Following bin Laden’s death, al-Qaeda affiliates poised to produce new leaders
By Sudarsan Raghavan, Updated: Monday, May 2, 3:25 PM
NAIROBI — With the death of Osama bin Laden, a constellation of al-Qaeda franchises stretching from Africa to the Middle East, and linked by ideology and allegiance to his core values and tactics, are poised to produce their next generation of leaders and operatives, according to terrorism experts.
Yemen, in particular, is likely to become a prominent refuge and operational arena for al-Qaeda loyalists, possibly creating an even bigger challenge for the Obama administration, they said. The poor and unstable Middle Eastern nation is home to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, known as AQAP, which has tried to attack the United States twice since 2009.
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“Bin Laden leaves behind a number of groups that have been deeply influenced by him. He has built a movement that will outlast him,” said Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore. “Yemen will become an even more significant theatre than Afghanistan and Pakistan in the coming months and years.”
But Yemen will not be the only area of concern for the United States and its allies.
In Somalia, al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab is seeking to overthrow the struggling American-backed transitional government and turn the region into a Taliban-like Islamic emirate.
In North and West Africa, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has murdered westerners and staged suicide bombings. Kidnappings for ransom are growing, infusing large sums of cash into the group’s coffers. The group is believed to have perpetrated last week’s bombing of a popular cafe in Marrakesh that killed 16, mostly foreigners.
Bin Laden’s death arrives as Yemen is facing its biggest political crisis in more than three decades. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a vital American ally in counterterrorism, is clinging to power as momentum builds on the streets and in Arab capitals for his ouster, inspired by the populist rebellions that have gripped the region. Saleh has agreed to step down within 30 days after a formal agreement is signed that grants him and his family immunity, but so far the talks have been bogged down by mistrust and disagreement over core demands in the deal.
U.S. officials are deeply concerned about a post-Saleh government. His sons and nephews control crucial security agencies, including American-trained counterterrorism units. For weeks now, those units have remained inside their barracks, as key military officials have defected to the opposition and divided the security forces.
AQAP militants have reportedly taken over areas in the south, deepening their presence especially in Shabwa and Abyan provinces. And Houthi rebels seized Saada province in the north, further weakening the central government. Even before the political turmoil, Yemen had grappled for years with the northern rebels and a secessionist movement in the south, and diminishing oil and water reserves. Meanwhile, rising food prices and a sinking Yemeni rial are exacerbating tensions.
Such instability probably will allow AQAP to bolster its presence, observers say. Earlier this year, Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, described the affiliate as posing “the most significant risk to the U.S. homeland.” On Christmas Day, 2009, the group dispatched a Nigerian man to try to blow up an American airliner headed to Detroit; last year, it tried to blow up Chicago-bound cargo jets with printer cartridges filled with explosives.
AQAP and other franchises, say terrorism experts, were part of a grand plan by bin Laden to enlarge al-Qaeda’s reach and leave a self-sustaining legacy. Such affiliates received little, if any, financial and material support from al-Qaeda’s central command in Afghanistan and Pakistan — or any directives. They operated independently, conducting their own fundraising, recruitment and strategizing. Often, bin Laden and his associates would step in to offer rhetorical and theological encouragement
“Bin Laden’s biggest achievement was his ability to work with different leaders and disparate groups,” Gunaratna said. “He was more like a politician when it comes to collaborating with other groups. In doing so, bin Laden was able to replicate core Qaeda tactics and operations in other theaters, so that many new al-Qaedas emerged.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/following-bin-ladens-death-al-qaeda-affiliates-in-africa-middle-east-poised-to-produce-new-leaders/2011/05/02/AFaJIwYF_story.html?hpid=z3
Monday, 2 May 2011
Hiding bin Laden: Finger of suspicion at ISI
Hiding bin Laden: Finger of suspicion at ISI
Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN | May 2, 2011, 12.05pm IST
WASHINGTON: Just hours after American Navy Seals shot dead Osama bin Laden in a compound in Pakistan on Sunday, US President Barack Obama shot down the Pakistani security establishment's attempt to claim joint credit for the operation.
In a ten-minute television address, Obama left no doubt that US personnel alone were involved in the action that brought bin Laden to justice. ''Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan,'' Obama said, adding, ''A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability.''
While Obama said ''It's important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding,'' he made no mention of any Pakistani military role in the operation. US officials in background briefing made it clear that no country, much less Pakistan, was informed of the operation.
In fact, there was not even a word of thanks for Pakistan. Instead, Obama said: ''Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al-Qaida and its affiliates.''
The finger of suspicion is now pointing squarely at the Pakistani military and intelligence for sheltering and protecting Osama bin Laden before US forces hunted him down and put a bullet in his head in the wee hours of Sunday. The coordinates of the action and sequence of events indicate that the al-Qaida fugitive may have been killed in an ISI safehouse.
US analysts uniformly suggested that the Pakistani security establishment's claim of a role in the operation is clearly aimed at ducking charges of its military's possible role in hiding bin Laden. ''This is hugely embarrassing for Pakistan,'' was a common refrain on US TV channels throughout the night.
In fact, top US officials have openly suggested for months that the Pakistani military establishment was hiding bin Laden. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came closest to publicly exposing Pakistan's role last May when she accused some government officials there of harboring Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar.
''I am not saying they are at the highest level...but I believe somewhere in this government are people who know where Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida and where Mullah Omar and the leadership of the Taliban are,'' Clinton said on May 10 last year, adding, ''We expect more cooperation (from Pakistan) to help us bring to justice capture or kill those who brought us 9/11.''
Taken together with President Obama's pointed reference to President Zardari and leaving out any mention of Pakistani forces' involvement, it would seem that Washington believes that Pakistan's military intelligence establishment, including the ISI, was sheltering bin Laden. The ISI was accused as recently as last week by the top US military official Admiral Mike Mullen of having terrorist links, and named as a terrorist support entity by US officials, according to the Guantanamo cables.
Lending credence to the charges is the fact that US forces homed in on bin Laden in Abbottabad, which is a cantonment just 50 kms from Islamabad, where the Pakistani military has a strong presence. The place where bin Laden was killed is only kilometers from the Kakul military academy, where many Pakistani military elites, including some of its ISI cadres, graduate from.
