DTN News - PERVEZ MUSHARRAF - PAKISTAN NEWS: Pakistan Court Indicts Former President Pervez Musharraf For Treason

DTN News - PERVEZ MUSHARRAF - PAKISTAN NEWS: Pakistan Court Indicts Former President Pervez Musharraf For Treason
>>Pervez Musharraf 'knew' where Osama bin Laden was hiding, new book says
>>What Pakistan Knew About Bin Laden - By  Carlotta Gall New York Times

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Reuters, Times of India TOI
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 31, 2014: Pakistan's former president, Pervez Musharraf, on Monday pleaded not guilty to five counts of treason, in the latest chapter of a long-running drama between the country's increasingly assertive judiciary and its former military ruler.

Musharraf faces the death penalty if convicted of the charges over his suspension of the constitution and imposition of emergency rule in 2007, when he was trying to extend his rule as president.

Judge Faisal Arab, who heads the special panel of three judges trying the case, rejected a defence plea for additional time.

Musharraf stood ramrod straight and replied "Not guilty" to each charge.

"I would like to ask where is the justice for me in the Islamic republic of Pakistan ... I have only given to this country and not taken anything," Musharraf said.

"I prefer death to surrender."

The case is being closely watched for any impact on the relationship between Pakistan's three power centres — the historically powerful military, an increasingly independent judiciary and the civilian government, led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Some observers are concerned that the trial could anger the army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half its history since independence in 1947.

Musharraf has told reporters the whole army supported him, though the military leadership has given no indication that it might intervene in the trial.

Musharraf's lawyer later asked the court for permission for his client to visit his sick mother in Dubai. The former military ruler is currently under house arrest. The court promised to rule on the request during the day's proceedings.

Musharraf's trial began last November, but faced repeated delays. First he refused to appear. Then a series of explosive devices was found planted along his route.

On January 2, he was rushed to hospital when he suffered chest pains on the way to court.

Musharraf's lawyers have challenged the court's jurisdiction, saying it was inherently biased because the judiciary had helped lead popular protests that led to his resignation in 2008.

They argue that Musharraf cannot receive a fair trial under the government of Sharif, who won landslide elections a year ago. Musharraf deposed Sharif in a coup in 1999.

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DTN News - PAKISTAN NEWS: I'm Proud of Kargil Operation, says former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf

DTN News - PAKISTAN NEWS: I'm Proud of Kargil Operation, says former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf
*Musharraf Facing Petitions Galore

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources IBN  & Dawn Pakistan

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 28, 2013: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday said he was "proud of the Kargil operation", during which Pakistani troops had crossed the Line of Control and occupied positions on the Indian side in 1999. Musharraf made the remarks when he was asked about criticism of his role in the Kargil issue at a news conference in the southern port city of Karachi.

Musharraf was the army chief when the operation was launched. He later toppled the government of premier Nawaz Sharif and assumed power. I am "proud of the Kargil operation," he said. The former President, who returned to Pakistan on Sunday after nearly four years in self-exile, said he had not struck a deal with anyone for his homecoming. He claimed he had returned to Pakistan in the interest of the country and the people. "I am among those people who think of the country and the citizens," Musharraf told said during his first news conference after returning to Pakistan.

Musharraf, who returned to lead the All Pakistan Muslim League in the general election to be held on May 11, said he could not say how many constituencies his party would be able to win. He said he would himself run for elections from Karachi, where he has "old relations" with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. He claimed his supporters had recommended that he should contest the election from a constituency in the Defence area of Karachi. Musharraf also defended his years in power as a dictator, claiming that Pakistan had prospered during his tenure. He further claimed he had been the only leader to raise his voice against anti-state elements and elements involved in spreading terrorism.


*Musharraf Facing Petitions Galore - By Dawn Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - March 28, 2013: Difficult days seem to be ahead for retired Gen Pervez Musharraf with one petition after another being moved against him in the Supreme Court.

