the mind like survival. Should the Al Q/Taliban really make a push to consume Pakistan, then I think the gloves will come off internally and there will be widespread killing. I think the threatened powers might even ask us to perform multiple arc-light raids.

All speculation, but count on the fact that it is going to get ugly and we likely will have an absolute weenie in the white house when it does who won't be able to capitalize on the opportunity/deal with the threat.
Posted by: remoteman   2008-09-25 13:08  

#7  If they destabilize Pakiland there's a chance they could get their hands on the nukes.

If it ever looks like the Talibunnies are about to lay their paws on the nukes, we'll cauterize the whole damn place. Need to do it now. Damn primitives.
Posted by: Unise Turkeyneck3835   2008-09-25 13:03  

#6  AQ going after ISI? There's room for skepticism here. But consider all the chaos created by AQ in Iraq where they had to contend with US troops. Then think what they could do in Pakiland where there are no US troops, only Pak soldiers whose commitment is doubtful. AQ might be seeing Pakiland as a soft target compared to Afghanistan where they keep dying at the hands of those pesky Americans. Or maybe they think they can have both. They must be thinking about how to choke our supply lines. But wait. There's more. If they destabilize Pakiland there's a chance they could get their hands on the nukes. Then you start to see how an arclight over wazoo makes sense. Let the Paks bitch and moan about their sovereignty all they want. It's for their own good.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2008-09-25 11:51  

#5  W is waiting for Israel to declare D-Day on taking out the Iranians and then on the same day our buffers hit the Taliban in wazooland.
Posted by: Jack is Back!   2008-09-25 10:33  

#4  but has created a network which will shortly target strategic installations belonging to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency

So has one of their pit bulls turned on them? Or is this the cover story?
Posted by: tu3031   2008-09-25 09:43  

#3  I am beginning to suspect most everyone in Pakistan is blind because there seem to be an awful lot of one-eyed men who want to be king.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2008-09-25 07:08  

#2  Another reason that Wazoo needs to be systematically kinetically sterilized until the people quit harboring the perps or the perps are all gone.

Alaska-Paul, Old Patriot haz the solution and it begins with some sweet ole aircraft referred to as a *BUFFS*. The rest is fun to contemplate...
Posted by: Red Dawg   2008-09-25 01:22  

#1  Another reason that Wazoo needs to be systematically kinetically sterilized until the people quit harboring the perps or the perps are all gone. Afghanistan, for the US, has been going on for 7 years now. They respect power, and little else.
Posted by: Alaska Paul    2008-09-25 01:00  

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