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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Al-Qaeda witch-hunt in Pakistan's army |
| 2005-05-06 |
| Following his apprehension in Pakistan, al-Qaeda's Abu Faraj al-Libbi will soon be placed in the hands of US interrogators, who will be particularly keen to grill him on his connections with al-Qaeda's North African and British cells. But it's the Pakistan army that will be shaking in its boots. Information gleaned from well-connected military analysts suggests that army officials connected with the Afghan cell during the Taliban period in Afghanistan (1996-2001) are likely to be in the firing line. Action is expected soon against several serving and retired army personnel. Abu Faraj is expected to be handed over to the US soon and is likely to be kept in a US detention center in Jordan or Morocco. Abu Faraj was deeply connected with al-Qaeda's North African cells before becoming involved in Pakistan a few years ago. The North African cells are al-Qaeda's most preserved, and are believed to be key to any future strikes on the US. Abu Faraj was a trainer at al-Farooq camp in Afghanistan during Taliban rule. He trained hundreds of Pakistani men to be sent to Kashmir to fight against Indian troops. His training skills in not only explosives but also in urban guerrilla warfare saw him rise in prominence and he became popular among the trainees as well as with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence's (ISI's) Afghan cell, which preferred al-Farooq camp ahead of any other al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Abu Faraj's interaction with Pakistanis, whether they were private militants or military men, was deep and is characterized by the fact that he was good at Pakistan's national language, Urdu, which is spoken in urban centers, in addition to Pashtu. His choice in marriage was a Pakistani woman. Abu Faraj had been used as a facilitator between al-Qaeda's cells in North Africa and their support system in the United Kingdom. His first field operation was the assignment to kill Musharraf, which was delegated to him because of his proven abilities and his connections among Pakistani jihadis and members of the armed forces, some of whom participated in the two attempts on Musharraf's life. The duty was assigned by Osama bin Laden's deputy, Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri. Al-Qaeda had invested in Pakistan well before the US invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, anticipating the consequences of the September 11 attack, that is, that they would be driven out of Afghanistan. It was that goodwill among military men and jihadis that Abu Faraj tapped into to carry out his attacks on Musharraf. Asia Times Online's story, Detentions: A case against Pakistan on April 30 sheds light on how it took about two years to plot to kill Musharraf. Such a mission obviously involves the selection of the right people and the arrangement of finances, etc. Unconfirmed sources claim that Abu Faraj was not only the mastermind, but that he also planted a bomb in one of the cars involved in the second attempt. After the attacks, the focus of attention was on two al-Qaeda operatives, Hadi al-Iraqi and Amjad Hussain Farooqi, as the main masterminds. However, Abu Faraj's name came up when people belonging to militant or welfare groups under the patronage of the ISI were arrested and they fingered him in connection with the plot. The real significance There is little chance that Abu Faraj will be able to cough up any details on bin Laden leading to his capture: the al-Qaeda leader is lying extremely low while he chooses a new role for himself. However, the real US interest in Abu Faraj will be in his connections with al-Qaeda's United Kingdom and North African cells, the latter being relatively intact in comparison with others. But it is a matter of debate as to how up to date Abu Faraj is, as he has been based in Pakistan for some years. |
| Posted by:john |
| #2 I'd keep a 24 hr watch on him....with our guys |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-06 20:57 |
| #1 I wouldn't call it a witch hunt, but rather a needed house-cleaning. You can't run any kind of organization, much less a government, when there are a large number of influential people who're out to dispose of the guy in charge. |
| Posted by: Fred 2005-05-06 20:38 |