While US officials are tightlipped about precise details, analysts are trying to figure out whether the compound that sheltered bin Laden was an ISI safehouse. There is also speculation as to whether Hillary Clinton was referring to this when she made her pointed remarks last May.
US officials have said for years that they believed bin Laden escaped to Pakistan after the American bombing campaign in Afghanistan. But Pakistani officials, including its former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, insisted that he was in Afghanistan, even as Afghan officials would angrily refute it and say he is in Pakistan. In the end, the Americans and Afghans were right on the money.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Hiding-bin-Laden-Finger-of-suspicion-at-ISI/articleshow/8141352.cms
Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN | May 2, 2011, 12.05pm IST
WASHINGTON: Just hours after American Navy Seals shot dead Osama bin Laden in a compound in Pakistan on Sunday, US President Barack Obama shot down the Pakistani security establishment's attempt to claim joint credit for the operation.
In a ten-minute television address, Obama left no doubt that US personnel alone were involved in the action that brought bin Laden to justice. ''Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan,'' Obama said, adding, ''A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability.''
While Obama said ''It's important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding,'' he made no mention of any Pakistani military role in the operation. US officials in background briefing made it clear that no country, much less Pakistan, was informed of the operation.
In fact, there was not even a word of thanks for Pakistan. Instead, Obama said: ''Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al-Qaida and its affiliates.''
The finger of suspicion is now pointing squarely at the Pakistani military and intelligence for sheltering and protecting Osama bin Laden before US forces hunted him down and put a bullet in his head in the wee hours of Sunday. The coordinates of the action and sequence of events indicate that the al-Qaida fugitive may have been killed in an ISI safehouse.
US analysts uniformly suggested that the Pakistani security establishment's claim of a role in the operation is clearly aimed at ducking charges of its military's possible role in hiding bin Laden. ''This is hugely embarrassing for Pakistan,'' was a common refrain on US TV channels throughout the night.
In fact, top US officials have openly suggested for months that the Pakistani military establishment was hiding bin Laden. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came closest to publicly exposing Pakistan's role last May when she accused some government officials there of harboring Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar.
''I am not saying they are at the highest level...but I believe somewhere in this government are people who know where Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida and where Mullah Omar and the leadership of the Taliban are,'' Clinton said on May 10 last year, adding, ''We expect more cooperation (from Pakistan) to help us bring to justice capture or kill those who brought us 9/11.''
Taken together with President Obama's pointed reference to President Zardari and leaving out any mention of Pakistani forces' involvement, it would seem that Washington believes that Pakistan's military intelligence establishment, including the ISI, was sheltering bin Laden. The ISI was accused as recently as last week by the top US military official Admiral Mike Mullen of having terrorist links, and named as a terrorist support entity by US officials, according to the Guantanamo cables.
Lending credence to the charges is the fact that US forces homed in on bin Laden in Abbottabad, which is a cantonment just 50 kms from Islamabad, where the Pakistani military has a strong presence. The place where bin Laden was killed is only kilometers from the Kakul military academy, where many Pakistani military elites, including some of its ISI cadres, graduate from.
While US officials are tightlipped about precise details, analysts are trying to figure out whether the compound that sheltered bin Laden was an ISI safehouse. There is also speculation as to whether Hillary Clinton was referring to this when she made her pointed remarks last May.
US officials have said for years that they believed bin Laden escaped to Pakistan after the American bombing campaign in Afghanistan. But Pakistani officials, including its former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, insisted that he was in Afghanistan, even as Afghan officials would angrily refute it and say he is in Pakistan. In the end, the Americans and Afghans were right on the money.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Hiding-bin-Laden-Finger-of-suspicion-at-ISI/articleshow/8141352.cms
Will killing Osama bin Laden kill the movement he inspired?
Will killing Osama bin Laden kill the movement he inspired?
AP | May 2, 2011, 06.02pm IST
WASHINGTON: US intelligence officials believe al-Qaida will have a hard time recovering from the death of its leader, Osama bin Laden.
After all, his heir apparent, Ayman al-Zawahri, is a harsh, divisive figure who lacks the charisma and mystique that bin Laden used to hold together al-Qaida's various factions. Without bin Laden's iconic figure running al-Qaida, intelligence officials believe the group could splinter and weaken.
But if there is one thing al-Qaida has proved it is able to do, it is adapt to adversity. Its foot soldiers learned to stay off their cellphones to avoid US wiretaps. Their technical wizards cooked up cutting edge encryption software that flummoxed American code-breakers. And a would-be bomber managed to defeat billions of dollars in airline security upgrades with explosives tucked in his underwear.
Bin Laden's death, by an American bullet to the head in a raid on his fortified Pakistani hideout early Monday, came 15 years after he declared war on the United States and nearly a decade after he carried out the worst attacks on US soil. But the al-Qaida network he leaves behind is far different from the one behind the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.
Today, al-Qaida's core in Pakistan is constantly on the run, hiding from U.S. Predator drones. Communication is slow. The ability to plan, finance and carry out attacks has been greatly reduced. Al-Qaida franchises have sprung up in Yemen, Iraq and Algeria, where terrorists fight local grievances under the global banner of jihad.
In that regard, bin Laden's death could be far more damaging psychologically than operationally. Al-Zawahri has been running al-Qaida operations for years as bin Laden cut himself off from the outside world. There were no phone or Internet lines running into his compound. And he used a multi-layered courier system to pass messages. It was old-fashioned and safe but it made taking part in any operation practically impossible. Bin Laden had been reduced to a figurehead by the time US commandoes eliminated him, counterterrorism experts say.
Today, the greatest terrorist threat to the US is considered to be the al-Qaida franchise in Yemen, far from al-Qaida's core in Pakistan. The Yemen branch almost took down a US-bound airliner on Christmas 2009 and nearly detonated explosives aboard two US cargo planes last fall. Those operations were carried out without any direct involvement from bin Laden.
Al-Qaida's leadership in Yemen has also managed to do what bin Laden never could: adapt the message for Western audiences and package it in English. The terrorist magazine ``Inspire,'' coaches would-be bombers on how to make explosives. It teaches them that they don't need to seek training in Pakistan or Yemen, where they could be intercepted by US spies. Rather, they are instructed to become one-man terror cells that pick targets and carry out attacks without any instruction from al-Qaida's core leadership.
