Eavesdropping on Iran: ‘US pressing for listening posts in Balochistan’
Tribune: Eavesdropping on Iran: ‘US pressing for listening posts in Balochistan’
ISLAMABAD:
Everyone wants to have a hand to play in Balochistan.
The latest player to unmask itself is the United States. Even as tensions brew between Pakistan and the US over a resolution introduced in the US House of Representatives seeking sovereignty for the volatile province, officials reveal that the US has been pushing Islamabad for permission to establish bases in Balochistan for intelligence operations against bordering Iran.
“Like always, things are not what they look like, and how they unfold … lies at the heart of all (this). The outburst in America for Balochistan is part of an ambition to set up intelligence bases close to the Iranian border,” an official told The Express Tribune on Sunday, indicating that the Congressional hearing and proposed resolution were playing their part as pressure tactics.
“They (Americans) want to use our soil against Iran, which we can never allow,” said the official, who did not want to be named.
Three officials, two from the security agencies and one from diplomatic circles, confirmed to The Express Tribune that American diplomats and military leaders have been requesting permission for their agents to operate near the Iranian border in Balochistan.
The revelation came days after a bill was moved in the House of Representatives, blaming Pakistani security agencies for forceful disappearances and extra-judicial killings in Balochistan and calling for the liberation of the country’s largest province. It also follows the visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Pakistan for a trilateral summit.
Officials said that ostensibly, US authorities were seeking Pakistan’s permission to establish bases in Balochistan, claiming to counter the activities of the Afghan Taliban, whom they blame for operating out of the provincial capital under the umbrella of the so-called Quetta Shura. Islamabad, however, denies the presence of any such Taliban shura or council.
The proposed resolution adds to the rising chorus of voices across the country pointing fingers over the troubles of the violence-ridden province, including the Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) which has vowed to introduce a resolution in the National Assembly, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and even the Pakistan Bar Council among others.
The international front
Running parallel to the Balochistan saga is the recent rising concern in the West over purported Iranian ambitions to build nuclear arsenal. Reports in the recent past suggest American and Israeli authorities are starting to run out of patience, and the threat of Israeli military action against defiant Iran is a growing one.
Just last week, President Ahmadinejad reportedly urged Pakistani authorities to disallow Americans from reinforcing their presence at a consulate in Quetta.
Trilateral summit statement
Earlier last week, a joint declaration was issued at the conclusion of the Pakistan-Iran-Afghanistan summit in Islamabad, where all three sides vowed to put up collective resistance to any new misadventure by any force in the region.
Experts say the statement was a veiled reference to American ambitions to put an end to Iran’s nuclear drive.
In December last year, President Asif Ali Zardari delivered a speech at a gathering of Pakistan Peoples Party workers, saying he would never allow his country to become part of any other war theatre in the region.
“We are the well wishers of all and don’t want to make any more enemies,” the president said in remarks that officials interpreted as a snub to American pressure seeking permission for anti-Iran intelligence operations.
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Israel, India and the Persian Puzzle – By: Aijaz Zaka Syed
This is perhaps what the expression ‘setting the cat among the pigeons’ means. Just when Israel was putting up that little show, going around theworld crying about the way Iran was targeting its peaceful diplomats around the world, the ayatollahs come up with their own little performance taking everyone’s breath away.
Not that Ahmadinejad didn’t warn us. As always, everyone was sufficiently intimated of the glad tidings on the nuclear front were on their way. Yet it was a master stroke. Give the Iranians their due. If the Israelis are known for their cunning and craft of obfuscation and manipulation, it’s not easy beating the Persians at mind games either. After all, they invented the game of chess.
Defying years of Western sanctions and the endless talk of war by Israel, the Iranians seem to have gotten another decisive step closer to their goal.And they have all the players and pawns where they want them to be. And for all their bluff and bluster, Israel and its guardian angels can’t do much about it.
As a former Indian envoy to Iran put it, this is like the classic Persian puzzle. Iran takes one step forward and waits and watches for the reaction of adversaries before taking the next cautious step. Call it the Persian incrementalism or whatever but it seems to have worked so far.
