August 9, 2005 ☼ Foreign Affairs
This is an archived blog post from The Acorn.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Pakistan’s opposition leader blew a few sample notes on his whistle this week.
“They (Gen Musharraf’s government) must also give the nation the identities of the men being moved from Waziristan to militant camps in Mansehra. This is hypocrisy. The rulers are not only trying to deceive the US and the West, but also hoodwinking the entire nation,†he added.
Earlier, Fazl had said that if pressured he would reveal facts that would open a Pandora’s box.
“We ask the rulers to reveal the identity of the people being transported to Afghanistan from Waziristan via Kaali Sarak in private vehicles, reveal who is supervising their trouble-free entry into Afghanistan and reasons for their infiltration,†he said.
The government would have to decide whether it wanted to support jihadis or close down their camps, he said, adding, “We will have to openly tell the world whether we want to support jihadis or crack down on them. We can’t afford to be hypocritical _anymore_†he said. [DT, emphasis added]The Americans will not be comforted to hear that their own ally in the war against terror is helping train and infiltrate terrorists who are shooting at their own troops in Afghanistan.
That Musharraf has tightened the pressure on Pakistan’s religious establishment in response to the renewed international attention after the London bombings is only partially true. Relations between Musharraf and the Islamic parties took a downturn after he played them out on the uniform issue. In the ensuing battle for political ground, Musharraf and the religious parties have been making life difficult for each other — the prizes being local elections this year and the general election in 2007 (if it is ever conducted). By having a gentle go at the whistle, the Maulana hopes to cut himself some slack and the General a bit to size.
Related Post: Maulana Fizzle
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