A fresh batch of Pakistani mercenaries belonging to the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad groups captured in Tora Bora mountains claimed they had been directed by their "controllers" in Islamabad to sneak into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) for new operations. Members of the group of 30 Pakistani militants said here they were among a 400-strong group, directed by their leaders in Islamabad to mass in Palandri in PoK, facing Poonch region of Jammu and Kashmir for deployment for "special operations in Kashmir". The mercenaries had fought alongside Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda fighters before being captured. Jamil Ibrahim, who hails from Bhawalpur in Sindh, said that prior to October 2001 there were about six to seven thousand Pakistani militants, including some Pakistani Army regulars bolstering the Taliban forces in northern Afghanistan.
Could be that's why Vajpayee doesn't want to bother talking to Musharraf. Who pays and supplies these guys? |