A reference was made in the court on Wednesday and senior counsel A.K. Dogar recalled the apex court’s July 31, 2009 verdict holding the Nov 3, 2007 emergency unconstitutional and argued that Gen Musharraf stood convicted on the basis of the judgment.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is hearing a petition of Dr Mobashir Hassan seeking that elections be held in strict adherence to articles 62 and 63 of the constitution which lays down criteria for qualification and disqualification of the candidates.

Mr Dogar read out excerpts from the judgment in which the apex court had firmly held that holding the constitution in abeyance or any other act having the effect of discontinuing the operation and enforceability of the constitution for a single moment in a manner not authorised under the constitution was tantamount to overthrowing the constitution or subverting the constitution and thereby committing the offence of high treason.

The counsel referred to another verdict of the apex court in the 1997 Al-Jihad Trust case and said the court had already held that any verdict of the Supreme Court became part of the constitution.

Later talking to Dawn, he explained that the verdict had become law of the land and that Gen Musharraf stood convicted on the basis of this declaration. Only a sentence needed to be passed against him, he said.

During the proceedings, the chief justice said any objection to Gen Musharraf’s candidature could be raised before the returning officer at the time of the filing of nomination papers, adding that the apex court had already held in the Tahirul Qadri case that it never granted relief in person-specific cases.

He observed that nobody, not even the Election Commission of Pakistan, was saying that the criteria laid down in articles 62 and 63 of the constitution for candidates would not be accepted. He rejected a plea for issuing any standard operating procedure or rules and regulations for implementing these provisions.

However, the court postponed the proceedings to next week to enable Advocates A.K. Dogar and Azhar Siddiq to seek instructions from Dr Mobashir, the petitioner, to narrow down the scope of prayers by amending the petition.

In a related development, the Lahore High Court Bar Association, Rawalpindi, moved on Wednesday a petition seeking a court’s order for the federal government to file a complaint against Gen Musharraf to be prosecuted under the High Treason (punishment) Act of 1973.

It also requested the court to order the government to immediately take Gen Musharraf into custody till the time prosecution under the high treason was completed for assaulting the judiciary by proclaiming the state of emergency. Advocate Hamid Khan will plead the case.

Another two petitions filed on Monday requested the Supreme Court to put the name of Gen Musharraf on the exit control list (ECL).

The first petition filed by Advocate Tariq Asad on behalf of former Khateeb of Lal Masjid Maulana Abdul Aziz said that since the former president was a prime suspect in the 2007 mosque operation his name should be put on the ECL.

The other moved by Advocate Maulvi Iqbal Haider pleaded that the retired general be restrained from leaving the country till the apex court heard an appeal challenging the Sindh High Court’s order of initiating a treason case under article 6 of the constitution against him for proclaiming the Provisional Constitution Order on Nov 3, 2007.

A three-judge bench headed by the chief justice will take up Maulvi Iqbal’s petition on Thursday.

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DTN News - PAKISTAN TODAY: Analysis ~ On Trial - Yousuf Raza Gilani

DTN News - PAKISTAN TODAY: Analysis ~ On Trial - Yousuf Raza Gilani
*DTN News presents an article "On Trial" analyzed by Asad Jamal and Muhammad Badar Alam 
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Asad Jamal and Muhammad Badar Alam - Herald - Dawn Pakistan
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 17, 2012: Yousuf Raza Gilani is creating history of sorts: With just one month to go before he completes his fourth year in office, he is already the longest serving prime minister of Pakistan. With a mix of luck, guile, compromise, concessions and even confrontation, he would expect to pull off another historical feat — of surviving his full constitutional term in office.

His chances of success appear to be slim. When the opposition took the memo issue to the Supreme Court late last year and the army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha supported a judicial probe into the affair, everyone thought time was up for Gilani and his government as well as President Asif Ali Zardari. When Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry appointed a high-powered judicial commission to probe the memo case, and followed it up with a string of contempt of court notices to senior government functionaries, including Gilani, the end was deemed nigh.

Many thought that the prime minister and other members of his ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) were making a bad situation worse by indulging in a war of words with the military. From his December 2011 speech in the National Assembly, warning that he will not allow a state within a state to exist, to his statement to the Chinese media that Kayani and Pasha acted illegally and unconstitutionally by contradicting the government version of the memo in front of the Supreme Court, Gilani was either bluffing or calling the other side’s bluff. In any case, he was certainly living dangerously.