The calibrated ‘diplomatic incidents’ in New Delhi, Georgia and Bangkok were of course a stroke of brilliance. They were apparently meant to hit two birds with one stone: First, pin the blame on Iran, as Netanyahu did within minutes of the Delhi blast calling Tehran ‘the biggest exporter of international terror,’ and create a credible pretext to hit the Islamic republic.
Second, derail the growing Iran-India relationship. The Israelis and Americans haven’t been too pleased with India’s refusal to stop buying the Iranian oil after recent sanctions. By the way India isn’t the only one to do so. China, Japan and South Korea too have refused to toe the Western line.
But Israel has been there and done it all so many times before that these shenanigans do not fool the world anymore. These attacks purportedly targeting Israeli diplomats are rather too convenient and perfect to be genuine. Notwithstanding Ahmadinejad’s punch-drunk love of Israel andpreoccupation with its past and future, the Iranians are not stupid.
At a time when they are isolated internationally and the West is looking for an excuse to punish it, why would they stick out their neck and resort to something as suicidal as this? As Dr Trita Parsi, the Iran hand at Johns Hopkins University and author of Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States agues, why would they do something so foolish as this and that too in New Delhi? It’s an insult to the Iranians’ intelligence.
India is, after China, Iran’s biggest trading partner and importer of Iranian oil. Besides, the two have shared a quiet partnership since Russians left Afghanistan. It has even survived the Indian vote against Iran in the IAEA. Incidentally, Thailand is another major trading partner of the Islamic republic. So why would the Iranians choose the distant tourist paradise to settle scores with the Israelis, hurting their own interests?
Secondly, in both India and Thailand, it’s the Israelis who have been quick to declare that the sticky bombs used in Delhi, Bangkok and Tbilisi are similar to the ones used in killing four Iranian nuclear scientists over the past two years. Be that as it may, how does that link them to Tehran? Indeed, having repeatedly used the device to deadly effect against the Iranians, why couldn’t the Israelis have used it again in Indian, Georgian and Thai capitals?
The detention of an Iranian, who blew up his legs while handling the explosives, proves nothing. It’s hardly a secret the Israelis and Americans have been using the Mujahideen-e-Khalq terrorists against Iran.
The Israeli embassy on Aurangzeb Road in New Delhi exists in the sniffing distance of the Prime Minister’s residence. It’s a high security zone with theelite ‘Z’ security force monitoring every inch of the area every minute. So how come that red bike got so close to the embassy car and got away after sticking that bomb? No wonder Israeli watchers suspect all this is part of a campaign to corner Iran and fortify the case for the war that the world has been waiting with bated breath for some time.
I hate a triumphal I-told-you-so but this is what many of us have feared and warned about all along. That Israel and its enablers in the US establishment are hell-bent on sparking another Western war to destroy another oil-rich Muslim country. This is what happened in the case of Iraq. Remember the comical claims linking Iraq to 9/11 and Niger uranium, not to mention Tony Blair’s 45-minute strike talk?
As the West turns up the heat on Iran by way of economic sanctions, trade blockade, and crippling of its banks, coupled with the rising chatter of coming war, the region has been on the razor’s edge for months now. All that is needed is a tiny spark to blow it all up. A minor skirmish here, a misunderstanding there or a perfect false flag in distant lands could prove excuse enough for a full blown conflagration with catastrophic consequences.
That moment seems to have arrived with the explosions in India, Georgia and Thailand. Israel is desperately looking for a pretext–or a provocation–to punish Iran. With the arrival of US poll season and Europe being preoccupied with its economic mess, perhaps there cannot be a better time to do so. But it’s easier said than done. Israel cannot do so on its own without the US help. If it was doable, Israel would have done it by now. Iran is not Iraq.
Unlike Iraq’s Osirak plant which Israel bombed in 1981, Iranian nuclear installations are heavily fortified, many of them underground and spread all across the country, not to mention the forbidding distance. Besides, an Israeli strike might put back the nuclear clock but wouldn’t stop it, especially now when Tehran appears to be a screw-turn away from going full nuclear if it wants. Iran’s leaders of course insist it is for ‘peaceful’ purposes and that they aren’t interested in the ‘satanic arms.’