Bin Laden was more of a symbol than anything else, said Qaribut Ustad Saeed, a long-time member of the Hezb-e-Islami rebel group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom the U.S. has labeled a terrorist. Saeed is currently a member of the Afghan High Peace Council set up to try to negotiate a peace settlement with the Taliban. Bin Laden's loss will be an inspirational one, rather than an operational one, he said.
``Osama bin Laden became a symbol and inspiration for the young Muslim extremists,'' he said. But the group has expanded into a worldwide movement that is now bigger than bin Laden,'' he said.
Even if the US manages to find and kill al-Zawahri, whose last-known sighting was in Peshawar in 2003, it won't mean the end of al-Qaida. Like Hamas and Hezbollah who have seen their leaders eliminated, al-Qaida will probably continue to exist, terrorism experts say.
Within hours of bin Laden's death, for instance, members of groups affiliated with the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani network in Pakistan were already promising that the day-to-day mission on the ground would not change.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Will-killing-Osama-bin-Laden-kill-the-movement-he-inspired/articleshow/8143916.cms
AP | May 2, 2011, 06.02pm IST
WASHINGTON: US intelligence officials believe al-Qaida will have a hard time recovering from the death of its leader, Osama bin Laden.
After all, his heir apparent, Ayman al-Zawahri, is a harsh, divisive figure who lacks the charisma and mystique that bin Laden used to hold together al-Qaida's various factions. Without bin Laden's iconic figure running al-Qaida, intelligence officials believe the group could splinter and weaken.
But if there is one thing al-Qaida has proved it is able to do, it is adapt to adversity. Its foot soldiers learned to stay off their cellphones to avoid US wiretaps. Their technical wizards cooked up cutting edge encryption software that flummoxed American code-breakers. And a would-be bomber managed to defeat billions of dollars in airline security upgrades with explosives tucked in his underwear.
Bin Laden's death, by an American bullet to the head in a raid on his fortified Pakistani hideout early Monday, came 15 years after he declared war on the United States and nearly a decade after he carried out the worst attacks on US soil. But the al-Qaida network he leaves behind is far different from the one behind the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.
Today, al-Qaida's core in Pakistan is constantly on the run, hiding from U.S. Predator drones. Communication is slow. The ability to plan, finance and carry out attacks has been greatly reduced. Al-Qaida franchises have sprung up in Yemen, Iraq and Algeria, where terrorists fight local grievances under the global banner of jihad.
In that regard, bin Laden's death could be far more damaging psychologically than operationally. Al-Zawahri has been running al-Qaida operations for years as bin Laden cut himself off from the outside world. There were no phone or Internet lines running into his compound. And he used a multi-layered courier system to pass messages. It was old-fashioned and safe but it made taking part in any operation practically impossible. Bin Laden had been reduced to a figurehead by the time US commandoes eliminated him, counterterrorism experts say.
Today, the greatest terrorist threat to the US is considered to be the al-Qaida franchise in Yemen, far from al-Qaida's core in Pakistan. The Yemen branch almost took down a US-bound airliner on Christmas 2009 and nearly detonated explosives aboard two US cargo planes last fall. Those operations were carried out without any direct involvement from bin Laden.
Al-Qaida's leadership in Yemen has also managed to do what bin Laden never could: adapt the message for Western audiences and package it in English. The terrorist magazine ``Inspire,'' coaches would-be bombers on how to make explosives. It teaches them that they don't need to seek training in Pakistan or Yemen, where they could be intercepted by US spies. Rather, they are instructed to become one-man terror cells that pick targets and carry out attacks without any instruction from al-Qaida's core leadership.
Bin Laden was more of a symbol than anything else, said Qaribut Ustad Saeed, a long-time member of the Hezb-e-Islami rebel group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom the U.S. has labeled a terrorist. Saeed is currently a member of the Afghan High Peace Council set up to try to negotiate a peace settlement with the Taliban. Bin Laden's loss will be an inspirational one, rather than an operational one, he said.
``Osama bin Laden became a symbol and inspiration for the young Muslim extremists,'' he said. But the group has expanded into a worldwide movement that is now bigger than bin Laden,'' he said.
Even if the US manages to find and kill al-Zawahri, whose last-known sighting was in Peshawar in 2003, it won't mean the end of al-Qaida. Like Hamas and Hezbollah who have seen their leaders eliminated, al-Qaida will probably continue to exist, terrorism experts say.
Within hours of bin Laden's death, for instance, members of groups affiliated with the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani network in Pakistan were already promising that the day-to-day mission on the ground would not change.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Will-killing-Osama-bin-Laden-kill-the-movement-he-inspired/articleshow/8143916.cms
A massive house with no telephone or internet connection led to bin Laden
A massive house with no telephone or internet connection led to bin Laden
Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN | May 2, 2011, 01.44pm IST
Washington: A large mansion in a massive compound with 12 feet to 18 feet tall walls topped with barbed wire. No telephone or internet connection to the house. And seldom seen residents who burnt their trash rather than dispose it as other neighbors did.
These were the slender leads that eventually took US spooks and seals to the world's most wanted fugitive. Osama bin Laden lived not in a cave in some frontier mountain redoubt, but in a suburban neighborhood in a million-strong city just an hour's drive from Islamabad, right under the eyes of the Pakistani military.
No one is particularly surprised about this. In fact, going by the track record of major Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives captured so far, it would seem that images of them hiding in caves are overblown. Most of them have been captured in Pakistani cities -- Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in Rawalpindi, Mullah Biradhar in Karachi, and other operatives in places like Faisalabad and Multan. It would seem the terrorists like their comfort -- or at least they are kept in comfort.
Details of how the US homed in on bin Laden are still sketchy, but this much is known based on what President Obama himself said and background briefing by officials.
Right from the moment he took office, Obama resolved to hunt down bin Laden, a goal that his predecessor Bush (who once suggested he did not want to personalize the bin Laden hunt) appeared to have taken his eyes off from. The new President called in the CIA chief and told him to devote whatever resources were needed to nail bin Laden, even as he shifted the focus from the war on Iraq to the Af-Pak theater.
Last August or September, the CIA team tasked with the bin Laden hunt succeeded in developing leads obtained from a Guantanamo detainee four years ago about two brothers who had acted as couriers for bin Laden. It took several months to establish their identity and then their coordinates. U.S officials said this was because of ''extensive operational security on their part,'' but added that ''the fact that they were being so careful reinforced our belief that we were on the right track.''