It all now appears to have receded behind closed doors. Gilani has retracted his belligerent statements against the military and intelligence chiefs, of course, after claiming the not-so-prized scalp of the defence secretary as a face-saving measure. The memo probe appears destined for the long haul and contempt and corruption cases are subject to procedural adjournments and legal hair-splitting among the lawyers and the judges. From being on the brink only days ago, Gilani looks like he is back in charge — for the time being at least.

But this could well be a temporary respite, not a permanent reprieve, for none of the factors nagging and troubling the government have gone away and many, if not most, of them are for the courts to take care of one way or the other.

Seeds of distrust

Even before the PPP came to power in February 2008, it had reason to feel threatened by the superior judiciary under Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. When General (retd) Pervez Musharraf sacked him a second time on November 3, 2007, Chaudhry had already drawn first blood vis-à-vis the PPP. On October 12, 2007, he admitted petitions challenging the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and, in an extraordinary order, immediately suspended the actions being taken under the ordinance without first deciding whether it was legal or otherwise. It was extraordinary in the sense that normally courts do not question the effects or benefits derived from a law while it is still being debated in the courts, says Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmood, a senior jurist and a senior leader of the movement for the restoration of Justice Chaudhry.

It was only days after February 2008 polls when the Musharraf-appointed Supreme Court under Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar modified the order, allowing the NRO to end thousands of cases related to alleged corruption and other crimes. For the PPP, the ordinance was critically important as it had allowed its senior leadership, including Benazir Bhutto, to return from exile in October 2007 and participate in the political process. Stung by his previous decision on the NRO, the party led by Zardari post-election resisted the restoration of Chaudhry as much as it possibly could after coming to power. It feared that the Supreme Court under him would revive cases against the senior PPP leaders, thereby putting its nascent government in trouble.

Months before he became the president of Pakistan, Zardari started reneging on his political commitment with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) on the restoration of the judges sacked by Musharraf, more specifically Chaudhry. The government also did not want to sideline  Dogar, in return for his pro-NRO judgement. It was not until the lawyers and the opposition parties took to the streets Punjab and Dogar’s tenure came to an end in March 2009, that the government restored the chief justice, reportedly under pressure from the military establishment.

The damage had been done by then. Constitutional lawyer Salman Akram Raja believes the government spent too much political capital resisting the restoration. “Immediate restoration of judges was a golden opportunity for the PPP government to win huge political goodwill, which it lost wholly unnecessarily,” he says.

During the second phase of the NRO case in December 2009, Chaudhry struck down the NRO as void ab initio, ie illegal and unconstitutional from the moment it was promulgated, thereby immediately reversing and annulling any benefits it had ever accrued to anyone. The court also ordered the revival of cases against the PPP leadership in and outside Pakistan, most notably in Switzerland. For the party and the government, this was a frontal assault.

Earlier the same year, the Supreme Court decided constitutional petitions by the Sindh High Court Bar Association and others over the appointment of judges under the Musharraf’s emergency rule as well as the PPP government before March 2009 and sent home more than 100 judges. Many of them were considered sympathetic to PPP. The court has not looked back ever since. One case after the other involving corruption allegations against PPP members and leaders and senior functionaries of the government have come up before the apex court, invariably eliciting angry remarks by the judges, getting  negative media coverage and discrediting the government practically on a daily basis.

The government’s strategy during the NRO case, as well as in some other cases, has mainly been to deal with them more in a political manner and less through legal means; an approach which has had mixed consequences. If the strategy was to gain time, it could be argued that the government was successful. But it did cost it heavily in terms of loss of credibility. Hounded by the media over its reluctance to restore the judges and troubled by the Supreme Court judgement in the Sindh High Court Bar Association case, says Mehmood, the government “lost all its senses”. It continued “making one mistake after the other, especially in the NRO proceedings. So much so, it did not even argue anything in its review proceedings.” Even pro-government lawyers believe the NRO case could have been pleaded more vigorously on the legal front, possibly leading to a less harsh verdict.

