Zawahiri... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as
the real brains of the outfit.Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is...
on Pak soil.
| "No, no -- perish the thought! And also, pshaw! We would know if he were here, after all... unless we didn't, of course, like that Osama bin Laden, damn his eyes." |
... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ...
said the al Qaeda leader is not in Pakistain and that the US has failed to provide any "actionable information" to suggest otherwise.
"Why should I think he (Zawahiri) is in Pakistain?" Gilani asked the Daily Telegraph. "You (US) have claimed that somebody has said that he is in Pakistain... if there is any information, please share it with us."
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as
The Woman to Call at 3 a.m.and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Al Haig...
on Monday had said the US believed Zawahiri was present somewhere in Pakistain.
"There have been lots of ups and downs in our relationship," PM Gilani said in another interview later on Saturday. "We know the importance of the United States. We really want to improve our relations. We are in the middle of discussions and I am sure that better things will come out."
Gilani stressed that he wanted to improve relations with the US following the killing of al Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden
... who has left the building...
in Pakistain last year.
Moreover, the premier described the relationship between the US and Pak intelligence agencies as "good".
"All high-value targets of al Qaeda have been achieved with the support and help of the ISI," he said. "Therefore, when we are working together so closely, I think there should be no hesitation in sharing information with Pakistain."
On Monday, Clinton, who was on a visit to India, had also criticised Pakistain for not doing enough against Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is
banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
leader Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
...who would be wearing a canvas jacket with very long sleeves anyplace but Pakistain...
-- the alleged criminal mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The prime minister said in his Saturday's interview that there was insufficient evidence to warrant Saeed's arrest. "If you arrest him, that means he will be released by the courts. For the courts you need more evidence," he added.
The Pak premier is in London to review the one-year progress of the Pak-UK Strategic Dialogue process.