In August 2010, the U.S team got to know with some degree of certainty that they were in Abbottabad, a military cantonment 60 kms north of Islamabad, where they had built a house in an ''extraordinarily unique compound.'' The design of the compound and the mansion, and the activities surrounding it, indicated it held someone important.
"Intelligence analysts concluded that this compound was custom built to hide someone of significance. We soon learned that more people were living at the compound than the two brothers and their families,'' one U.S official explained. ''Our best assessment, based on a large body of reporting from multiple sources, was that bin Laden was living there with several family members, including his youngest wife.''
"Everything we saw -- the extremely elaborate operational security, the brothers' background and their behavior, and the location and the design of the compound itself was perfectly consistent with what our experts expected bin Laden's hideout to look like,'' the official added.
Between March 14 and April 28, President Obama held five national security meetings with his top aides to decide on how to approach the problem at a time ties with Pakistan were at all all-time low because of the Raymond Davis episode. The incident made it all the more dicey to employ American forces for an airborne attack, particularly given past U.S experience in Iran and Somalia, and the Pakistani military's virulent response to any suggestion of U.S ground action inside Pakistan, much less at the doors of a military cantonment.
Still, Obama gave the go-ahead for the operation over the weekend. Three US choppers carrying elite Navy Seals were deployed on Saturday night/Sunday early a.m. No Pakistani personnel were involved.
Although the operation lasted just 40 minutes, U.S officials acknowledged the team ran into resistance. Bin Laden, who was living in the compound with his eldest son and his youngest wife, himself fought before being shot in the head in the firefight. The two couriers who were also with him also died, as did his son and another woman who was used as a human shield. Two other women in the compound, which also had children, were wounded. It is not clear if his wife survived.
There were other mishaps. A U.S chopper involved in the attack developed a malfunction at some point and crashed in the neighborhood. This was reported in the Pakistani media several hours before news of bin Laden's death emerged, with no mention of American involvement or the hunt for bin Laden. Pakistani officials had shut down the area and kept out the media on orders from the U.S.
Only in the morning in Pakistan, when the wreckage from the chopper (which the U.S reportedly destroyed) was cleared, did the story emerge that the smoldering house in the Abbotabad suburb had hosted Osama bin Laden. He has been shot and killed by U.S forces, who had even taken away his body from Pakistan.
Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN | May 2, 2011, 01.44pm IST
Washington: A large mansion in a massive compound with 12 feet to 18 feet tall walls topped with barbed wire. No telephone or internet connection to the house. And seldom seen residents who burnt their trash rather than dispose it as other neighbors did.
These were the slender leads that eventually took US spooks and seals to the world's most wanted fugitive. Osama bin Laden lived not in a cave in some frontier mountain redoubt, but in a suburban neighborhood in a million-strong city just an hour's drive from Islamabad, right under the eyes of the Pakistani military.
No one is particularly surprised about this. In fact, going by the track record of major Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives captured so far, it would seem that images of them hiding in caves are overblown. Most of them have been captured in Pakistani cities -- Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in Rawalpindi, Mullah Biradhar in Karachi, and other operatives in places like Faisalabad and Multan. It would seem the terrorists like their comfort -- or at least they are kept in comfort.
Details of how the US homed in on bin Laden are still sketchy, but this much is known based on what President Obama himself said and background briefing by officials.
Right from the moment he took office, Obama resolved to hunt down bin Laden, a goal that his predecessor Bush (who once suggested he did not want to personalize the bin Laden hunt) appeared to have taken his eyes off from. The new President called in the CIA chief and told him to devote whatever resources were needed to nail bin Laden, even as he shifted the focus from the war on Iraq to the Af-Pak theater.
Last August or September, the CIA team tasked with the bin Laden hunt succeeded in developing leads obtained from a Guantanamo detainee four years ago about two brothers who had acted as couriers for bin Laden. It took several months to establish their identity and then their coordinates. U.S officials said this was because of ''extensive operational security on their part,'' but added that ''the fact that they were being so careful reinforced our belief that we were on the right track.''
In August 2010, the U.S team got to know with some degree of certainty that they were in Abbottabad, a military cantonment 60 kms north of Islamabad, where they had built a house in an ''extraordinarily unique compound.'' The design of the compound and the mansion, and the activities surrounding it, indicated it held someone important.
"Intelligence analysts concluded that this compound was custom built to hide someone of significance. We soon learned that more people were living at the compound than the two brothers and their families,'' one U.S official explained. ''Our best assessment, based on a large body of reporting from multiple sources, was that bin Laden was living there with several family members, including his youngest wife.''
"Everything we saw -- the extremely elaborate operational security, the brothers' background and their behavior, and the location and the design of the compound itself was perfectly consistent with what our experts expected bin Laden's hideout to look like,'' the official added.
Between March 14 and April 28, President Obama held five national security meetings with his top aides to decide on how to approach the problem at a time ties with Pakistan were at all all-time low because of the Raymond Davis episode. The incident made it all the more dicey to employ American forces for an airborne attack, particularly given past U.S experience in Iran and Somalia, and the Pakistani military's virulent response to any suggestion of U.S ground action inside Pakistan, much less at the doors of a military cantonment.
Still, Obama gave the go-ahead for the operation over the weekend. Three US choppers carrying elite Navy Seals were deployed on Saturday night/Sunday early a.m. No Pakistani personnel were involved.
Although the operation lasted just 40 minutes, U.S officials acknowledged the team ran into resistance. Bin Laden, who was living in the compound with his eldest son and his youngest wife, himself fought before being shot in the head in the firefight. The two couriers who were also with him also died, as did his son and another woman who was used as a human shield. Two other women in the compound, which also had children, were wounded. It is not clear if his wife survived.
There were other mishaps. A U.S chopper involved in the attack developed a malfunction at some point and crashed in the neighborhood. This was reported in the Pakistani media several hours before news of bin Laden's death emerged, with no mention of American involvement or the hunt for bin Laden. Pakistani officials had shut down the area and kept out the media on orders from the U.S.