Baggage of history

For those on the government’s side, the judiciary is playing its historical pro-establishment role in giving anti-PPP decisions, the most flawed among them being what many call Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s judicial murder. At one level, the present altercation remains between the two highest offices – the presidency and the chief justice – and could be interpreted in the historical context of an anti-PPP bias among the superior judiciary.

Zardari told an interviewer recently that a former PPP minister was imprisoned in the Hajj corruption case and the courts were not accepting his bail pleas even when there was no proof against him. Over the last two years, he has been demanding that the superior judiciary revisit the Bhutto trial as expeditiously as it is taking up cases with visible anti-PPP quotient.

Dr Osama Siddique, associated with the department of law and policy at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (Lums), says three historical trends concerning the superior judiciary continue to have resonance in the present context. “One, the judiciary has had an invasive and power-accumulation propensity that is also characterised by illusions of self- grandeur; two, it is historically anti-PPP and favours pro-establishment parties which was poignantly displayed in the 1990s; and, three, it has repeatedly evinced a vulnerability to direct and indirect pressures from the army.”

Resistance versus activism

For a majority of hard-core pro-judiciary types, the roots of the judiciary-government stand-off lie in the PPP’s defiance of judicial authority and its inability to ensure good governance. They cite media reports on rampant corruption within the government to show that President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani, federal and provincial ministers and leaders and members of the PPP are hostile towards the judiciary because it is providing the lone institutional check against their real or perceived wrongdoings.

Some in the PPP, however, say the hype around corruption in the courts and the media is hampering the government from taking important economy-related decisions such as the import of liquefied natural gas (See Qamar Zaman Kaira’s interview). But this hardly justifies controversial appointments that the government had made over the last four years (mainly in Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and the Federal Investigation Agency). Certainly, many of them were avoidable.

From the judiciary’s perspective, the only way to improve governance and curb corruption is to expand judicial activism. Raja believes the Supreme Court’s expanding role must be seen in the context of the government’s credibility having been lost completely due both to its ineffective governance as well as corruption. He cites the government’s attempts to stall investigation into corruption cases around Hajj, National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) and rental power plants and argues that “in effect there exists not a single independent investigative agency in the country that will be allowed to do its work.” For him, “it is in that context that the Supreme Court’s readiness to assume [activist] jurisdiction has to be seen.”

But such expansionist judicial role has led to some unprecedented developments. When, as part of the 18th constitutional Amendment, the parliament changed the procedure for the judges’ appointment, the Supreme Court immediately struck back, forcing the legislature to enact another constitutional amendment along the lines it prescribed. In subsequent judgements, the court has all but eliminated the role of the parliamentary committee on judicial appointments subjecting its decisions to judicial challenge and review.

Last month, the court went even further in expanding its role far into the executive domain. On a petition filed by advocate Fazal Kareem Butt, who sought an assurance from the federal government that it will not remove Kayani and Pasha, the court told the Attorney General to submit in writing an assurance from the federal government that it has no such plan.

Lawyer Faisal Siddiqi argues that this expansionism is neither new nor Pakistan-specific. “Judicial activism of the Supreme Court is nothing peculiar to Pakistan. It has happened in many countries during transition from military dominance to greater democracy,” he says. “When the security establishment struggles to retain power and elected government tries to reclaim its lawful domain, it is in such times that judiciaries often expand their role.”

Others do not take such a benign view. Maryam Khan, an assistant professor of law at Lums, says “The judiciary has always exhibited a tendency to assert an exaggerated constitutional domain for itself and attempts to enhance it through its own pronouncements whenever the army goes in the background and a controlled democratic system is restored.” According to her, the court-centered development of the “public interest litigation” movement in the immediate post-Zia era of the late 1980s and early 1990s is an example of the judiciary’s strategic self-legitimation not only to assert an exaggerated constitutional domain for itself but also to reinvent its image as the custodian of constitutional and democratic values. “ … the judiciary has effectively evolved into an institution autonomous of, ascendant to, as well as deeply contemptuous and dismissive of, the political process,” she says.