Even though a demonstration of the capacity doesn’t mean willingness, would you be terribly surprised if Tehran indeed goes for the nukes? GivenIsrael’s terrorizing of the region over the past six decades and West’s hegemonic wars, it’s actually tempting and makes sense to go for the comforting reassurance that a couple of nukes seem to inspire.
More to the point, what right does Israel–and other world powers–have to lord over their nuclear arsenal while the rest of the world has to submit itself to the IAEA scrutiny? If the international community is indeed serious about a nuke-free world, it has to first address this NPT duplicity. Nuclear weapons are a clear and present danger to the Middle East and the world, no matter who owns them.
A mad dog barking.
Tribune:Will support US, Nato or Indian intervention: Brahamdagh Bugti
QUETTA: Supporting the US congressional bill on Balochistan, Baloch Republican Party’s self-exiled chief Brahamdagh Bugti has welcomed all foreign intervention in the province whether it is by the US, Nato or India.
“America must intervene in Balochistan and stop the ethnic cleansing of Baloch people,” said Brahamdagh, 30, as reporters listened with rapt attention to his telephonic address on Wednesday at the Quetta Press Club. “We know that foreign countries have their personal interest but we must think of our greater interest.”
A resolution was introduced on February 17 by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and co-sponsored by two other congressmen in the US House of Representatives, calling upon Pakistan to recognise the Baloch people’s right to self determination. The bill has outraged Pakistan and leaders and lawmakers have called it against the country’s sovereignty and an unwelcome intervention by the US.
“Baloch women, political leaders, activists, students, writers, poets, professors and intellectuals are being subjected to enforced disappearances and undergoing torture for years. Their mutilated bodies turn up daily. Under such circumstances, we will welcome the support of foreign countries,” he said. “We have been accused of getting support from India but the Baloch movement does not have any foreign support. However, we will welcome any support for independence.”
Balochistan, Pakistan’s least developed but largest province by area, has undergone a separatist insurgency since the country’s inception. The insurgency escalated into rampant violence after the 2006 murder of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, the grandfather of Brahamdagh Bugti.
“The American resolution and committee formed for Balochistan is not against the sovereignty of Pakistan. Every country has the right to interfere or intervene [in another’s affairs] if there are state-sponsored human rights violations,” he said.
‘They are protecting Punjab’s sovereignty’
Sceptical of mainstream politicians’ and media attention to Balochistan’s affairs, Brahamdagh said the change of heart was rooted in apprehensions over Punjab’s sovereignty. “Pakistani politicians like Nawaz Sharif are now visiting Balochistan and inquiring about the plight of Baloch people. There are discussions and talks on TV channels and print media in recent days about Balochistan. Because they are now worried about the sovereignty of Punjab and [want] to protect Punjab’s interest.”
If they were sincere, he said, they should have raised the issue of enforced disappearances, mutilated bodies of Baloch youth and leaders earlier.
Reiterating his stance that there is violation of human rights in Balochistan by security forces and agencies, Brahamdagh said that Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had said that there was no military operation in the province and must stop denying the truth now.
Brahamdagh pointed out that if the lawmakers believe that the situation in Dera Bugti, Kohlu and adjoining areas is normal, they should allow free access to the region for journalists, international humanitarian organisations and citizens.
‘No negotiations’
When asked about an all-parties conference that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had announced over the crisis in Balochistan, Brahamdagh said that Baloch nationalist leaders will not join negotiations. “One the one hand, they are calling an APC while on the other, they are brutally killing Baloch people and throwing their bullet-riddled, mutilated bodies,” he said.
Brahamdagh called on Balochistan Governor Zulfiqar Magsi and Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani to also join the Baloch movement, leaving behind their “temporary” and “personal” interest as they will not achieve anything but humiliation from supporting the Pakistani government. “If they do not want to join the movement, they should resign from office and sit quietly because the Baloch movement is nearing its destination. Efforts are being made to unify the rank of Baloch leaders.”
