Pakistan: Al-Qaida, Taliban are not in Baluchistan

REPORTED BY BALOCHONLINE.COM


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pakistan government does not believe Taliban or al-Qaidaofficials have moved from the tribal border region to Pakistan'ssouthwestern-most province and would oppose expanding U.S. drone strikes there,a government official said Wednesday.The Pakistani reaction followed a New York Times report Tuesday that the Obamaadministration is considering proposals to expand air strikes into the provinceof Baluchistan to target al-Qaida and Taliban officials.U.S. intelligence officials believe some militant leaders have fled there toavoid the U.S. drone attacks in the lawless tribal region to the north. Theproposals are part of an ongoing larger review of U.S strategy in Pakistan andAfghanistan to counter terrorist organizations and help stabilize bothcountries, according to the Times."As far as we're concerned we do not think Taliban leadership or al-Qaida arepresent in Baluchistan or Quetta as some suggest," said a Pakistan embassyofficial, who asked for anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence issue."If there is any evidence of Taliban or al-Qaida, we are available forintelligence sharing and we will take immediate action," the official said."Pakistan has repeatedly objected to Predator drone strikes in the FederalAdministered Tribal Areas along Pakistan's northwest frontier with Afghanistan,believed by U.S. intelligence to be home to al-Qaida leaders. The Hellfiremissile strikes sometimes kill innocent bystanders and Pakistani officials saythey inflame anti-American sentiment.Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi declined to comment specificallyon the possibility of expanding the covert war into Baluchistan, but reiteratedWednesday that the U.S. had agreed to review the overall policy of dronestrikes."We have made them agree to think over it," he said. "In the next interaction,there is a chance to put this issue up for further discussion."Asked about reports that Pakistan has allowed the U.S. to use bases on its soilto land and launch the unmanned drones behind the missile strikes, Qureshi saidthe country "has not given uses of its bases for kinetic strikes."He declined to elaborate further, although the statement left open thepossibility that Pakistan hosts drones that simply conduct surveillance. Sen.Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, saidat a hearing last month that Pakistan allowed the aircraft to operate fromPakistani air bases.The White House's Afghan war strategy review is expected to place an onus onPakistan to contain extremism, according to defense and administration officialswho said it could be completed as early as this week.The in-house review coordinated by the White House National Security Councillays out objectives over three to five years, although that doesn't necessarilymean the U.S. military could leave in that time, defense officials said.The White House objectives were expected to roughly parallel 15 goals containedin a 20-page classified report to the White House from the Joint Chiefs ofStaff. Among them were getting rid of terrorist safe havens in Pakistan andadopting a regional approach to reducing the threat of terrorism and extremismin both countries.The U.S. goal in Afghanistan must be to protect Kabul's fragile government fromcollapsing under pressure from the Taliban, which can only be achieved bysecuring Pakistan's cooperation, increasing substantially the size ofAfghanistan's national security forces and boosting economic aid in the region,according to senior military and intelligence officials.