Only in the morning in Pakistan, when the wreckage from the chopper (which the U.S reportedly destroyed) was cleared, did the story emerge that the smoldering house in the Abbotabad suburb had hosted Osama bin Laden. He has been shot and killed by U.S forces, who had even taken away his body from Pakistan.
Pakistan must end activities of terrorist groups: Manmohan after Osama bin Laden's death
Pakistan must end activities of terrorist groups: Manmohan after Osama bin Laden's death
PTI | May 2, 2011, 07.00pm IST
NEW DELHI: India on Monday termed Osama bin Laden's killing as a "decisive blow" to al-Qaida even as it voiced serious concern over terrorists finding sanctuary deep inside Pakistan and pressed Islamabad to arrest perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior ministers P Chidambaram and S M Krishna came out with separate statements hours after US President Barack Obama announced that 54-year-old Osama, the most wanted terrorist in the world, was shot dead in a US operation in Abbotabad, 120 km from the Pakistan capital early today.
They asked the international community not to let down its united effort to combat terrorism and eliminate the safe havens and sanctuaries provided in the neighbourhood.
The Prime Minister described Osama's killing as a "significant step forward " and hope that it will deal a decisive blow to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.
He said the "international community and Pakistan in particular must work comprehensively to end the activities of all such groups who threaten civilised behaviour and kill innocent men, women and children".
The killing of the global terrorist "deep inside Pakistan" underlines India's apprehension that terrorists belonging to different organisations find sanctuary in that country, said Chidambaram.
"We take note with grave concern that part of the statement in which President Obama said that the fire fight in which Osama Bin Laden was killed took place in Abbotabad 'deep inside Pakistan'.
"This fact underlines our concern that terrorists belonging to different organisations find sanctuary in Pakistan," he said.
The minister said the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attack, including the controllers and handlers of the terrorists, continue to be sheltered in Pakistan.
"We once again call upon the Government of Pakistan to arrest the persons whose names have been handed over to the interior minister of Pakistan as well as provide voice samples of certain persons who are suspected to be among the controllers and handlers of the terrorists," he said.
He said that the US had reason to go after Osama and bring him to justice.
"After the September 11, 2001, terror attack, the US had a reason to seek Osama bin Laden and bring him and his accomplices to justice," the statement said.
Terming Osama's killing as a "victorious milestone" in the global war against terrorism, Krishna said the world "must not let down" its united effort to eliminate the safe havens that have been provided to terrorists in its neighbourhood.
"This operation brings to closure an almost decade-long search for the head of the al-Qaida," he said.
Asserting that the struggle must continue "unabated", Krishna said, "The world must not let down its united effort to overcome terrorism and eliminate the safe havens and sanctuaries that have been provided to terrorists in our own neighbourhood.
PTI | May 2, 2011, 07.00pm IST
NEW DELHI: India on Monday termed Osama bin Laden's killing as a "decisive blow" to al-Qaida even as it voiced serious concern over terrorists finding sanctuary deep inside Pakistan and pressed Islamabad to arrest perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior ministers P Chidambaram and S M Krishna came out with separate statements hours after US President Barack Obama announced that 54-year-old Osama, the most wanted terrorist in the world, was shot dead in a US operation in Abbotabad, 120 km from the Pakistan capital early today.
They asked the international community not to let down its united effort to combat terrorism and eliminate the safe havens and sanctuaries provided in the neighbourhood.
The Prime Minister described Osama's killing as a "significant step forward " and hope that it will deal a decisive blow to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.
He said the "international community and Pakistan in particular must work comprehensively to end the activities of all such groups who threaten civilised behaviour and kill innocent men, women and children".
The killing of the global terrorist "deep inside Pakistan" underlines India's apprehension that terrorists belonging to different organisations find sanctuary in that country, said Chidambaram.
"We take note with grave concern that part of the statement in which President Obama said that the fire fight in which Osama Bin Laden was killed took place in Abbotabad 'deep inside Pakistan'.
"This fact underlines our concern that terrorists belonging to different organisations find sanctuary in Pakistan," he said.
The minister said the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attack, including the controllers and handlers of the terrorists, continue to be sheltered in Pakistan.
"We once again call upon the Government of Pakistan to arrest the persons whose names have been handed over to the interior minister of Pakistan as well as provide voice samples of certain persons who are suspected to be among the controllers and handlers of the terrorists," he said.
He said that the US had reason to go after Osama and bring him to justice.
"After the September 11, 2001, terror attack, the US had a reason to seek Osama bin Laden and bring him and his accomplices to justice," the statement said.
Terming Osama's killing as a "victorious milestone" in the global war against terrorism, Krishna said the world "must not let down" its united effort to eliminate the safe havens that have been provided to terrorists in its neighbourhood.
"This operation brings to closure an almost decade-long search for the head of the al-Qaida," he said.
Asserting that the struggle must continue "unabated", Krishna said, "The world must not let down its united effort to overcome terrorism and eliminate the safe havens and sanctuaries that have been provided to terrorists in our own neighbourhood.
Pakistan-US relations in jeopardy after Osama bin Laden death?
Pakistan-US relations in jeopardy after Osama bin Laden death?
Omer Farooq Khan, TNN | May 2, 2011, 08.08pm IST
9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden dead.
ISLAMABAD: The killing of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of 9/11, in a ground operation carried out exclusively by US troops on late Sunday night near Pakistan's military academy in Abbottabad, could jeopardize relations between Islamabad and Washington.
For hours, Pakistan kept mum over the news of bin Laden's death. It broke its silence about 11 hours after the incident when the country's foreign office confirmed that the operation against bin Laden was entirely the handiwork of the US forces. The statement came after long hours of deliberations and brainstorming between the country's top civilian and military leadership in the Pakistan president house at Islamabad.
"In an intelligence driven operation, Osama bin Laden was killed in the surroundings of Abbottabad in the early hours of this morning. This operation was conducted by the US forces in accordance with declared US policy that Osama bin Laden will be eliminated in a direct action by the US forces, wherever found," Tehmina Janjua, Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson said.
Following Janjua's statement, Pakistani PM Yusuf Raza Gilani called the killing of Osama bin Laden a great victory. "It is Pakistan's stated policy not to allow its soil for terrorist attacks against any country. Pakistan's political leadership, parliament, state institutions and the whole nation are fully united in their resolve to eliminate terrorism," Gilani said, adding that he didn't know the details of the US operation.
