Top Al Qaeda strategist killed in Pakistan
WASHINGTON: A US drone strike in Pakistan killed one of Al Qaeda’s most powerful figures, the US government announced yesterday, dealing the biggest in a series of blows to the militant group since the raid that killed founder Osama bin Laden last year.
Abu Yahya al-Libi, a veteran militant said to have been a leader of the group’s operations, and who survived previous US attacks, was killed in the drone strike early Monday morning on a hideout in North Waziristan in Pakistan’s tribal areas, officials said.
The White House called Libi’s death a “major blow” to Al Qaeda, and claimed that it will be hard for the group to find someone of similar stature to replace him.
But even as Al Qaeda’s core group, now led by Ayman al-Zawahri, has faced mounting losses, its affiliates elsewhere – particularly in Yemen – have continued planning attacks on US and other Western targets.
And the drone strikes, which have escalated in number over the last two weeks, have deeply angered Pakistan’s government, contributing to unrelenting tensions between Washington and Islamabad.
Pakistan yesterday called in the US charge d’affaires to its foreign ministry to convey “serious concerns” over the drone strikes, a ministry statement said.
For the United States, Libi had been one of Al Qaeda’s most dangerous figures.
Recently released letters written by bin Laden and captured during the US raid in which he was killed last year show Libi to have been one of a handful of Al Qaeda officials relied upon by bin Laden to argue Al Qaeda’s case to a worldwide audience of militants, in particular to the young.
Libi, a cleric whose real name was Mohamed Hassan Qaid, escaped from US custody in Afghanistan in 2005 and on at least one previous occasion was prematurely reported to have been killed in a US drone strike.
A Pakistani Taliban leader, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location, said Libi “had been living in the Mirali area for quite a while. Most of the people from his group were also in Mirali. When the first missile hit, they went to the house to check the damage.”
“And immediately, another missile hit them at the spot. Unfortunately, Sheikh sahib (Libi) was martyred. This is a big loss, he was a great scholar. After doctor Sahib (Zawahri), he was the main Al Qaeda leader,” the Pakistani Taliban leader said.
US President Barack Obama has made strikes against anti-US militants, and particularly the killing of bin Laden, a major component of his bid for re-election in November.
Sajjan Gohel, chief executive of the Asia-Pacific Foundation security research consultancy, said Libi was one of the few remaining key figures within Al Qaeda’s core.
He “has also been at the center of Al Qaeda’s plans to reconstitute itself and try and remount a trans-national terror campaign. This is one of the reasons he was viewed as a high value target,” he told Reuters by email.
Still, some analysts say the death of an Al Qaeda leader does not necessarily spell disaster for the group, arguing it is decentralised and offers inspiration to militants and not just logistical support or financing.
“Even if he’s killed it doesn’t matter much to the organisation as long as Dr Zawahri remains alive,” said Imtiaz Gul, author “The Most Dangerous Place”, a book about the lawless border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
But Jarret Brachman, a terrorism expert who consults for US government agencies, said that in his view, in its recent configuration, the coherence of Al Qaeda’s core organisation was entirely dependent on two men: Zawahri and Libi, whose activities Brachman says he had tracked closely since 2005.
Brachman said that his view is that Libi’s death is a “cataclysm” for Al Qaeda’s core group in terms of their ability to organise and continue to spread their ideology. “There’s nobody left” in the central organisation if Zawahri at some point is killed or otherwise taken off the battlefield, Brachman said.
He said that Al Qaeda central still had a few operatives who were capable of “blowing people up.” But in terms of being able to present a coherent ideology and theology to potential followers, Libi’s death was a major blow to the organisation. “He was their theological pitbull,” Brachman said.
Abu Yahya al-Libi, a veteran militant said to have been a leader of the group’s operations, and who survived previous US attacks, was killed in the drone strike early Monday morning on a hideout in North Waziristan in Pakistan’s tribal areas, officials said.
The White House called Libi’s death a “major blow” to Al Qaeda, and claimed that it will be hard for the group to find someone of similar stature to replace him.
But even as Al Qaeda’s core group, now led by Ayman al-Zawahri, has faced mounting losses, its affiliates elsewhere – particularly in Yemen – have continued planning attacks on US and other Western targets.
