Army investigates reports of Hakimullah Mehsud’s death

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani army said it is investigating reports that Pakistani Taliban leader Hakeemullah Mehsud has died from injuries sustained in a US drone missile strike.

Pakistani army spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas said the army is using its agents in Pakistan’s northwest where the death is reported to have occurred to try to confirm or deny the reports.

Pakistani state TV reported earlier Sunday that Mehsud died in Orakzai tribal area, where he was reportedly being treated for his injuries. It cited ”official sources.”

Pakistani intelligence officials have said that Mehsud was hit in a US drone strike in South Waziristan on Jan. 14, triggering rumors he had been injured or killed. Mehsud issued two audio tapes after the strike denying the rumors. The state run TV also claimed that Mehsud had been buried in Tajaka village in Mamozai area of Orakzai Agency.

US Drone Shot Down in North Waziristan

NEWS JUST IN

MIRAMSHAH: A suspected US drone has been shot down in North Waziristan, sources said Sunday. The local tribesmen have claimed that they fired down the unmanned aircraft in Hamzoni area.

The unmanned aircraft came down in Humzoni area of Datta Khel in North Warisitan bordering Afghanistan, where there have been over 14 drone strikes over the past few weeks.

According to state TV, the drone was shot down while the tribesmen have also claimed that they fired down the pilotless aircraft.

Both the Pakistani and US authorities have maintained a silence on this officially, although it is suspected to be a warning to Langley from Pakistan’s Armed Forces to put an immediate halt to US airspace violations and missile attacks inside Pakistani territory. Relations between the two ‘allies’ appear to have taken a nose-dive in recent days.

Pakistan Army ‘Not Impressed’ With US Offered Drones
Pakistan to US: Are You With Us Or Against Us?

Pakistan Army ‘Not Impressed’ With US Offered Drones

“Too Little, Too Late, We Already Have Superior UAVs”

Mariana Baabar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan military sources say they are not impressed by the offer of the United States to supply RQ-7 Shadow Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), as they already have superior quality UAVs, which they have upgraded, and which are in use.

The disappointment is understandable since unlike the drones that fly and take out targets inside Pakistan’s Fata region, the ones being offered to Pakistan are unarmed and commonly used for intelligence gathering.

Later, when DG ISPR Major General Athar Abbas was asked about the overall weapons being provided to Pakistan for counterinsurgency and other military supplies, he remarked, “Too little, too late”.

It was US Defence Secretary Robert Gates who, in a meeting with the media at the residence of the US ambassador, said the US was enhancing Pakistan’s intelligence capabilities. He said the offer comes because Islamabad had requested for them. “We have a lot of information on the Afghan side that we share … we also help Pakistan build its own capacity. We will be providing them with UAVs (Shadow) together with equipment and training,” he said.

The Pakistan Army Fighting Back

Politically, by giving the Pakistani Taliban a chance for peace, General Kayani has won the sympathies of the people of the region and broad national support. The local population have also had a chance of looking at life under the Pakistani Taliban, a large part of whom are former thugs and thieves. This has bought the Pakistan Army a great deal of political mileage. Meanwhile, militarily the Pakistani Taliban are overstretched. They are also dangerously close to being strategically dissected, outflanked and caught with their pants down.

PakistanFirst: Interview with Gen Hamid Nawaz

India is involved in Swat and Pakistan is being destablized by forigen powers, says former interior minister General Hamid Nawaz. In this Editor’s Show of PakistanFirst we try to understand Pakistan’s security situation, Swat Deal and Drone attacks in Pakistan. We also discussed Pakistani airports being used for US drone attacks. General Hamid Nawaz confirms to us India’s involvement in Swat. Above all we try to figure what is the solution of Pakistan’s security Problem.

[LINK]

Related:
America Confusing Swat
US Aware India Supporting Pakistani Taliban
What About America’s Responsibility For The ‘AfPak’ Mess?
US must address Pakistan’s security concerns through South Asia diplomacy

America Confusing Swat

Swat is exactly what the demonization of Afghan Taliban and the creation of a fake ‘Pakistani Taliban’ is all about. Pakistan has supported Afghan Taliban, so create these monsters inside Pakistan, call them ‘Taliban’, make them kill ordinary Pakistanis mercilessly, and when anger builds up, point the finger at Pakistani military. What the Pakistani media is not noticing is how that everything that the so-called Pakistani Taliban does ends up supporting the U.S. government and military’s argument for boosting troops in Afghanistan and advocating U.S. military intervention in Pakistan. Swat peace deal is good for Pakistan; has nothing to do with America, is none of Europe’s business. There is no way to eliminate the insurgency in Afghanistan without political reconciliation inside Afghanistan itself. Drone attacks and peace deals in Pakistan are irrelevant.

Read Full Article | Ahmed Quraishi

The Forces Of International Terror

American leaders and “al Qaeda” share common enemies, wherever the conflict rages. In Pakistan, the next battlefield now being prepared, both seek to destabilize the government, to undercut Chinese gains, to attack Iran and to provoke a conflict with India. Every country in the Caucasus region and the greater Middle East has an “Islamic” insurgency that is putting pressure on the government to submit to US “counter-insurgency” assistance, while the US is offering sweetheart deals on resource development packages. If the insurgencies suddenly ended, there would be no social pressure pushing the governments to invite the American “Dracula” into their living rooms.

By Peter Chamberlin