Hydrablog

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/29/world/29britain.html
September 29, 2006
In Britain, Musharraf Is Questioned on Terror Ties
By ALAN COWELL [London] [UK] [EU] [after flacking his new book in the US, Musharraf—America’s not terribly reliable ally—doing same in UK] [however, there thankfully the media and people don’t give him a pass] [**************]
LONDON, Sept. 28 — President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan arrived here on Thursday and found himself facing accusations that his country’s intelligence service had indirect ties to Al Qaeda and that his government committed widespread human rights abuses as an ally of the United States in its effort to curb terrorism. [**********]
He arrived after a rocky visit in Washington, where President Bush used a White House dinner to try to mediate between the Pakistani leader and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan over their mutual accusations of responsibility for the resurgence of the Taliban, Afghanistan’s former rulers.
Although the two leaders did not shake hands in public, General Musharraf indicated in remarks broadcast live on Pakistani television on Thursday that some tensions had eased. “The meeting that I held with President Bush and Hamid Karzai last night was very good,” [******]he said, according to The Associated Press. “It was decided that we should have a common strategy. We have to fight terrorism. We have to defeat it, defeat it jointly.” [*************]
A report of a leaked document, which said that Pakistan’s intelligence service indirectly supported the Taliban, played into the argument over the growing insurgency in Afghanistan, [*****] where Britain and the United States have sent forces. The document was said by the BBC to have originated in Britain’s Defense Academy, a research agency sponsored by the Ministry of Defense. [it is well know that elements within Pakistan intel created the Taliban and continues to foster them] [they believe having a reliable partner in Afghanistan provides Pakistan with strategic depth] [**********]
Separately, Amnesty International, the human rights group, accused Pakistan of abuses, including the torture of terrorism suspects and the illegal transfer of detainees to the United States.
Britain’s Defense Ministry did not challenge the authenticity of the leaked document, but it said that the paper did not represent official policy and was part of academic research. [********] The document, details of which were broadcast Wednesday night on BBC television, was quoted as saying that indirectly, Pakistan, through the security agency, “has been supporting terrorism and extremism, whether in London on 7/7,” the date when suicide bombers attacked three subway trains and a double-decker bus last year, “or in Afghanistan or Iraq.” [*****] It said Pakistan’s security services played a “dual role,” combating terrorism while at the same time promoting an Islamic coalition called Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal [*******] “and so indirectly supporting the Taliban.”
“Pakistan is not currently stable but on the edge of chaos,” the document said, urging the dismantling of the security service. [****]Echoing a recent American intelligence assessment, parts of which were declassified this week, it also said the war in Iraq “has served to radicalize an already disillusioned youth, and Al Qaeda has given them the will, intent, purpose and ideology to act.”
Before he arrived in London, General Musharraf took strong exception to the leaked document. The security agency, he said, “is a disciplined force, breaking the back of Al Qaeda,” he told the BBC. [******]He is to deliver a speech in Oxford on Friday after meeting Thursday evening with Mr. Blair at Chequers, the British prime minister’s country retreat, west of London.
After the two-hour meeting, Mr. Blair’s spokesman said the prime minister had assured General Musharraf that the leaked document did not represent official British policy.
In its report released late Thursday, Amnesty International said Pakistan had “committed numerous human rights violations as a result of its cooperation in the U.S.-led ‘war on terror.’ ”
“Hundreds of people have been arbitrarily detained,” it said.
In response to the report, a Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Tasneem Aslam, said, “As far as detentions go, yes, people have been detained, but we have a challenge, we have to weigh the costs.”
“It’s a tough call not only for Pakistan, but for all countries fighting terrorism,” she said. “It is a challenge to strike a balance; while we respect individual rights, we have to prevent terrorist acts.”[*************]
Carlotta Gall contributed reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company