And the drone strikes, which have escalated in number over the last two weeks, have deeply angered Pakistan’s government, contributing to unrelenting tensions between Washington and Islamabad.
Pakistan yesterday called in the US charge d’affaires to its foreign ministry to convey “serious concerns” over the drone strikes, a ministry statement said.
For the United States, Libi had been one of Al Qaeda’s most dangerous figures.
Recently released letters written by bin Laden and captured during the US raid in which he was killed last year show Libi to have been one of a handful of Al Qaeda officials relied upon by bin Laden to argue Al Qaeda’s case to a worldwide audience of militants, in particular to the young.
Libi, a cleric whose real name was Mohamed Hassan Qaid, escaped from US custody in Afghanistan in 2005 and on at least one previous occasion was prematurely reported to have been killed in a US drone strike.
A Pakistani Taliban leader, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location, said Libi “had been living in the Mirali area for quite a while. Most of the people from his group were also in Mirali. When the first missile hit, they went to the house to check the damage.”
“And immediately, another missile hit them at the spot. Unfortunately, Sheikh sahib (Libi) was martyred. This is a big loss, he was a great scholar. After doctor Sahib (Zawahri), he was the main Al Qaeda leader,” the Pakistani Taliban leader said.
US President Barack Obama has made strikes against anti-US militants, and particularly the killing of bin Laden, a major component of his bid for re-election in November.
Sajjan Gohel, chief executive of the Asia-Pacific Foundation security research consultancy, said Libi was one of the few remaining key figures within Al Qaeda’s core.
He “has also been at the center of Al Qaeda’s plans to reconstitute itself and try and remount a trans-national terror campaign. This is one of the reasons he was viewed as a high value target,” he told Reuters by email.
Still, some analysts say the death of an Al Qaeda leader does not necessarily spell disaster for the group, arguing it is decentralised and offers inspiration to militants and not just logistical support or financing.
“Even if he’s killed it doesn’t matter much to the organisation as long as Dr Zawahri remains alive,” said Imtiaz Gul, author “The Most Dangerous Place”, a book about the lawless border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
But Jarret Brachman, a terrorism expert who consults for US government agencies, said that in his view, in its recent configuration, the coherence of Al Qaeda’s core organisation was entirely dependent on two men: Zawahri and Libi, whose activities Brachman says he had tracked closely since 2005.
Brachman said that his view is that Libi’s death is a “cataclysm” for Al Qaeda’s core group in terms of their ability to organise and continue to spread their ideology. “There’s nobody left” in the central organisation if Zawahri at some point is killed or otherwise taken off the battlefield, Brachman said.
He said that Al Qaeda central still had a few operatives who were capable of “blowing people up.” But in terms of being able to present a coherent ideology and theology to potential followers, Libi’s death was a major blow to the organisation. “He was their theological pitbull,” Brachman said.
Pak agencies trying to kill me: Asma Jahangir
Lahore: Leading rights activist Asma Jahangir on Tuesday alleged that Pakistan’s military establishment had made plans to assassinate her, prompting civil society groups to condemn the threat to her life.
"Top security agencies have made plans to my assassinate me. But I want to tell them that I am not afraid of them. I will not leave Pakistan," Jahangir told a news conference in Lahore.
"The mindset of killing progressive and intellectual people in Pakistan should be stopped now. I am not going to accept this mindset," she said.
Asking the media not to confuse people in case she was assassinated, Jahangir said: "I have no personal enmity with anyone."
Jahangir said the information about the plot to assassinate her is genuine and that she had received it from a highly reliable source.
"If someone knows to fight with guns, then I know how to fight without guns," she said.
She said she did not want any probe or setting up of a commission to investigate the threat to her life as she had lost trust in such practices after the so-called probe into the abduction and murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad last year.
"The army and the 17 judges of Supreme Court have no right to take any decision about the future of Pakistan. Only the people of Pakistan have the right to decide their future themselves," she said.
The federal government has deployed paramilitary Pakistan Rangers personnel at Jahangir's house in Lahore to protect her, officials said.
"Top security agencies have made plans to my assassinate me. But I want to tell them that I am not afraid of them. I will not leave Pakistan," Jahangir told a news conference in Lahore.