Pakistan's military has not released any statement about bin laden's killing. Some observers believe that Pakistan would like to be seen as not having helped in this operation because it would become the immediate target of the terrorist network. However, Pakistan's former ISI chief, General Hameed Gul, said that Osama may have been in Pakistan for treatment. "Osama's presence raises questions about the Pakistan intelligence's ability," he said.
Gul was critical of US activities in Pakistan. "Americans have been given a free hand in Pakistan and they do whatever they want. They have hoodwinked us and are after Pakistan's nuclear assets."
He said there will be a backlash from al-Qaida if it transpires that Pakistan helped the US in this operation.
The death of bin Laden in Abbottabad, a city mostly dominated by Pakistan's military, has raised many questions regarding the role of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)whether his whereabouts were known to the spy agency. Bin Laden was not living in an ordinary residence. The walls of three-storey building were 12- to 18ft high, topped with barbed wire. Access to the compound was severely restricted. Bin Laden's compound was roughly eight times larger than other houses in the area.
Since the start of the war on terror, Pakistani leaders have denied the presence of bin Laden in the country. His death on Sunday night caught the Pakistani leadership unawares. His presence just next to the Kakul military academy in Abbottabad which produce scores of officers every year for the Pakistan's army came as a big surprise. Contrary to frequent media/intelligence speculation in the last several years that Bin Laden could be hiding in the rugged tribal areas of Pakistan or even across the border in Afghanistan, the al-Qaida's iconic leader was found in a rather peaceful and scenic suburb of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.
Sources inside Peshawar's US consulate informed TOI that the American officials working in the north-western city were suddenly told on Friday to leave because of threats of their abductions.
The killing of bin Laden came as relations between the US and Pakistan have reached to its lowest point since the start of the war against terror. Since 9/11, the US has given the Pakistan's military nearly $20 billion for counter-terrorism campaigns.
The US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, during his last visit to Islamabad, publicly criticized Pakistan's military for not acting against al-Qaida linked insurgent groups sheltering in Pakistan's tribal region of North Waziristan.
However, last week Pakistan's army chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, told the passing out parade of cadets from the Kakul military academy that Pakistan had broken the back of terrorism in the country. The killing of bin Laden within few hundred metres distance from the military academy has evaporated Kiyani's tall claim into thin air.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-US-relations-in-jeopardy-after-Osama-bin-Laden-death/articleshow/8144970.cms
Omer Farooq Khan, TNN | May 2, 2011, 08.08pm IST
9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden dead.
ISLAMABAD: The killing of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of 9/11, in a ground operation carried out exclusively by US troops on late Sunday night near Pakistan's military academy in Abbottabad, could jeopardize relations between Islamabad and Washington.
For hours, Pakistan kept mum over the news of bin Laden's death. It broke its silence about 11 hours after the incident when the country's foreign office confirmed that the operation against bin Laden was entirely the handiwork of the US forces. The statement came after long hours of deliberations and brainstorming between the country's top civilian and military leadership in the Pakistan president house at Islamabad.
"In an intelligence driven operation, Osama bin Laden was killed in the surroundings of Abbottabad in the early hours of this morning. This operation was conducted by the US forces in accordance with declared US policy that Osama bin Laden will be eliminated in a direct action by the US forces, wherever found," Tehmina Janjua, Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson said.
Following Janjua's statement, Pakistani PM Yusuf Raza Gilani called the killing of Osama bin Laden a great victory. "It is Pakistan's stated policy not to allow its soil for terrorist attacks against any country. Pakistan's political leadership, parliament, state institutions and the whole nation are fully united in their resolve to eliminate terrorism," Gilani said, adding that he didn't know the details of the US operation.
Pakistan's military has not released any statement about bin laden's killing. Some observers believe that Pakistan would like to be seen as not having helped in this operation because it would become the immediate target of the terrorist network. However, Pakistan's former ISI chief, General Hameed Gul, said that Osama may have been in Pakistan for treatment. "Osama's presence raises questions about the Pakistan intelligence's ability," he said.
Gul was critical of US activities in Pakistan. "Americans have been given a free hand in Pakistan and they do whatever they want. They have hoodwinked us and are after Pakistan's nuclear assets."
He said there will be a backlash from al-Qaida if it transpires that Pakistan helped the US in this operation.
The death of bin Laden in Abbottabad, a city mostly dominated by Pakistan's military, has raised many questions regarding the role of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)whether his whereabouts were known to the spy agency. Bin Laden was not living in an ordinary residence. The walls of three-storey building were 12- to 18ft high, topped with barbed wire. Access to the compound was severely restricted. Bin Laden's compound was roughly eight times larger than other houses in the area.
Since the start of the war on terror, Pakistani leaders have denied the presence of bin Laden in the country. His death on Sunday night caught the Pakistani leadership unawares. His presence just next to the Kakul military academy in Abbottabad which produce scores of officers every year for the Pakistan's army came as a big surprise. Contrary to frequent media/intelligence speculation in the last several years that Bin Laden could be hiding in the rugged tribal areas of Pakistan or even across the border in Afghanistan, the al-Qaida's iconic leader was found in a rather peaceful and scenic suburb of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.
Sources inside Peshawar's US consulate informed TOI that the American officials working in the north-western city were suddenly told on Friday to leave because of threats of their abductions.
The killing of bin Laden came as relations between the US and Pakistan have reached to its lowest point since the start of the war against terror. Since 9/11, the US has given the Pakistan's military nearly $20 billion for counter-terrorism campaigns.
The US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, during his last visit to Islamabad, publicly criticized Pakistan's military for not acting against al-Qaida linked insurgent groups sheltering in Pakistan's tribal region of North Waziristan.
However, last week Pakistan's army chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, told the passing out parade of cadets from the Kakul military academy that Pakistan had broken the back of terrorism in the country. The killing of bin Laden within few hundred metres distance from the military academy has evaporated Kiyani's tall claim into thin air.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-US-relations-in-jeopardy-after-Osama-bin-Laden-death/articleshow/8144970.cms
Sunday, 1 May 2011
Geelani's dilemma -Condemning stone pelting now is pointless
Geelani's dilemma
Condemning stone pelting now is pointless
COUNTERPOINT BY FAHEEM ASLAM
Syed Ali Shah Geelani is on a fresh statement spree. This time vehemently condemning stone-pelting as a means of resistance. He goes a step further calling stone-pelting as a “failed defensive measure”, citing “it gives no benefit to the freedom cause and hence the youth in Kashmir should desist from pelting stones” [GK, April 30].