Writing in the Economic and Political Weekly as early as 2009, Karachi-based political economist Haris Gazdar was even more scathing in his criticism of the judiciary and its main supporters, the lawyers. He argued that the constitutionalist pretensions of judges and lawyers were belied by their actions. “There is a pattern: media fuelled populism, encroachment upon the authority of the parliament and the executive, helping political allies, and keeping mum where core interests of the military might be involved. From a broadly-supported popular struggle against the Musharraf regime, the lawyers’ movement has morphed into a self-serving power grab,” he wrote.

Many others agree that such an expansion takes place at the expense of civilian governments and to the advantage of the military and security establishment. Former Supreme Court Bar Association president Asma Jahangir has publicly accused the Supreme Court of working “under influence of the security establishment” in the memo case. Those who support her point of view cite many long-pending cases, including those involving violence in Balochistan and missing persons, in which the apex court has never gone beyond summoning senior intelligence officials. Talking about the memo case, for instance, Sidiqqi says “unlike in the past when the army asked for legitimacy from the court, in the memo case the army is not asking for validation of its unconstitutional acts.” What it is doing, and seemingly achieving is even more troubling. “It has instead sought to increase its de facto power as opposed to its de jure power by using the judicial process.” As and when that power gets validated through a Supreme Court judgement, the army will be placed way above the democratic and parliamentary process. This in turn will put elected governments at the mercy of a security establishment controlling everything from behind the scenes, and without having to worry about law and Constitution.

(Asad Jamal is a lawyer.)

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Asad Jamal and Muhammad Badar Alam - Herald - Dawn Pakistan
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DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: US Uses Pakistan As Scapegoat For Afghanistan Failure Says Pervez Musharraf

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: US Uses Pakistan As Scapegoat For Afghanistan Failure Says Pervez Musharraf

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 2, 2011: Pakistan’s former President Pervez Musharraf has accused the United States of using Pakistan as a scapegoat for its failure in Afghanistan.

Musharraf dismissed as irresponsible the recent statements by former US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen that Pakistan's spy agency was supporting the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network.

Talking to Express television, Musharraf called on the US to stop the blame game adding that Pakistan and the US need to come onto the same page against a common enemy.

He said that the world needs to understand the stances of Pakistan, and unless the US stops violating Pakistani interests, there would be no more alliance. Musharraf also said that the US was responsible for controlling Haqqani activity on the Afghan side of the border.

Musharraf rejected the impression that he had allowed the US drone attacks on the tribal regions under a deal and said that only logistic support for unarmed drones had been extended. He went on to say that during his time in office there had been a total of nine drone strikes while these had exponentially increased during the term of the current government.

He pointed out that India was being accorded space in the Afghan peace process at the cost of Pakistan. 'Any result of a peace process in favor of India would not be acceptable to Pakistan and the US must understand this.'

Musharraf said that Pakistan must use all media sources (internal and external) to project Pakistan’s interests and reasoning in Afghanistan.

Musharraf also reminded the US that it was the Pakistan army which had conducted a successful operation in the Swat valley against the Tehrik-e-Taliban of Pakistan.

Musharraf said that Pakistan’s greatest desire is a stable and peaceful Afghanistan.

For this reason Pakistan was supporting the peace talks which were led by Burhanuddin Rabbani.

Pakistan must use “all media sources, internal and external” to project the country’s “interests and reasoning” in Afghanistan, the 68-year-old former president said in an appearance on a programme on Express 24/7 news channel.

Musharraf was of the opinion that Pakistan and Afghanistan need to talk to those Taliban factions that seek peace. Reuters

Pakistan and the US should be on “the same page” on Afghanistan as any political instability in the war-torn country could lead to a repeat of the events that occurred in the 1990s following the fall of the Soviet Union, he said.

“If we have an unstable Afghanistan on the border, if the people of Afghanistan cannot handle the situation themselves (and) the coalition and the US (forces) leave as they have decided in 2014 and they leave a mess in Afghanistan, then that possibility of history repeating itself is very much possible,” he said.