When asked about the recent killing of his sister and niece in Karachi, Brahamdagh said that such brutalities will not compel him to withdraw or surrender from the struggle.
He also lashed out at the ultra-conservative Difa-e-Pakistan Council, which has announced a public gathering on February 27 in solidarity with the Baloch people. “Where were they when Baloch women, children and youth were being picked up and brutally killed by security forces? There is no influence of Jihadi elements in Balochistan. These religious parties are backed by security agencies,” he said.
The News: CIA carving out new role – By: Farrukh Saleem
ISLAMABAD: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), led by David Petraeus the former Commander, US Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A), has a strategic, multidimensional interest in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province. In March 2011, The Peninsula, Qatar’s leading English language daily, revealed that the “CIA is indulging in heavy recruitment of local people as agents (each being paid $500 a month) in Balochistan to locate members of the Quetta Shura, a term used by the Americans for Mullah Omar-led Taliban commanders.”
Over the long term, the CIA has an interest in keeping the strategically important Port of Gwadar out of China’s influence. Over the short to medium term, the CIA also has an interest in supporting Jundallah, also known as People’s Resistance Movement of Iran (PRMI), a violent organization that claims to be “fighting for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran.”
David Petraeus is now bent upon carving out an additional role for the CIA-one that of becoming a mediator between the Baloch Ajoee Lashkar, the Baloch Liberation Front, the Baloch Awami Azadi Mahaiz, the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) and the Balochistan Liberation United Front all on one side and the Pakistan Army on the other. If the CIA is successful in capturing the mediator’s role in the Balochistan conflict, the CIA will gain additional leverage over the ISI and thus an upper hand in the Afghan endgame.
As things stand right now Baloch belligerents are not even willing to sit across the table and negotiate a ceasefire. What the CIA has going in its favor is the massive and growing-trust deficit between Baloch militants and the generals of the Pakistan Army. The eventual settlement would have to be negotiated on the negotiating table but the CIA is hopping that they will have a role to play as a mediator-cum-guarantor.
Disintegration of a state is a rare phenomenon. Disintegration of Pakistan is neither in the interest of international powers nor are they really capable of affecting a split at this stage. Bangladesh isn’t a parallel because Balochistan is a contagious province and Balochistan on its own will not be an economically feasible entity. Time, however, is of essence. India is playing spoiler and things are getting from bad to worse.
Incompetent morons running the affairs of a thoroughly corrupt to the core fu*ked up nation. CIA does not need to spend $500 they can just “have” any Paki for the promise of a Green card.
Dawn: Three FC men shot dead after ‘BLA court’ verdict
QUETTA: Bullet-riddled bodies of three missing Frontier Corps personnel were found near Machh town, some 70km east of Quetta, on Saturday, officials said.
The personnel went missing after militants attacked four FC check-posts in Margat coalmines area of Machh last month, killing over a dozen security men and injuring several others.
The militants also ambushed FC personnel when they were coming to Margat after receiving information about the attack on check-posts. The militants later claimed to have kidnapped three members of the paramilitary Frontier Corps. The FC officials had confirmed that three of their men were missing.
A spokesman for the BLA informed media personnel that an ‘investigation’ against the FC men had found them involved in the torture of Baloch militants and therefore “the BLA court awarded death sentence to them”.
After they received information about the presence of three bodies near a hotel in Machh on Saturday evening, the Levies personnel rushed to the place and took the bodies to hospital where the FC officials recognised them.
The three were identified as Lance Naik Mohammad Yousuf, Lance Naik Tosiq and Sepoy Rashid Ali.
“Multiple bullet wounds were visible on the bodies of the FC personnel,” Assistant Commissioner Machh Atiqur Rehman said, adding that the bodies were handed over to the FC officials.
And our media and intellectuals wants to talk with these fuckers. Same media and intellectuals go in uproar when any tlks with TTP is mentioned. BLA and its ilks are nothing but another version of TTP. Its high time a military operation be conducted and get rid of these assholes.