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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Pakistan releasing terrorists in order to track them |
| 2005-07-09 |
| Pakistan seems to have embarked on a new strategy to flush out militants sympathetic to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network from its territory. The game plan involves letting loose dozens of suspects known to have been affiliated with or at least sympathetic to al-Qaeda, in the hope that they would eventually lead the authorities to some top wanted figures in the terrorist organisation. Top security experts admit that it is a dangerous game but argue that a similar approach in the past has reaped rich dividends. In particular, they point to Pakistan's northern tribal area of Waziristan - the inhospitable and semi-governed border between Pakistan and Afghanistan where a year-long confrontation with militants has cost the Pakistan army over 500 lives. Security experts say former Guantanamo detainees - released by the Pakistan authorities on being returned - unwittingly led security agencies to many previously unknown hideouts used by local and foreign militants in the area. Similarly, say security officials, top al-Qaeda arrests in many parts of the country including Karachi were possible because of the released suspects who had led the authorities to their mentors. Pakistani authorities have now clearly decided to extend this strategy on a scale that some feel could lead to unexpected results. The visible part of the plan unfolding in recent weeks came in the shape of the release of about 150 Pakistanis who had returned from Guantanamo Bay. After extensive debriefing lasting between nine to 10 months, most of these men were allowed to go free. Pakistani officials say those released will remain subject to strict security protocols first drawn up when Pakistan opted to throw in its lot with the US after the 11 September attacks in the United States. But what Pakistani officials are unlikely to admit as openly is the fact that most of these individuals will also be under constant watch using the hi-tech surveillance equipment deployed in Pakistan by the US. Top security experts admit that it is a dangerous game. There are also reports that at least two such organisations - Harkatul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammed - have restarted training camps in the district of Mansehra in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP)⊠Some security analysts in Pakistan have been critical of the government's seemingly soft stance in relation to Harkat and Jaish - wondering why they have not been dealt with as severely as some of the other groups⊠The latest example of the government's soft approach was the release two weeks ago of Harkat chief Fazlur Rehman Khalili. He was first detained in September last year, released for a short while, but eventually placed under house arrest. Mr Khalili has now been released again - perhaps as part of a "network of human probes" that the authorities are hoping may lead them to top al-Qaeda leadership. Pakistani security officials privately admit that the plan is fraught with the danger of a resurgence of terror attacks inside Pakistan. But as one official put it, it may well be a small price to pay if it leads to the eventual capture of the world's most wanted man. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |
| #11 yeah, surgically insert probes with microphones and video, may be pretty exciting stuff. Or better yet zapper effects if they do anything wrong. |
| Posted by: Jan 2005-07-09 23:52 |
| #10 Were they considerate of the ROW enough to RFID tag these guys with some injected tags? (like right in their balls so they have to think before removing the tag.) |
| Posted by: 3dc 2005-07-09 21:37 |
| #9 fine - if they're caught attacking Afghanistan or our troops there, consider it an act of war |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-07-09 19:07 |
| #8 It's oh so important to have data, lots and lotsa data. Put it in a little pile and keep it neat and pretty. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-07-09 19:00 |
| #7 "I'm taking an awful risk, Vader. This had better work." |
| Posted by: gromky 2005-07-09 13:02 |
| #6 The Official Motto of the Pakistan Army is "Jihad and Piety in the name of Allah" More importantly, "Pakistan" itself means "land of the (spiritually) pure". The nation was founded as a religious dictatorship. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-07-09 12:06 |
| #5 most of these individuals will also be under constant watch using the hi-tech surveillance equipment deployed in Pakistan by the US. Ah, the old RFID-in-the-Flu-Shot trick! |
| Posted by: Maxwell Smart 2005-07-09 10:46 |
| #4 I'm sure glad that they're keeping this on the down-low. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-07-09 09:27 |
| #3 For how long will this farce continue? The Official Motto of the Pakistan Army is "Jihad and Piety in the name of Allah" Using jihadists to hunt other jihadists? And we wonder why the Paks can't find Osama? "Terror struck into the hearts of the enemy is not only a means, it is the end in itself. Once a condition of terror into the opponent's heart is obtained, hardly anything is left to be achieved... Terror is not a means of imposing decision upon the enemy; it is the decision we wish to impose upon him.â -Brigadier General S.K. Malik The Quranic Concept of War Foreword by General Zia-ul-Haq 1979, Wajid Aliâs Limited, Lahore, Pakistan |
| Posted by: john 2005-07-09 08:21 |
| #2 Perhaps this is the first oblique confirmation of the NEIN (Homelandsecurityus.com) report from Thursday, that one of the bombers -- possibly the one who boomed himself -- was a recent Gitmo release. Somebody just released the info now because there's a great many square inches of buttock to cover. |
| Posted by: Rory B. Bellows 2005-07-09 03:12 |
| #1 Pssstt: Don't tell anyone, okay? |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-07-09 03:09 |