Referring to accusations by American officials that the Inter-Services Intelligence agency was waging a proxy war in Afghanistan, Musharraf claimed the US was using Pakistan as a scapegoat for its failures in the neighbouring country.

He described the allegations about the ISI supporting the Haqqani network as “irresponsible”. The responsibility for dealing with the Haqqanis should be “equally shared” by Pakistan and the US, he said.

Pakistani forces should use whatever influence they have and tell the Haqqanis not to cross the border. At the same time, US forces are responsible for controlling the Haqqanis on the Afghan side of the border, he added.

Musharraf said the blame game needs to stop so that Pakistan and the US could work against a common enemy. The world needs to understand Pakistan’s viewpoint and unless the US stops violating Pakistani interests, there could be no alliance between the two sides, he contended.

Doors for talks can never be closed, even with militant organisations, Musharraf said, noting that even the US has kept the door open for negotiations with the Haqqanis.

Musharraf claimed the way forward lay in talking to “peace-seeking Taliban”. He pointed out that while not all Pashtuns were Taliban, all Taliban were Pashtuns. “We need to identify the peace-seeking Taliban and hold reconciliatory talks with them,” he said.

Musharraf was of the opinion that Pakistan and Afghanistan need to talk to those Taliban factions that seek peace. However, this selective process had been dubbed by the US as a sort of double game, he claimed.

The former President rejected allegations that he had concluded a deal with the US administration during his regime to allow drone strikes in Pakistan. He said Pakistan had only provided logistical support for unarmed drones.

“If there was an agreement between me and the US…why has the new government not gone ahead and broken this agreement?” he asked.

'Pakistan will be the loser if there is no peace and stability in Afghanistan,' he said.

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DTN News - PAKISTAN NEWS: Musharraf Able Influence US To Resume Aid, Would Be His Return Ticket To Pakistan

DTN News - PAKISTAN NEWS: Musharraf Able Influence US To Resume Aid, Would Be His Return Ticket To Pakistan

** Musharraf Calls US Aid Suspension ‘Disastrous’

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources The Nation

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 13, 2011: Former president Pervez Musharraf has warned of dire consequences from the recent US decision to suspend $800 million of military aid to Pakistan, saying the move was not in the best interest of the two countries.

“Certainly it will be disastrous,” Musharraf said during a speech at Rice University in Houston, Texas, on Monday evening, according to media reports. “It is not in the best interest of Pakistan but also not in the best interest of the United States. If Pakistan is weakened how do we fight terrorism?”

“We are weakening the country and the Army,” Musharraf said at the university’s Baker Institute of Public Policy. “It will have a negative effect certainly on the Pakistan Army, on its capability to fight terrorism.”

Musharraf said he was saddened by the ‘present environment of confrontation almost between Pakistan and the United States, between the two armies, the two intelligence services’. “It saddens me because I remember when there was trust,” he said, pointing to what he said were his strong relationships with President George W Bush and then-Secretary of State Colin Powell. “I could pick up the phone,” he said. “The line was always open. I wonder now if that degree of communication exists.” He said there was a ‘trust deficit’ and a ‘confidence deficit’ between the countries and the restoration of better relations depended on leadership and straight talk.

Responding to a question, Musharraf, who heads All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), said “Frankly, I’m trying” to become president. He said. “I’ve created a party of my own for the sake of Pakistan. I’m not doing it for myself because I’m very happy on my lecture circuit.

“If we succeed I know what to do. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel.” Musharraf blamed the disintegrating US-Pakistani relationship on current leaders’ lack of familiarity.

The relationship between the two countries began to fray in 1989, after the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan when Soviet forces were defeated there, leaving Pakistan to contend with a neighbouring state filled with thousands of religious fighters “armed to the teeth who know nothing else but fighting.” It soured further, he said, with sanctions placed on Pakistan in response to its nuclear weapons programme.

