Which Al Qaeda leader should one believe?
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Mr Baitullah Mahsud, the leader of the Taliban Movement of Pakistan, a self-avowed extremist organisation waging war against the Pakistan state, is reported to have denied involvement in the murder of Ms Benazir Bhutto. Some people are clutching at this piece of news to insist that the government and its agencies rather than any terrorist organisation were behind the dastardly act. But they should pause and reconsider.
Following Ms Bhutto’s murder, a leading Taliban leader and Al Qaeda commander by the name of Mustafa Abu Al Yazid was quoted by a known Italian news agency as claiming responsibility because “she was an American asset”. This is not the first time this news agency has received word from Al Qaeda and broadcast it. But not many Pakistanis were ready to believe this report. Why not? Indeed, some of them actually questioned the credentials of the Italian news agency and dismissed the report as lacking authenticity. Instead, they are ready to believe a denial by Baitullah Masud that comes from sources even less credible than the Italian wire service. Why is this so? Do people have a very selective criterion for judgement when it comes to such matters? Do they believe what they want to believe and disbelieve what they don’t like for one reason or another, regardless of the facts?
Having killed Ms Bhutto because she was “an American asset”, Al Qaeda has now seen the mass outpouring of grief and support for Ms Bhutto in Pakistan. So it has decided to issue one statement acknowledging its successful feat in order to motivate its die-hard followers and instil fear in its enemies and another statement denying involvement so as to avoid public outrage against its act in Pakistan. Is that so hard to understand, even if one is rightfully full of anger at President Musharraf and his government for various other reasons, including failure to provide Ms Bhutto with adequate security and fumbling with the facts of the killing?