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INCIDENT on PAKISTAN BORDER: Al-Qaeda KILLED and RE-BURIED!
(AFGHAN AMBASSADOR HANDED OVER TO U.S.: New Low for Musharref)
(ONGOING BOMBING OF EASTERN AFGHANISTAN VILLAGES)
Dr. Anwarul Haque in Pakistan has sent us an email pointing out
that
the arrest of former Afghan ambassador in Islamabad, Mullah Abdus Salam
Zaeef, is a serious violation of international law. It appears that the
Musharref government has handed over Zaeef to the U.S. government which
has
transferred him to its warship USS Bataan. Muslims have never fallen so
low
in their laws of hospitality.
The arrest and handing over of a well-known ambassador to a third
country thirsting for his blood is a new low in the career of Pakistani
'president', coup leader General Musharraf. It fits in well with our
theme in
this report on MERCENARIES and BELIEVERS in Pakistan. Our sources say,
most
Pakistanis are as shocked and disgusted with the arrest of the
ambassador as
Dr. Haque is. However, for Musharref, the money and protection he is
getting
from the Bush administration is far more important.
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{ABOUT DECEMBER 22 WHEN THE COUNCIL OF ROGUES AND CUT-THROATS was
meeting
in Kabul (a 'government' brought in by U.S. B-52s), a tragedy took
place in
eastern Afghanistan which was step one in a new series of American
attacks on
Afghan villages.}
A convoy of vehicles carrying tribal elders was on the way to
Kabul from
Gardez to observe the opening ceremonies of the new government. On the
way,
the convoy was bombed by the heroic U.S. air force. All 15 civilian
vehicles
were hit and 65 civilians, including tribal elders, were killed.
In its first response to the report of 65 dead, the U.S. claimed
that the
convoy was attacked because there were THREE al-Qaeda members in it.
However, the tribal people protested and pointed out that this was
actually a group loyal to the new set-up and friendly to the U.S.! The
U.S.
then changed its report and claimed that a stinger had been fired at
its
planes from the convoy.
Pakistani reporters familiar with the ground say that the U.S. has
distributed satellite phones among its mercenaries in Afghanistan and
they
can call in air strikes if they suspect the presence of Al-Qaeda or
Taliban.
These agents often behave like U.S. highway police filling quotas for
tickets
given out. They call in air strikes to show that they are doing their
job for
the good money they are getting.
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However, following that attack, the U.S. has bombed eastern
Afghan
villages almost on a daily basis. Heavy civilian casualties have
resulted. In
one village alone on December 31, the U.S. killed 100 civilians,
according to
AP and Reuters.
According to Pakistani sources, the U.S. has killed 60,000 (SIXTY
THOUSAND) civilians in Afghanistan since the bombing began. The
information
cannot be verified but tallies well with the number of bombs dropped
with the
average of one bomb out of a hundred falling on civilians.
Documentation of civilian deaths from bombing is also going on.
Documentation is a difficult task because only those deaths are
documentable
which were reported and published by western media. According to this
process, the U.S. air force has killed 4,076 Afghan civilians.
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WHY THE CONTINUING BOMBING OF EASTERN AFGHANISTAN when the Taliban and
Al-Qaeda are eluding U.S. attacks successfully? Pakistanis say that the
U.S.
sees all PASHTUNS as potential Taliban and fears a resurgence of the
Islamic
movement which would unite Pakistani and Afghan Pashtuns under the
banner of
Islam, a mixture which would be more powerful than the original Taliban
movement.
The bombing is meant to destroy the movement in its initial stages.
Pakistanis however insist that the U.S. air force here is doing the
exact
opposite of its mission because the Pashtuns neither forgive nor forget
and
Islam gives them the right of BADAL or retaliation.
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NOW WE COME TO OUR MAIN STORY: Around December 21, a number of Al-Qaeda
slipped into Pakistan, about 35 of them. They were captured by
Pakistani
border forces owing to intelligence provided by the tribe whose area
they had
entered. They had made the error of entering the Parachinar district
where
the Shia sect has its center and these have always sided with
anti-Islam
forces.
The Al-Qaeda were arrested and were being taken away in transport
provided by
the Pakistani border force, a mercenary organization which once served
the
British. On the way, the Al-Qaeda members grabbed the guns of the
Pakistanis
and tried to capture the bus. In the shootout, the bus crashed with 7
people
killed on each side. The Pakistani forces surrounded the area and
brought in
helicopters to capture the escaped Al-Qaeda.
The Al-Qaeda members killed were dumped into a mass grave.
All this happened very quickly. As the news spread to nearby
villages,
the BELIEVERS asked for volunteers to go and honor the Al-Qaeda whom
the
villagers described as martyrs. A several thousand strong LASHKAR (or
volunteer force), armed and angry, marched to the grave. The Pakistani
troops, heavily outnumbered, withdrew after firing shots in the air.
The LASHKAR then dug up the bodies of the Al-Qaeda members, mostly
from
Yemen and Chechnya, kissed their faces, held janaza prayers and
re-buried
them with honor. In their speeches, the LASHKAR leaders made these
points:
1. These martyrs are the best of Muslims because they did both hijrah
and
jihad.
2. They gave up their homes and loved ones for the sake of Islam.
3. We are ashamed of the 'dogs' in human shape who betrayed and sold
these
martyrs.
4. O Allah have mercy on Pakistan. We have nothing to do with the acts
of
betrayal of this government. It does not represent us.
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The LASHKAR then advanced on the Sh'ite settlement which had informed
on the
Al-Qaeda members. The Sh'ites fled but the houses of their leaders were
set
on fire.
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Parts of this report were published in the daily NATION, a middle of
the road
English daily in Pakistan, on December 24. Urdu language papers have
also
given some of the details. The New York Times and International Herald
Tribune avoided the main story but reported that these tribesmen would
defend
any al-Qaeda, even Osama, if they sought refuge among them.
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2002-01-07 Mon 18:16ct