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Saturday,
October 6, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Counter-coup threat in Pak New Delhi, October 5 Diplomatic sources here said to add to the political chaos and cacophony in Pakistan, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Amir of the influential Jamaat-e-Islami, (JeI) today said in Lahore that people of Pakistan were in a mood to come to streets and topple the Musharraf regime for its stand on the Afghanistan scenario. According to information received here today through diplomatic channels, the Pakistani polity, in turmoil since the September 11 terror attacks on the USA, is nowadays witnessing an unusual phenomenon where people and parties are openly threatening a counter-coup against the Musharraf regime. At the same time, certain parties and outfits have come up in solid support for General Musharraf. Prominent fundamentalist organisation Jamaat-e-Ahle-Hadith has warned all religious leaders, especially those of the Council for Defence of Pakistan and Afghanistan, against starting a civil war in the country. Its secretary-general, Mian Abdul Haleem Jaanbaz, said in Lahore today that demonstrations against the government decision to support the world community against terrorism was badly damaging the national integrity and pushing the country towards a civil war. Justifying the decision of General Musharraf, he said his party’s stance was that the culprits of the September 11 attacks, whether Muslims, Jews or Christians, should be given exemplary punishment. On the other hand, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Amir of the JeI, said in Lahore today that peace could not be established as the recent terrorist attacks in the USA could not be attributed to the widespread global unrest against the present world order which was based on the hegemony of the USA. Chief of Sunni Tehrik, Mohammad Abbas Qadri expressed apprehension in Karachi today that the US arms build-up in the region was a conspiracy to destroy Pakistan’s nuclear capability. He said it was surprising that the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) was adopting a silent stand @and no meeting had been held after the September 11 attacks in which the entire world had rallied against the Muslims and labelled them as terrorists. Prof Ibrahim, Amir of the JeI (NWFP), while criticising General Musharraf, claimed that the USA had double standards, especially towards the Muslims. He predicted that the nation was confronted with the threat of retaliation by Afghans if Pakistani airspace were to be allowed to the Americans. Ms Ayesha Munawwar, secretary-general of the JeI addressing a seminar in Karachi today said that the USA was dictated by its greed for power and was actually preparing to colonise Afghanistan under the veil of its proposed anti-terrorist campaign in the region.  |
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Pervez set to continue as Army Chief Islamabad, October 5 It is not clear yet whether his decision to extend his service as Army Chief was discussed in last Wednesday’s joint meeting of the Cabinet and the National Security Council, but Pakistan newspaper, The Nation quoted officials today as saying that his term would be extended for an “unspecified period.” General Musharraf currently holds the posts of President, Chief Executive, Army Chief and Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Committee. He has already ensured his continuation in power by making his confidant and army’s senior most commander, Lt-Gen Mzaffar Husain Usmani, as Deputy Chief of the Army Staff in May this year. He also consolidated his power with periodic reshuffles in the army command structure. The officials, according to the newspaper, see no problem as former Pakistan military ruler Zia-ul-Haq had also extended his services as Army Chief for an indefinite peirod.
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Taliban’s strategy against US plans Islamabad, October 5 Russian news agency, Novosti, quoting the Pakistani daily The News, said Taliban’s strategy is to enlist the support of former Mojahed commanders and chiefs of Pashtoon tribes by playing on feelings of freedom-loving Pashtoons. Other contemplated allies include Pakistani radical parties and ethnic Pashtoons serving in the Pakistani army and the police. The idea behind the plan is to retaliate against Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf’s decision to support the USA in its struggle against terrorism by stirring up discontent amidst Pakistani society, the agency, quoting the news report, said. Meanwhile, several outstanding Afghan commanders and Mojahed leaders, including Gulbeddin Hekmatyar, Yunus Khalili and Nabi Mohammad, have already declared their intention to side with the Taliban in case the US attacks Afghanistan, Novosti said.
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Taliban’s days seem numbered Islamabad, October 5 Italian Foreign Ministry officials confirmed that former Afghan monarch Mohammed Zahir Shah had received a letter from Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf requesting the urgent dispatch of an envoy to Islamabad for talks on the political future of Afghanistan. General Musharraf, until recently the main backer of the Taliban regime, handed the letter to Italy’s Deputy Foreign Minister Margherita Boniver during talks in Islamabad on Wednesday. The development came on a day of behind-the-scenes diplomacy in the Italian capital, which has played host to the exiled king since he was removed in a 1973 coup after ruling the Central Asian country for 40 years.
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