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Afghanistan/South Asia
Agencies fear more suicide attempts on Musharraf
2004-02-13
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While the country’s premier intelligence agencies are investigating the possible nexus between the two groups allegedly responsible for the two attempts on the life of President Pervez Musharraf, officials are keeping the details of investigations very hush-hush. The intelligence teams working on the cases also fear there may be more suicide squads out there trying to kill Musharraf.
I'd expect that. They've only got to succeed once...
“Our information says there could be eight, possibly ten suicide squads still after the president,” a senior official told TFT on the condition of anonymity. Most of these groups comprise local jihadis but some of them might well be taking directives from the “foreigners,” a clear hint to Al Qaeda. Meanwhile, senior investigators in Karachi are trying to bust a hitherto unknown group that calls itself “Brigade 313”. The wall-chalking by the group appeared in the city after the arrest of Shami, an important leader of the banned Lashkar-e Jhangvi. Shami was arrested and found in possession of huge quantities of explosive material. “We have never heard of it [Brigade 313] before, but they could be militants on suicide missions,” a senior police officer told TFT. The number 313 presumably refers to the number of Muslims who fought the first battle at Badr alongside the Prophet (PBUH).

Since the December 25 attack, security agencies have arrested several militants belonging to various former jihadi outfits as well as seven suspected Al Qaeda members. There is not much information available on the Al Qaeda suspects and there is still confusion about the identities of one or two of them. The arrests, made from various parts of Pakistan, show the two attacks in Rawalpindi were mounted by militants of various groups coordinating among themselves. “It seems they are now pooling their resources and expertise,” says an officer familiar with the investigations. Indeed, the suspects arrested so far range from Jaish to LJ to SSP to the banned Lashkar-e Taiba and Harkat-ul Mujahideen activists.
It's almost like they were part of one big organization...
Many of them were picked up from mosques in Lahore and other parts of Punjab. So far two different groups, assigned the same job, have failed to eliminate their target, though in the second attack Musharraf had a very close brush with death. The attack claimed many innocent lives. Intelligence officials in Karachi told TFT the mastermind of Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping, Sheikh Ahmed Omar Saeed, may well be aware of the people who carried out the attack. Omar was shifted from Hyderabad Jail to a jail in Rawalpindi for security reasons. Investigators believe that some of those who were behind the attack could be from Omar’s group. During his trial, when he was sentenced to death, Omar was quoted as saying that it remained to be seen who would die first, he or Musharraf.
Perv always has the option of letting Omar Saeed win that particular race...
However, federal Interior minister Faisal Saleh Hayat says “Omar was not required in Musharraf’s case. He has been shifted for some security reasons.” Some insiders say the investigators are perhaps trying to get Omar’s cooperation to bust the suicide squads that are trying to get Musharraf. “He is a tough guy and it won’t be easy to break him,” says an official. Omar is facing the death penalty in the murder of Pearl and his appeal is pending in the high court for the last one year. Interestingly, neither the prosecution nor the defence council has shown any urgency in pursuing the appeal.
The author of Who Killed Daniel Pearl? would not be suprised at the legal limbo Omar seems to be exist in
Political observers believe that the proliferation charges against some scientists and what has transpired since then as part of the government’s investigations is likely to further endanger Musharraf. “The episode has even put off the common man. Most people think all this is being done at the behest of America and will result in a rollback of the programme,” says an analyst, adding: “That does not bode well.”
Posted by:Paul Moloney

#2  How fast can you say war with India when Mussharraf is gone and the Islamazoids take over. This guy's gone sooner or later and with nothing resembling a democracy it doesn't look real promising.
Posted by: dataman1   2004-2-13 1:56:45 PM  

#1  Political observers believe that the proliferation charges against some scientists and what has transpired since then as part of the government’s investigations is likely to further endanger Musharraf.

Yep, Pakistan has been proliferation's best friend.

“The episode has even put off the common man. Most people think all this is being done at the behest of America and will result in a rollback of the programme,” says an analyst, adding: “That does not bode well.”

Doesn't bode well, indeed. Killing Musharraf and then turning into the equivalent of Iran with working nukes doesn't do anything to assure Pakistan's long-term survival.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2004-2-13 1:01:05 PM  

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