"The mindset of killing progressive and intellectual people in Pakistan should be stopped now. I am not going to accept this mindset," she said.
Asking the media not to confuse people in case she was assassinated, Jahangir said: "I have no personal enmity with anyone."
Jahangir said the information about the plot to assassinate her is genuine and that she had received it from a highly reliable source.
"If someone knows to fight with guns, then I know how to fight without guns," she said.
She said she did not want any probe or setting up of a commission to investigate the threat to her life as she had lost trust in such practices after the so-called probe into the abduction and murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad last year.
"The army and the 17 judges of Supreme Court have no right to take any decision about the future of Pakistan. Only the people of Pakistan have the right to decide their future themselves," she said.
The federal government has deployed paramilitary Pakistan Rangers personnel at Jahangir's house in Lahore to protect her, officials said.
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Pakistani acid victims fear backlash over Oscar film
ISLAMABAD: Survivors of acid attacks whose plight became the focus of an Oscar-winning documentary now fear ostracism and reprisals if the film is broadcast in Pakistan.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy made history earlier this year when she won Pakistan’s first Oscar, feted across the country for exposing the horrors endured by women whose faces are obliterated in devastating acid attacks.
Her 40-minute film focuses on Zakia and Rukhsana as they fight to rebuild their lives after being attacked by their husbands, and British Pakistani plastic surgeon Mohammad Jawad who tries to help repair their shattered looks.
When “Saving Face” scooped a coveted gold statuette in the documentary category in Hollywood in February, campaigners were initially jubilant.
The Acid Survivors Foundation Pakistan (ASF) had cooperated on the film but some survivors now fear a backlash in a deeply conservative society — and are taking legal action against the producers.
“We had no idea it would be a hit and win an Oscar. It’s completely wrong. We never allowed them to show this film in Pakistan,” said Naila Farhat, 22, who features fleetingly in the documentary.
She was 13 when the man she refused to marry threw acid in her face as she walked home from Independence Day celebrations. She lost an eye and her attacker was jailed for 12 years.
After a long, painful recovery, she is training as a nurse.
“This is disrespect to my family, to my relatives and they’ll make an issue of it. You know what it’s like in Pakistan. They gossip all the time if they see a woman in a film,” said Farhat, taut skin where her left eye dissolved.
“We may be in more danger and we’re scared that, God forbid, we could face the same type of incident again. We do not want to show our faces to the world,” she said.
Lawyer Naveed Muzaffar Khan, whom ASF hired to represent the victims, said legal notices were sent to Obaid-Chinoy and fellow producer Daniel Junge on Friday.
The survivors, he said, “have not consented for it to be publicly released in Pakistan”, adding that such agreement was required for all the women who featured in the film, no matter how fleetingly.
Khan said the producers had seven days to agree not to release the film publicly in the country, or he would go to court to seek a formal injunction.
“They (survivors) were absolutely clear in their mind in not allowing any public screening as that would jeopardise their life in Pakistan and make it difficult for them to continue to live in their villages,” he told AFP.
But Obaid-Chinoy insisted the women signed legal documents allowing the film to be shown anywhere in the world, including Pakistan.
She told AFP that Rukhsana had been edited out of the version to be shown in the country out of respect for her concerns, adding she was “unclear about the allegations” and would respond to the legal complaints “when a court orders us”.
Rukhsana was not reachable for comment.
Many of the women are routinely threatened by their husbands or relatives and it is a television broadcast that they particularly fear.
“The accessibility is so wide scale, the chances are their lives are going to be threatened,” said the lawyer, Khan.
The producers promised that profits from screenings in Pakistan would go to Zakia and Rukhsana, but the row also hints at deeper differences between film-makers trying to tell a story and charity workers on the ground.
Some medical personnel, for example, believe it was wrong to focus on an expatriate doctor at the expense of countless local surgeons who have treated dozens of victims.
Others believe the film was too sensational and question whether it really will make a difference to the survivors struggling to live in Pakistan, where there are scores of such attacks each year.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy made history earlier this year when she won Pakistan’s first Oscar, feted across the country for exposing the horrors endured by women whose faces are obliterated in devastating acid attacks.