The statement is, if not directly, somewhat close to the assertions of a few writers in Kashmir and elsewhere who have been quite often describing stone-pelting as a “menace” and stone-pelters as “anarchists”—the “menace” and “anarchy” whose architect is none other than Geelani himself, if one were to counter Geelani’s statement in one line by agreeing to the assertions. But then there are more lines of disagreement than agreement to set the records right on the issue, especially in the backdrop of Geelani’s fresh assault on stone-pelting.
When the slain religious leader, Moulana Showkat Ahmad Shah, opposed stone-pelting as a means of resistance last year, it sparked-off a heated debate. And first to hit back at the Moulana was Geelani, who justified stone-pelting saying “those speaking against stone-pelting youth should first study the approach of the armed forces personnel, as there was no comparison between the gun and the stone as the latter could not take human life.” On March 27 last year—after his arrival in Srinagar after a three-month stay in New Delhi— Geelani visited the family of Shahid Ahmad Ahangar in Rainawari who was killed in CRPF firing on protestors in Nauthatta. Speaking at a gathering in Nauthatta where he met the family of detained pro-freedom activist, Aashiq Hussian Rangrez, Geelani said that “the deployment of thousands of armed personnel needlessly in populated areas was a provocation in itself, and it was natural for youth to react with anger and pelt stones.”
That was Geelani of 2010, making it clear that bullet was no answer to the stones and that it was natural for the youth to pelt them in self-defence. The year consumed at least 118 civilians in action by police and paramilitary forces and the killers are yet to be punished. Most of those killed were either the demonstrators or stone-pelters, or bystanders, who were made to understand, of course by Geelani and Co., that “stone pelting is a means of resistance.” And that is why the young demonstrators took to the streets of Kashmir to fight the armed men, caring little about the disproportionate sources of fighting. It was bullets v/s stones for many months. The youth braved bullets, but didn’t enter their homes. They kept fighting. Sacrificed their lives. And those who survived are still facing the onslaught of the state. If stone-pelting was no means of resistance, why didn’t Geelani say it then and save the youth from falling to the bullets of police and CRPF? Why is he doing it now when much blood has been shed? Yes, Geelani did selectively condemn stone-pelting then, but only when we lost a few civilians to stone-pelting, including a 10-day-old boy, Irfan of Baramulla. And to the Indian Express, this is what Geelani once said: “excessive and inexplicable stone-pelting could be the handiwork of the agencies. The death of the infant is appalling. No civilised society would allow it. The youth who were behind the infant’s death are not part of the Azadi struggle.”
That was it when it could have been much more: like support Moulana’s statement, if was required to be supported and clearly state that “stone-pelting is no means of resistance”—if at all that was the case. Didn’t Geelani have moral courage to come clean on the issue? If today he is able to say so, what was the problem yesterday? Whether stone-pelting is a means of resistance or not had to be decided by the leader the very first day when a youth of Kashmir took the stone in hand and was met with bullets? Why did he wait for 118 to fall down? In June last year, a few opinions suggested Geelani not to prolong the agitation and call it a day. Why were they ignored then?
This year, the veteran leader is again into the issue of stone-pelting, God knows why! While the question can only be answered by Geelani himself, his arguments to support that “stone-pelting is a failed strategy” are flawed, to say the least. First the Geelani’s arguments: “Stone pelting proved unsuccessful as a defensive measure; theological debate on stone pelting aside, we have analyzed that it yields no contribution to the cause of freedom. In return we lost 118 youths; The youth were pelting stones as a defensive measure against the bullets but we couldn’t defend ourselves by pelting stones thus losing 118 youths last year.” That “we couldn’t defend ourselves by pelting stones” is a flawed argument and against common sense. Why was Geelani under this impression that stones can fight bullets? Was Geelani expecting armed forces to shower petals in response to the stones? What was Geelani expecting a stone to do? Resistance, Geelani Sahib, you must know is not always about winning and losing. It is about putting a point across which the youth did quite effectively on the streets of Kashmir. And why is now Geelani belittling the sacrifice of the youth of Kashmir by saying that “stone pelting yields no contribution to Kashmir cause.” It may or may not be a means of resistance, but the statement that it “yielded nothing” has the other version as well. For your information Geelani Sahib, if you have been able to get the Dogra Certificate order revoked today, it is only because of that poor man’s taking to streets last year and sacrificing his life. It is that sacrifice of an ordinary boy that made the state to rethink on the Dogra Certificate as it sensed another agitation in the Valley over the controversial issue.
There was no hikmat of Geelani in getting the orders revoked. If my memory supports me, Geelani took the cue from media reports on the issue, 10 days after the Dogra Certificate order was issued! So Geelani Sahib, that is the contribution of those sacrifices to the “cause of freedom” that you are so confused about. The issue of Kashmir is beyond stone-pelting. It is about that honour and dignity of an aam aadmi in Kashmir which has been so brutally mutilated in the past many decades now. And we need not to debate who the doer is!
All said and done. Your ill-timed statements only reflect the moral confusion in the “leadership” on Kashmir. And this is not for the first time Geelani is making an embarrassing statement. Just a few months back, when the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made the remark that “J&K had acceded and not merged to India”, Geelani’s statement followed. It read: “The Chief Minister’s statement is an endorsement of our stand on Kashmir.” That was October 7. But on October 11, this is what Geelani said in another statement: “Omar’s Assembly speech is scripted in New Delhi to hoodwink Kashmiris and restore credibility of his party.”
This confusion merits an explanation. Because the confusion will only compound the problem and raise a question mark on Geelani’s stature and stand on Kashmir; the similar question marks which continue to exist on Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah even after years of his death.
Tail-piece: A confusing statement on an issue only spoils the stature of a leader. And here Geelani, as a respected teacher and a columnist puts it, is himself spoiling his image.
