Share this story!            

Osama’s trail getting hot again

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: Pakistani and US intelligence believe they are “hot” on the trail of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and will be around him soon, a senior Pakistani official, who asked not to be named, told the news website Asia Times Online.

The official said information gleaned from Al Qaeda operative Abu Faraj al-Libbi during interrogation signalled a potential breakthrough in the hunt for Bin Laden. Libbi was interrogated by various agencies, including Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, Britain’s MI6 and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

President General Pervez Musharraf assigned the official to coordinate and oversee investigations involving recent Al Qaeda detainees in Pakistan. He said, “Libbi’s arrest is significant for Pakistan because he was involved in the assassination plots on Musharraf. Apparently we will not get Osama Bin Laden through Libbi and MI6 also share the opinion, that Libbi is little more than a foot soldier and not an operational chief. However, US interrogators have a different opinion and they call him the catch of the year.”

The official told Asia Times Online that Libbi’s arrest was not insignificant, since he highlighted Bajur Agency in the North West Frontier Province during interrogation and intelligence agencies found an Al Qaeda camp and arrested many important operatives, including an Uzbek.

However, the official refused to say whether the Uzbek was Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader Tahir Yaldevish, who has been reportedly seen in Pakistan’s tribal areas. “This is a state secret,” the official told the website.

The official said he could not divulge the captive’s name nor give any hints, but said there was big ‘head money’ on him and was quite sure that through him, intelligence agencies would be able to track down Bin Laden and surround his sanctuary. But he added, “At present, we are completely in the dark.”

“A breakthrough will come soon but will carry its own problems,” the official told Asia Times Online. He said that if Bin Laden’s location was pinpointed, a new debate would start on whether he should be arrested in Pakistan or not. “I am not part of a strategic community but my political acumen says that in the present drive we will find Bin Laden in our tribal areas. But we should try to push him to the other side of the border and let US troops arrest him because if he is arrested in Pakistan the army will lose face among the masses and there would be retaliation against the government beyond our comprehension, and then anything is possible…real terrorism, bloodshed and even a revolution.”

About his interrogation of the Uzbek, the official it had been “truly incredible.” He told the website that ideologies can and do differ but it is difficult not to be impressed by conviction. He said that he was a politician and compromise, retreat and lies were part of his business but, after spending an hour with the Uzbek, he had to admit that the prisoner had unbreakable conviction in his cause.

The official concluded his interview with Asia Time Online saying that he was monitoring things closely and the Bin Laden’s arrest was not far away, but whether it would bury extremism or spark it, was a different debate.

Home | Main

Share this story!