Recent drone attacks and the killing of Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil have intensified the disintegration of relations, he said. “The killing of Osama bin Laden, the issue is dead,” Musharraf said. “The issue of why our sovereignty was violated is very much alive.” To repair relations, the US “must consider our sensitivities and our sovereignty,” he said. Meanwhile, Pakistan must convince the US that there was ‘no complicity’ in sheltering the former Al-Qaeda leader, he said.

Musharraf said there was ‘absolutely 0% chance’ that Pakistan’s military or intelligence forces knew of bin Laden’s whereabouts during his presidency, and that he believes they were unaware of his presence in Abbottabad until he was killed by US forces in May.

As he has in the past, Musharraf on Monday denied he or Pakistan’s intelligence services knew of bin Laden’s location, at least during his time in power. “For two years, I can for sure, with 100 per cent guarantee, whether you believe it or not, I didn’t know,” he said. As for the possibility of the Army or the intelligence service hiding that knowledge from him, he said: “No. Absolutely zero. They are my people. I commanded them. How could they hide from me?”

He said a step in easing the rift between the nations would start with the US taking into concern “our sensitivities, our own honour and dignity as a sovereign nation.” Since his departure from Pakistan, Musharraf has been living in Dubai and London and has been making speaking appearances at colleges and universities. He has said he’ll return to his homeland no later than next March to resume his political ambitions and is considering a presidential run in 2013, which he called “the mother of all elections.” “I am very conscious of this,” he said. “I am trying to contribute my bit to bring change about. We need to have determination and if it’s in Pakistan’s destiny to rise as a moderate progressive Islamic state.”

He said a return to Pakistan would be for the nation’s sake, not his. “I’m very happy on the lecture circuit,” he said. “They give me good money. I can live anywhere. As far as I’m concerned I’m comfortable.”

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DTN News - PAKISTAN NEWS: Chaos In Pakistan With Insurgency, Ethnic Violence And Govt Sanctioned Journalist's Murder

DTN News - PAKISTAN NEWS: Chaos In Pakistan With Insurgency, Ethnic Violence And Govt Sanctioned Journalist's Murder

**US suspends some Pakistan military aid says Obama aide: The Obama administration will hold back about $800 million in aid to the Pakistani military because Washington is unhappy with Pakistan’s expulsion of US military trainers and its campaign against militants, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Relations between the two governments have been strained with the United States wanting Pakistan to intensify its counterterrorism efforts. The relationship also has been tense due to the surprise US raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on May 2, US drone attacks that have killed civilians and a raft of other issues. The Times, citing three US senior officials, said the United States was suspending or canceling $800 million in aid and equipment —more than a third of the $2 billion it gives Pakistan for security assistance.

About $300 million in US funding is to reimburse Pakistan for deploying more than 100,000 troops along the Afghan border to combat Taliban and other militant forces. Other funding covers training and military hardware, Times sources said.

Source: This article compiled by Roger Smith - DTN News

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 10, 2011: During Bush administration, US were whispering to Pervez Musharraf to act on militants, as terrorism originating from Pakistan was becoming a global menace to society all around the world and the same time US closed their eyes on Taliban related activities bombing in Bali, Spain, U.K., Philippines, Mumbai and other countries.

Pervez Musharraf, Bush treated him like a spoilt brat: Pervez Musharraf was invited several times to the White House and Bush treated him like a spoilt brat and affirmed him a status of the closest coalition partner for war on terror against organizations designated as terrorist and regimes that were accused of having a connection to them or providing them with support or were perceived, or presented as posing a threat to the US and its allies in general. It was typically used with a particular focus on militant Islamists and al-Qaeda. Bush provided Pakistan with approx. $20 billion in military and economy assistant / aid. Pervez Musharraf played an even hand between Taliban and the US, on release of monetary / military aid by US or their top officials visit To Islamabad, Pervez Musharraf would arrest few insurgents to appease Americans, while other insurgents were arming and attacking ISAF forces across the border in Afghanistan and the coalition forces from NATO and ISAF were not allowed to pursue the attackers to their safe shelter in Pakistan, causing resurgence of the Taliban. Pervez Musharraf ruled Pakistan as Chief Executive from 1999–2001 and as President from 2001-08. In the face of likely impeachment, he resigned on 18 August 2008.

