Musharraf Says Relations With Afghanistan Are Tense
March 6 (Bloomberg) – Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf said relations with neighboring Afghanistan are tense because of Afghan charges that fugitives from the ousted Taliban and al- Qaeda fighters are operating from Pakistan.
There is a very, very deliberate attempt to malign Pakistan'' by some Afghan intelligence service officials, Musharraf said in an interview yesterday with Cable News Network. I am totally disappointed with their intelligence.‘’
Musharraf’s comments came as Pakistan’s army said it killed more than 50 people during fighting at the weekend in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Non-Pakistani fighters crossing from Afghanistan were among those killed, the Associated Press reported, citing Major General Shaukat Sultan, an army spokesman, as saying yesterday.
Pakistan has 80,000 soldiers in the tribal region fighting Taliban fugitives and suspected al-Qaeda members, in an operation that began in 2003, Musharraf said last week. President George W. Bush said during his first visit to Pakistan last week the U.S. and Pakistan are in a ``a common alliance’’ in eliminating terrorist threats in the region.
Relations with Afghanistan have become tense in the last one or two months,'' Musharraf told CNN's Late Edition’’ program yesterday, according to a transcript.
There is a problem on the border area, there is a problem on the Pakistan side, there is a problem in Afghanistan also,'' Musharraf said. Members of the Afghan government are trying to throw the entire blame on Pakistan as if nothing is happening in Afghanistan.‘’
Old Information
Intelligence reports given by Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the locations of Taliban leaders, including Mullah Mohammad Omar, contained ``very, very old information’’ and two-thirds of the phone numbers were outdated, Musharraf said. Karzai provided the information when he visited Pakistan last month.
What was stopping them from giving this list or sharing these numbers immediately on occurrence?'' Musharraf said. Karzai should coordinate with our intelligence. Don’t wait for months for a presidential visit to hand over these things.‘’
Musharraf said he was ``shocked’’ that the media was told about the intelligence reports shortly before Bush’s visit.
The Pakistani leader rejected reports that Mullah Omar was in the city of Quetta in northwestern Pakistan. ``This is absolute nonsense,‘’ he said.
Musharraf said his relationship with Karzai had been excellent'' before the recent tensions because Karzai knows how he got elected, he knows how much we helped in the election process’’ in October 2004.
Fighting Terrorism
If it was not for Pakistan, maybe he and his election would not have taken place smoothly,'' said Musharraf. He knows that, because he’s told me personally this.‘’
Musharraf’s government has supported the U.S.-led war on terrorism, arresting more than 600 suspected terrorists since 2001. Suspected al-Qaeda leaders Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi Mohamed Abdullah Binalshibh, both accused of helping plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington, are among terrorists captured in Pakistan.
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is said to be hiding somewhere in the Pakistani border region with Afghanistan. Pakistan, which provided assistance in toppling the Taliban, was once one of only three sovereign governments to recognize the Taliban regime that sheltered bin Laden.
The fighting at the weekend occurred in the North Waziristan region, AP reported, citing Sultan. Fighters retreated yesterday from government buildings they occupied a day earlier in the town of Miran Shah, Sultan said.
The number of non-Pakistani fighters has yet to be ascertained, Sultan said, according to AP.
Pakistan in January protested to the U.S. after an air strike killed at least 17 civilians in the Bajur tribal district. The Jan. 13 raid was said to have targeted Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two leader of al-Qaeda, who escaped the attack.
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