As the ties between Pakistan and China grow stronger sources claim that "a big mission" has been assigned from South Waziristan that is aimed at shattering the writ of Musharraf in the country.
This region has become a base for fugitive Al-Qaeda fighters, hundreds of whom poured into the district after their Taliban hosts were driven from power by a US-led invasion.
Who is behind this ‘big mission’ to get rid of Musharraf, the United States, al Qaeda or China? Is Musharraf courting China because he perceives them to be a threat? Is the United States trying to get rid of Musharraf because he is leaning toward China? Is al Qaeda pushing to get rid of Musharraf because he is accused of conducting Pakistan’s campaign in the tribal area at the behest of the Americans? Is this why China has been urged to strengthen 2.5 million semi-military in Xinjiang? This will put 2.5 million Chinese semi-military troops up against the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Does China fear a Uighur uprising in Xinjiang if al Qaeda gains more of a foothold in the tribal areas? Is this why the United States has established a Uighur Government-in-Exile in Washington? #msg-4248304
Even more confusing is that China is a long time supporter of al Qaeda.
At any rate this ‘big mission’ if it comes to fruition will bring substantial changes and possibly heavy fighting.
This is only one area where al Qaeda has gained strength.
-Am
Pakistan-China ties will grow stronger, says Aziz
* Chinese state councilor calls on prime minister
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Sunday that China was Pakistan’s closest friend and that their friendship would become stronger.
China’s State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan called on Mr Aziz at Prime Minister’s House. The Chinese state councilor, who is a member of the State Council of China, is heading a high-level delegation to Pakistan. It is the first time a state council’s members has come on an official visit to any country.
Mr Aziz and Mr Jiaxuan discussed various bilateral, regional and international issues.
The prime minister praised Chinese workers for contributions to various projects in Pakistan. He said Chinese engineers and technicians were playing an important role in the growth of Pakistan’s economy. Mr Aziz assured Mr Jiaxuan that the government would take effective measures to protect Chinese working on various projects in Pakistan.
Mr Aziz condoled with Mr Jiaxuan on the death of one of the two Chinese hostages kidnapped in South Waziristan. He said the incident had strengthened the resolve of China and Pakistan to fight terrorism. The Chinese state councilor hoped that Pakistan would increase security for Chinese nationals.
Mr Aziz discussed various projects including the Gwadar port with the Chinese official.
Mr Aziz hoped that Chinese engineers would work with the same dedication and devotion they had been working in the past and would complete the Gwadar port project on schedule.
Mr Aziz informed the Chinese state councilor about dialogue with India and Pakistan’s efforts to bring peace to the region. He hoped that Pakistan and India would resolve the Kashmir dispute through dialogue.
Mr Jiaxuan said that China supported the dialogue process between India and Pakistan. He said both Pakistan and China supported efforts to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan. Mr Jiaxuan praised President Pervez Musharraf for starting dialogue with India. Mr Jiaxuan expressed hope that Mr Aziz would visit China very soon. The prime minister said he was looking forward to visit China and that he would open Pakistan’s consulate in Shanghai during the visit. Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, Minister of State for Sports, Youth and Culture Muhammad Ali Durrani, Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar, and Economic Affairs Secretary Dr Waqar Masood and were at the meeting.
Later, the prime minister hosted a dinner in honour of the Chinese delegation. app
China concerned over nationals' safety in Pakistan 18 Oct 2004 11:52:18 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Recasts with comments from Chinese official, Musharraf)
By Zeeshan Haider and Faisal Aziz
ISLAMABAD, Oct 18 (Reuters) - China voiced concern on Monday over the safety of its workers in Pakistan as Chinese engineers working on a dam project in a tribal region suspended operations after a colleague was killed in a hostage-taking drama last week.
Militants linked to al Qaeda abducted two Chinese engineers working on the Gomal Zam dam project in the South Waziristan tribal region, near the Afghan border, on Oct. 9.
One of the hostages, Wang Peng, was killed after army commandos launched a rescue operation last week.
China supplies Pakistan with military hardware and hundreds of millions of dollars in finance. Islamabad is concerned that the threat of Islamic militants, many of whom are hiding in tribal areas, could undermine economic ties with a major ally.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said he hoped the killing of Wang would not affect China's relations with its long-time ally, but said Beijing was concerned for the safety of its nationals in Pakistan.
