The Telegraph has confirmed The Long War Journal‘s report from Sept. 21 which stated that Amin al Haq, the former head of Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard, has been released from Pakistani custody. From yesterday’s report in The Telegraph:
A senior security source in the north-western Pakistani town of Peshawar, where he had been held, said the Inter-Services Intelligence agency had passed al-Haq on to the police before he was released earlier this month.
“Amin al Haq had been arrested mistakenly, therefore, the police failed to prove any charge of his association with Osama bin Laden and the court set him free,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
Pakistan has a poor track record of convicting terrorists, blamed in part on an ill-equipped police force and an overstretched judicial service.
However, critics accuse elements of the security services of turning a blind eye to extremist groups.
Keep in mind that al Haq is on the US’ list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists and is a known member of al Qaeda. For more on al Haq, see LWJ report, Pakistan frees al Qaeda commander.
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10 Comments
This cat and mouse chase is really getting on my nerves. The US is in no position to punish Pakistan. It has neither the will nor the capability. Lets face it! Pakistan knows this and is yanking the US’s chain. In the end Pakistan is going to go scott-free leaving the US red-faced.
Pakistan is in no way going to implode or cease to exist. Even if it does, remember, the region of Af-Pak will still remain a hot-bed on fundamentalist and rabidly anti-US Wahhabi fanatics. So whether the country of Pakistan exists or not is a moot point.
The only solution is a total all out war against Pakistan, demolishing its entire Jihadi infrastructure, disbanding its Army and ISI and forcing a pacifist constitution on it. But given its size, nuclear weapons, backing from the Muslim world and China coupled with stupidity of NATO and US and timidity of India and Russia, (Pakistan Army + ISI + Taliban)’s Af-Pak empire will continue to flourish just the way Ottoman empire flourished 700 years ago!
The same over stretched police and judicial system with time to arrest innocent people for blasphemy.
Safest bet ever that this was going to occur.
Pakistan against the world in the name of Islam.The US taxpayer pays their enemy with military aid.
@Jimmy: Re: ” The US is in no position to punish Pakistan. ”
The following may be just a pin prick but it is something we all can do. The CIA World Factbook says that textiles account for most of Pakistan’s export earnings thus, as individuals, we can punish Pakistan by boycotting Pakistani textiles and other Pakistani goods. The next time you buy a textile, clothes, drapes or rugs for example, look at the label, if the country of origin is Pakistan, then leave the product on the shelf. Email the company that owns the store, tell them they are selling goods from the same country that harbored OBL and killed our service members.
Actually these type of developments work to the US’s advantage. One of the principal common denominators among the Taliban & their affiliates is the murderous infighting constantly in play. Unleashing another psychopath into the mix is just what ‘the doctor’ ordered.
@Nic
Great idea, I seriously do that myself. Not only Pakistan, but even goods made in China should be left on the shelf.
But the important fact to understand is that Pakistan is no longer worried about economy or its exports. It has been a basket-case for almost 20 years now. Its Army ISI don’t care if their population eats grass so long as they are able to forward the Wahhabi idealogy, either through war, terrorism, deception, overpopulation or screwing its ally – the US. For this reason, the state of Pakistan (I mean the real power – Pak Army and ISI) should be demolished!
Another generation was up to the challenge. It resulted in the Berlin air lift. We have the ability and assets for a complete air lift- its about fifty percent now. Cut Pakistan off–Completely no money! Direct ground and air attacks into the territories. Terminate all communications except direct contact with their military to warn them they will be eliminated if they are in the areas we attack. Any attempt at air intervention take out not only the offender but their complete air force- do this while we have enough forces in country.
Pakistan and China are currently in the throes of a courtship;
Chinese Vice Prime Minister Meng Jianzhu said,
Nic, the CIA has it wrong.
Terror, not textiles, are Pak’s
primary source of export earnings!
They should know better 😉
Well, i’m sort of half kidding…
You make a good point.
Two other products come to mind:
Rice and sports equipment….
Perhaps, footballs, cricket bats,
hockey sticks and the like
Iran and Pakistan has signed a security pact, US influence keeps diminishing, Iranian influence keeps increasing
http://presstv.com/detail/201762.html
Instead of doing something that will obviously give the enemy more ammo, we should instead subvert them by opening Pakistan’s economy to the US markets further, support self-determination in the provinces, do what is necessary to keep the terrorists from getting yet more willing nobodies (thanks to stagnant economy over there) by not making them “nobodies” anymore.
Pakistan must be subverted…not the people who live there.