President Asif Ali Zardari: In April, 2009., President Asif Ali Zardari, under pressure from conservatives, signed a regulation imposing Islamic sharia law in the Swat valley to end Taliban violence. The Obama Team worked in the right direction with Pakistan and have to put their foot down and require for accountability as the current government of Pakistan under Zardari were following the path of their predecessor Pervez Musharraf. Last eight years under Pervez Musharraf administration, Taliban and al Qaeda gathered memento in strength. As of July 2009 the U. S. Air Force’s robotic drone fleet stands at 195 Predators and 28 Reapers, partial fleet would be deployed in Afghanistan to eliminate Taliban and al-Qaeda elements.

Pakistan's ISI Spy Agency Has 'Militant Links' Says Adm Mike Mullen: In early 2011, the US military's top officer, Adm Mike Mullen, has repeatedly accused Pakistan's spy agency of having links with militants targeting troops in Afghanistan. He said Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had a "long-standing relationship" with a militant group run by Afghan insurgent Jalaluddin Haqqani. "It's fairly well known that the ISI has a long-standing relationship with the Haqqani network," Adm Mullen told Pakistan's Dawn newspaper."Haqqani is supporting, funding, training fighters that are killing Americans and killing coalition partners. And I have a sacred obligation to do all I can to make sure that doesn't happen."

Govt Sanctioned Journalist's Murder Says Adm Mike Mullen: Last week, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, went public with allegations that the Pakistani government approved the murder of Syed Saleem Shahzad, whose battered body was found in a canal in May.“It’s been reported recently and I haven’t seen anything that would disabuse that report,” America’s most senior military officer told reporters from the Pentagon Press Association.Although he said he did not have evidence linking the killing to a specific government agency, he added: “It was sanctioned by the government, yeah.” Analysts said the statement was unprecedented and would drive the two countries further apart, inflaming public sentiment and offering a gift to radical Islamic leaders who stoke anti-American feelings

Zawahiri hiding in Fata Says Panetta: On April 9, 2011, the new Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, who arrived in Kabul on Saturday, said the United States was “within reach of strategically defeating Al Qaeda” and that the American focus had narrowed to capturing or killing 10 to 20 crucial leaders of the terrorist group in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. Mr. Panetta, who took over as defense secretary from Robert M. Gates on July 1, made his comments aboard his plane before arriving on an unannounced trip to Afghanistan. They were Mr. Panetta’s first public remarks in his new post and among the most positive from a senior American national security official about the decade-old war against the terrorist organization, founded by Osama bin Laden, that was responsible for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Mr. Panetta, who as director of the Central Intelligence Agency ran the American commando raid that killed Bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2, said that vanquishing Al Qaeda was one of his most important goals as defense secretary. “Obviously we made an important start with that in getting rid of Bin Laden,” Mr. Panetta said. “We’re within reach of strategically defeating Al Qaeda. And I’m hoping to be able to focus on that, working obviously with my prior agency as well.”

Mr. Panetta, in one of the most specific descriptions from an Obama administration official about Mr. Zawahri’s whereabouts, said that he believed Mr. Zawahri was living in Pakistan’s mountainous northwest frontier. But, he acknowledged, “With these guys you never know. But at least the best intelligence we have is that he’s located somewhere there.” Mr. Panetta indicated that he had raised the issue of Mr. Zawahri with Pakistan’s powerful spy agency, the directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence. “One of the last things I did as director of the C.I.A. was to sit down with my counterparts in Pakistan and make clear to them that there are a set of targets that we have,” Mr. Panetta said. “And the more they can help us go after those targets, the more we will have the ability to achieve our goals in Pakistan.” On who in Pakistan knew about Bin Laden’s hideaway in Abbottabad, Mr. Panetta said he had “suspicions, but no smoking gun.” Later, after a meeting with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, Mr. Panetta made his first public gaffe as defense secretary: He told reporters that 70,000 American troops would remain in Afghanistan until the end of 2014.

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