"It is a reality that there is a danger to the life of Chinese engineers in Pakistan," he said, speaking through an Urdu interpreter to a delegation of elders from South Waziristan and other tribal areas.
"Chinese engineers and technicians working here (need to have) security assurances and their machinery and property should also be protected."
A senior official at Pakistan's Water and Power Development Authority, which is overseeing the dam project about 300 km (200 miles) southwest of Islamabad, earlier said the "traumatised" Chinese engineers had suspended work on the project.
"At the moment we are not pushing them to resume work," he said. "As soon as they are over the trauma, they will start working."
TRADITIONAL ALLY
An official statement said President Pervez Musharraf told a a Chinese government delegation that security for Chinese nationals working in Pakistan had been "further fortified".
Some 3,000 Chinese are working on about 100 developmental projects in Pakistan, and Musharraf noted that all projects assisted by China were progressing smoothly.
"The President expressed full satisfaction on the excellent cooperation at all levels that exist between Pakistan and China in all fields," the statement said.
Pakistan has also assured China it would hunt a former Guantanamo Bay inmate, Abdullah Meshud, who masterminded the abduction of the two engineers.
"Very soon action will be initiated against him," Mehmood Shah, head of security in tribal regions, said in Islamabad.
Abdullah, who belongs to the Mehsud tribe, one of two major Pashtun clans in South Waziristan, was freed from Guantanamo Bay in March after the Pentagon said he no longer posed a threat to the United States.
But since his release, the one-legged militant has made little effort to keep a low profile, giving interviews to local journalists throughout the kidnap drama.
"We know the general area where he is but he is rapidly shifting his positions right now," Shah said. "He spends a night here and a night there. But he knows that we are now getting him."
Militants with links to the al Qaeda network are incensed by Pakistan's support for the U.S.-led war on terror, and have launched attacks on Western concerns since 2001.
More ammunition for Musharraf's foes By Syed Saleem Shahzad
October 20, 2004
KARACHI - In the wake of a controversial law passed by the lower house of parliament last week allowing Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf to remain as chief of army staff and head of state at the same time, despite a constitutional pledge that he would not do so, political analysts see nothing but trouble from both politicians and sections of the army opposed to the move.
At the same time, any vulnerability shown by Musharraf in the face of this opposition will be exploited by a resurgent "Pakistani al-Qaeda".
The latest political row started last Thursday when the Lower House passed a bill empowering Musharraf to stay on as army chief, despite his constitutionally enshrined and public pledge last year to quit the post by the end of the year.
The law was passed by a simple majority amid noisy protests by opposition members from the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Islamic bloc and the secular Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD). The House was plunged into pandemonium again on Friday as opposition deputies sprang to their feet and shouted slogans against Musharraf and the "black law".
Musharraf said in a nationwide broadcast last December 24 that he would relinquish the military post by the end of 2004. Musharraf acknowledged that a president in uniform was "undemocratic" and said he had made his decision for better political harmony in the country. Musharraf's pledge was part of a deal with the MMA, which in turn backed the passage in parliament of Constitutional Amendment 17, which validated Musharraf's presidency and sweeping powers, including the power to dismiss parliament.
Analysts tell Asia Times Online that a constitutional crisis is likely to ensue that will serve as a catalyst for diverse pressure groups, including anti-Musharraf officers still in abundance in the army, opposition political parties, and the "Pakistani al-Qaeda" - hundreds of jihadi cells that have been established across the country - to bring about Musharraf's downfall.
Constitutional crisis Speaking to Asia Times Online in an exclusive interview in Karachi, the retired chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Saeeduzzam Siddiqui, maintained that at present there is no real crisis. However, Pandora's box will open on January 1 when, under Constitutional Amendment 17, which was passed by parliament with a two-thirds majority, Article 63 (1)d will be operative, under which the president will only be allowed to keep one office - either chief of army staff or president.