Her 40-minute film focuses on Zakia and Rukhsana as they fight to rebuild their lives after being attacked by their husbands, and British Pakistani plastic surgeon Mohammad Jawad who tries to help repair their shattered looks.
When “Saving Face” scooped a coveted gold statuette in the documentary category in Hollywood in February, campaigners were initially jubilant.
The Acid Survivors Foundation Pakistan (ASF) had cooperated on the film but some survivors now fear a backlash in a deeply conservative society — and are taking legal action against the producers.
“We had no idea it would be a hit and win an Oscar. It’s completely wrong. We never allowed them to show this film in Pakistan,” said Naila Farhat, 22, who features fleetingly in the documentary.
She was 13 when the man she refused to marry threw acid in her face as she walked home from Independence Day celebrations. She lost an eye and her attacker was jailed for 12 years.
After a long, painful recovery, she is training as a nurse.
“This is disrespect to my family, to my relatives and they’ll make an issue of it. You know what it’s like in Pakistan. They gossip all the time if they see a woman in a film,” said Farhat, taut skin where her left eye dissolved.
“We may be in more danger and we’re scared that, God forbid, we could face the same type of incident again. We do not want to show our faces to the world,” she said.
Lawyer Naveed Muzaffar Khan, whom ASF hired to represent the victims, said legal notices were sent to Obaid-Chinoy and fellow producer Daniel Junge on Friday.
The survivors, he said, “have not consented for it to be publicly released in Pakistan”, adding that such agreement was required for all the women who featured in the film, no matter how fleetingly.
Khan said the producers had seven days to agree not to release the film publicly in the country, or he would go to court to seek a formal injunction.
“They (survivors) were absolutely clear in their mind in not allowing any public screening as that would jeopardise their life in Pakistan and make it difficult for them to continue to live in their villages,” he told AFP.
But Obaid-Chinoy insisted the women signed legal documents allowing the film to be shown anywhere in the world, including Pakistan.
She told AFP that Rukhsana had been edited out of the version to be shown in the country out of respect for her concerns, adding she was “unclear about the allegations” and would respond to the legal complaints “when a court orders us”.
Rukhsana was not reachable for comment.
Many of the women are routinely threatened by their husbands or relatives and it is a television broadcast that they particularly fear.
“The accessibility is so wide scale, the chances are their lives are going to be threatened,” said the lawyer, Khan.
The producers promised that profits from screenings in Pakistan would go to Zakia and Rukhsana, but the row also hints at deeper differences between film-makers trying to tell a story and charity workers on the ground.
Some medical personnel, for example, believe it was wrong to focus on an expatriate doctor at the expense of countless local surgeons who have treated dozens of victims.
Others believe the film was too sensational and question whether it really will make a difference to the survivors struggling to live in Pakistan, where there are scores of such attacks each year.
Dr Afridi jailed for 33 years for helping CIA to catch OSAMA....
LANDI KOTAL: A local doctor accused of helping the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) acquire DNA samples of members of Osama bin Laden’s family was sentenced on Wednesday to 33 years in prison for treason.
Officials said Dr Shakil Afridi who worked as a government surgeon was also fined Rs320,000 and in case of default he would have to undergo an additional three years imprisonment.
They said Dr Afridi had been tried at the office of assistant political agent (APA) in Bara. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each under section 121 A (conspiracy to wage war against Pakistan or depriving it of its sovereignty), section 123 (concealing existence of a plan to wage war against Pakistan) and 123 A (Condemnation of the creation of the state and advocacy of abolition of its sovereignty) of the Pakistan Penal Code. He was sentenced to an additional three years in jail under section 124 (assaulting president, governor, etc, with intention to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power).
Officials said Dr Shakil Afridi who worked as a government surgeon was also fined Rs320,000 and in case of default he would have to undergo an additional three years imprisonment.
They said Dr Afridi had been tried at the office of assistant political agent (APA) in Bara. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each under section 121 A (conspiracy to wage war against Pakistan or depriving it of its sovereignty), section 123 (concealing existence of a plan to wage war against Pakistan) and 123 A (Condemnation of the creation of the state and advocacy of abolition of its sovereignty) of the Pakistan Penal Code. He was sentenced to an additional three years in jail under section 124 (assaulting president, governor, etc, with intention to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power).