[Faheem Aslam is Senior Editor, Greater Kashmir]
http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2011/May/1/geelani-s-dilemma-6.asp
Condemning stone pelting now is pointless
COUNTERPOINT BY FAHEEM ASLAM
Syed Ali Shah Geelani is on a fresh statement spree. This time vehemently condemning stone-pelting as a means of resistance. He goes a step further calling stone-pelting as a “failed defensive measure”, citing “it gives no benefit to the freedom cause and hence the youth in Kashmir should desist from pelting stones” [GK, April 30].
The statement is, if not directly, somewhat close to the assertions of a few writers in Kashmir and elsewhere who have been quite often describing stone-pelting as a “menace” and stone-pelters as “anarchists”—the “menace” and “anarchy” whose architect is none other than Geelani himself, if one were to counter Geelani’s statement in one line by agreeing to the assertions. But then there are more lines of disagreement than agreement to set the records right on the issue, especially in the backdrop of Geelani’s fresh assault on stone-pelting.
When the slain religious leader, Moulana Showkat Ahmad Shah, opposed stone-pelting as a means of resistance last year, it sparked-off a heated debate. And first to hit back at the Moulana was Geelani, who justified stone-pelting saying “those speaking against stone-pelting youth should first study the approach of the armed forces personnel, as there was no comparison between the gun and the stone as the latter could not take human life.” On March 27 last year—after his arrival in Srinagar after a three-month stay in New Delhi— Geelani visited the family of Shahid Ahmad Ahangar in Rainawari who was killed in CRPF firing on protestors in Nauthatta. Speaking at a gathering in Nauthatta where he met the family of detained pro-freedom activist, Aashiq Hussian Rangrez, Geelani said that “the deployment of thousands of armed personnel needlessly in populated areas was a provocation in itself, and it was natural for youth to react with anger and pelt stones.”
That was Geelani of 2010, making it clear that bullet was no answer to the stones and that it was natural for the youth to pelt them in self-defence. The year consumed at least 118 civilians in action by police and paramilitary forces and the killers are yet to be punished. Most of those killed were either the demonstrators or stone-pelters, or bystanders, who were made to understand, of course by Geelani and Co., that “stone pelting is a means of resistance.” And that is why the young demonstrators took to the streets of Kashmir to fight the armed men, caring little about the disproportionate sources of fighting. It was bullets v/s stones for many months. The youth braved bullets, but didn’t enter their homes. They kept fighting. Sacrificed their lives. And those who survived are still facing the onslaught of the state. If stone-pelting was no means of resistance, why didn’t Geelani say it then and save the youth from falling to the bullets of police and CRPF? Why is he doing it now when much blood has been shed? Yes, Geelani did selectively condemn stone-pelting then, but only when we lost a few civilians to stone-pelting, including a 10-day-old boy, Irfan of Baramulla. And to the Indian Express, this is what Geelani once said: “excessive and inexplicable stone-pelting could be the handiwork of the agencies. The death of the infant is appalling. No civilised society would allow it. The youth who were behind the infant’s death are not part of the Azadi struggle.”
That was it when it could have been much more: like support Moulana’s statement, if was required to be supported and clearly state that “stone-pelting is no means of resistance”—if at all that was the case. Didn’t Geelani have moral courage to come clean on the issue? If today he is able to say so, what was the problem yesterday? Whether stone-pelting is a means of resistance or not had to be decided by the leader the very first day when a youth of Kashmir took the stone in hand and was met with bullets? Why did he wait for 118 to fall down? In June last year, a few opinions suggested Geelani not to prolong the agitation and call it a day. Why were they ignored then?
This year, the veteran leader is again into the issue of stone-pelting, God knows why! While the question can only be answered by Geelani himself, his arguments to support that “stone-pelting is a failed strategy” are flawed, to say the least. First the Geelani’s arguments: “Stone pelting proved unsuccessful as a defensive measure; theological debate on stone pelting aside, we have analyzed that it yields no contribution to the cause of freedom. In return we lost 118 youths; The youth were pelting stones as a defensive measure against the bullets but we couldn’t defend ourselves by pelting stones thus losing 118 youths last year.” That “we couldn’t defend ourselves by pelting stones” is a flawed argument and against common sense. Why was Geelani under this impression that stones can fight bullets? Was Geelani expecting armed forces to shower petals in response to the stones? What was Geelani expecting a stone to do? Resistance, Geelani Sahib, you must know is not always about winning and losing. It is about putting a point across which the youth did quite effectively on the streets of Kashmir. And why is now Geelani belittling the sacrifice of the youth of Kashmir by saying that “stone pelting yields no contribution to Kashmir cause.” It may or may not be a means of resistance, but the statement that it “yielded nothing” has the other version as well. For your information Geelani Sahib, if you have been able to get the Dogra Certificate order revoked today, it is only because of that poor man’s taking to streets last year and sacrificing his life. It is that sacrifice of an ordinary boy that made the state to rethink on the Dogra Certificate as it sensed another agitation in the Valley over the controversial issue.
There was no hikmat of Geelani in getting the orders revoked. If my memory supports me, Geelani took the cue from media reports on the issue, 10 days after the Dogra Certificate order was issued! So Geelani Sahib, that is the contribution of those sacrifices to the “cause of freedom” that you are so confused about. The issue of Kashmir is beyond stone-pelting. It is about that honour and dignity of an aam aadmi in Kashmir which has been so brutally mutilated in the past many decades now. And we need not to debate who the doer is!
All said and done. Your ill-timed statements only reflect the moral confusion in the “leadership” on Kashmir. And this is not for the first time Geelani is making an embarrassing statement. Just a few months back, when the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made the remark that “J&K had acceded and not merged to India”, Geelani’s statement followed. It read: “The Chief Minister’s statement is an endorsement of our stand on Kashmir.” That was October 7. But on October 11, this is what Geelani said in another statement: “Omar’s Assembly speech is scripted in New Delhi to hoodwink Kashmiris and restore credibility of his party.”
This confusion merits an explanation. Because the confusion will only compound the problem and raise a question mark on Geelani’s stature and stand on Kashmir; the similar question marks which continue to exist on Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah even after years of his death.
Tail-piece: A confusing statement on an issue only spoils the stature of a leader. And here Geelani, as a respected teacher and a columnist puts it, is himself spoiling his image.
[Faheem Aslam is Senior Editor, Greater Kashmir]
http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2011/May/1/geelani-s-dilemma-6.asp
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