Saeed was appointed chief justice during Nawaz Sharif's administration (1997-99). When Musharraf ousted Sharif in a bloodless coup on October 12, 1999, he put the constitution "in abeyance". Musharraf then introduced a Provisional Constitutional Order under which the judiciary was forced to take fresh oaths. Several judges refused, including Saeed, and he stepped down. The government placed him under house arrest and the then-director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Lieutenant-General Mehmood Ahmed, pursued him for hours to take the oath, but he did not change his mind.
"You have to understand that the present legislation is not a constitutional amendment. They have only passed a law [by parliament with a simple majority] allowing Musharraf to hold two offices," Saeed said, explaining that the constitution of Pakistan presents a full package of articles that deal with the president's office, how it should be elected, a person's qualifications and disqualifications, etc. And then there is Article 260, which defines the situation further.
Saeed then explained in some detail the intricacies of the constitution and the agreement between the opposition MMA and the government that has to date allowed Musharraf to wear two hats, and as a member of the armed forces to hold a political post.
At the heart of the issue is the agreement, and even S M Zafar, who was the negotiator from the government side, said recently in his book that in terms of this accord Musharraf was legally bound to leave one office prior to January 1, 2005.
"However, these are all opinions. This matter shall have to be referred ultimately to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, as it is the sole competent authority which shall make an interpretation of these laws," Saeed said.
The political struggle The crisis is expected to see the ARD and the MMA forge "a greater religious-political alliance" in the near future to build up pressure against the Musharraf regime.
Core leaders of the MMA from all the provinces met in Islamabad on Monday to work out a strategy on how to react. The meeting was called by Qazi Hussain Ahmed, president of the alliance, who also apprised the provincial leaders of the MMA's dialogue with the ARD. "We have started consultations to form a grand alliance against the government and its national charter. We will go to the masses to kick off a campaign against General Pervez Musharraf," said Qazi at Parliament House after the opposition had registered its protest by boycotting proceedings of the National Assembly.
The acting parliamentary leader of the PML-Nawaz, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, and the deputy secretary general of the Pakistan People's Party, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, were also present and seconded the views of Qazi.
Qazi said that after mutual consultations the opposition would come out with details of the grand alliance. He also announced that the MMA did not accept Musharraf as president, either in uniform or out of it. "General Musharraf violated his own oath as an army officer and betrayed the promise made to the nation regarding quitting as army chief by December 31 this year," he said.
He said parliament had now lost its sovereignty and sitting in such a parliament was useless. "But for the time being the opposition has decided not to tender resignations from parliament and continue to build pressure on the government from inside and outside parliament," he added.
The PML-Nawaz's Nisar said that in the coming days the opposition would unite on a one-point agenda and would take to the streets with the support of the people. He was of the view that the government had turned parliament into a "rubber stamp" and impaired its sovereignty.
The government's response to the situation has been surprisingly aggressive, and according to a top MMA leader who spoke to Asia Times Online, they are expecting a show of force.
The media have already been put under immense pressure concerning events relating to the opposition parties, and the government has sent a clear message to media bosses that any defiance will be met with tough action. As a foretaste of this, the longest-running television show in Asia, View on News, was forced to withdraw a program in which its anchor and head of the channel, Dr Shahid Masood, questioned the recent shooting of Taliban-linked fugitive Amjad Farooqi by Pakistani security forces. He raised the issue of why he was not captured alive and given an open trial. The station was also threatened with closure in Pakistan.
Another channel was given a similar threat when it covered Farooqi's funeral, at which it reported a huge number of people - more than 12,000.
In the current environment in Pakistan, political turmoil is the last thing the authorities want as law-enforcement agencies will be distracted from keeping a watch on anti-Musharraf army officers, who have already projected themselves as "free officers" through letters to the media. Musharraf spoke about these officers after a failed attempt on his life late last year by clearly mentioning an army connection. Musharraf's latest attempts to consolidate all his power give his opponents further reason to try again to oust him.
Al-Qaeda-linked jihadis are also awaiting their moment. Contacts tell Asia Times Online that they are lying low at present to see how things will pan out in the near future. In general, according to the contacts, the jihadis simply want to remove Musharraf, as they feel his replacement would be weak and more easily manipulated.
Syed Saleem Shahzadis Bureau Chief, Pakistan, Asia Times Online. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com.
(Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com for information on our sales and syndication policies.)
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