Saudi FM calls Indian, Pakistani counterparts to discuss developments    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia cracks down on fraudulent Hajj campaigns, urges pilgrims to use official channels    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    Literature Commission inaugurates Saudi Pavilion at Muscat Book Fair    Saudi Minister of Culture holds talks with his Costa Rican counterpart in Jeddah    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    MHRSD: 80% of recruitment offices are non-compliant with regulations    At least 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza    Teenage girl killed in French school stabbing attack    Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Hunt for Haqqani nightmare for Pakistan
By Michael Georgy and Zeeshan Haider
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 09 - 01 - 2010

The United States will push Pakistan hard to take the risky move of going after the Haqqani militant network if the group is linked to a Jordanian who killed seven CIA employees in Afghanistan.
No evidence may emerge that the Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network — high on the CIA's hit list — provided any support for the suspected suicide bomber from its northwestern Pakistani stronghold on the border with Afghanistan.
But the slightest suspicion that the Afghan group merely showed him hospitality in its redoubts will undoubtedly lead to a far higher degree of US pressure on Pakistan to take out the Haqqani network, possibly straining ties between the allies.
Islamabad has resisted past relentless Washington pressure to dismantle the network headed by Jalaluddin Haqqani, allied with the Taliban and believed to be closely linked to Al-Qaeda and the architect of several high-profile attacks in Afghanistan.
Pakistan sees Haqqani — who had long-standing links with its military ISI spy agency — as likely to be a valuable asset in Afghanistan if US troops leave, as Islamabad anticipates, before the country is stabilized.
And Pakistan officials, facing the country's own growing Taliban insurgency, argue Haqqani has not attacked the Pakistani state. So he should be left alone.
After the huge blow to the CIA, however, Washington is more likely to dismiss Pakistan's strategic concerns and push the government harder to take out Haqqani as the United States prepares to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
“The CIA never suffered such big losses. They will not only take revenge locally, they will put pressure on Pakistan to take action against this group,” said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a veteran journalist and expert on militant affairs.
Investigators were exploring leads, including possible links between the bomber, a Jordanian recruited by Jordanian intelligence to try to infiltrate Al-Qaeda, and Haqqani's network, current and former US intelligence officials said.
Haqqani's followers and their Taliban allies have carried out numerous attacks with a growing degree of sophistication in Khost province, where the bombing at the Forward Operating Base Chapman took place.
American and Pakistani interests have always been difficult to balance. Critics say the United States see Pakistan as a front-line state in its war on terror and expects it to give in to every demand, despite high domestic political costs.
Pakistan says it has done more than any other country to end terrorism and its people have suffered the most.
Greater US expectations would be politically explosive. Anti-American sentiment is running high, in large part because of US pilotless drone aircraft attacks on militants in Pakistan. Deeply unpopular President Asif Ali Zardari is in no position to manage any new political crises sparked by what many Pakistanis would view as interference if Americans made a strong push for more Pakistani cooperation on Haqqani.
Zardari is already in a vulnerable position. Some of his aides, including the defense and interior ministers, may face prosecution under revived corruption charges.
The United States might overlook these potentially explosive issues as it scrambles to hunt down whoever may have been behind the suicide bombing attack on a vital CIA operation.
Already there have been an unusually high number of drone strikes since the CIA incident.
Washington may decide — with or without Pakistan's consent — to intensify the drone hits in North Waziristan, where Haqqani operates and which is a Pashtun tribal region seen as a hub for global militants.
But that could hurt Pakistan's fight against its own Taliban insurgents, who are extending their reach in the country and have killed hundreds of people in bombings since October.
“It should be remembered that the war against the Pakistani Taliban includes ceasefires with various Pakistani tribal leaders who are resident in North Waziristan,” said Ahmed Rashid, an author of books on the Taliban.
“And Pakistan will be very nervous about US drone strikes that would not just hit Haqqani but hit these tribal leaders.”
The United States is well aware of Haqqani's capabilities.
He rose to prominence during the 1980s, receiving weapons and funds from the CIA to fight Soviet forces occupying Afghanistan. Effective leadership of the group has passed from the ailing Jalaluddin, who is in his 70s, to his eldest son Sirajuddin, security analysts say.
Stepping up the drone attacks could be risky for the United States, not just Pakistan. Al-Qaeda's Afghan wing claimed last week's attack at the US base. It said it was to avenge the deaths of militant leaders, including Baitullah Mehsud, the head of the Pakistan Taliban, who were killed in drone strikes.


Clic here to read the story from its source.