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Bin Laden Gets a Pass from Pakistan
September 05, 2006 5:41 PM
Brian Ross and Gretchen Peters Report:
Osama bin Laden, America's most wanted man, will not face capture in Pakistan if he agrees to lead a "peaceful life," Pakistani officials tell ABC News.
The surprising announcement comes as Pakistani army officials announced they were pulling their troops out of the North Waziristan region as part of a "peace deal" with the Taliban.
If he is in Pakistan, bin Laden "would not be taken into custody," Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan told ABC News in a telephone interview, "as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen."
Bin Laden is believed to be hiding somewhere in the tribal areas of Pakistan, near the Afghanistan border, but U.S. officials say his precise location is unknown.
In addition to the pullout of Pakistani troops, the "peace agreement" between Pakistan and the Taliban also provides for the Pakistani army to return captured Taliban weapons and prisoners.
"What this means is that the Taliban and al Qaeda leadership have effectively carved out a sanctuary inside Pakistan," said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, the former White House counter-terrorism director.
The agreement was signed on the same day President Bush said the United States was working with its allies "to deny terrorists the enclaves they seek to establish in ungoverned areas across the world."
The Pakistani Army had gone into Waziristan, under heavy pressure from the United States, but faced a series of humiliating defeats at the hands of the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters.
"They're throwing the towel," said Alexis Debat, who is a Senior Fellow at the Nixon Center and an ABC News consultant. "They're giving al Qaeda and the Taliban a blank check and saying essentially make yourselves at home in the tribal areas," Debat said.
September 05, 2006 5:41 PM
Brian Ross and Gretchen Peters Report:
Osama bin Laden, America's most wanted man, will not face capture in Pakistan if he agrees to lead a "peaceful life," Pakistani officials tell ABC News.
The surprising announcement comes as Pakistani army officials announced they were pulling their troops out of the North Waziristan region as part of a "peace deal" with the Taliban.
If he is in Pakistan, bin Laden "would not be taken into custody," Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan told ABC News in a telephone interview, "as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen."
Bin Laden is believed to be hiding somewhere in the tribal areas of Pakistan, near the Afghanistan border, but U.S. officials say his precise location is unknown.
In addition to the pullout of Pakistani troops, the "peace agreement" between Pakistan and the Taliban also provides for the Pakistani army to return captured Taliban weapons and prisoners.
"What this means is that the Taliban and al Qaeda leadership have effectively carved out a sanctuary inside Pakistan," said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, the former White House counter-terrorism director.
The agreement was signed on the same day President Bush said the United States was working with its allies "to deny terrorists the enclaves they seek to establish in ungoverned areas across the world."
The Pakistani Army had gone into Waziristan, under heavy pressure from the United States, but faced a series of humiliating defeats at the hands of the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters.
"They're throwing the towel," said Alexis Debat, who is a Senior Fellow at the Nixon Center and an ABC News consultant. "They're giving al Qaeda and the Taliban a blank check and saying essentially make yourselves at home in the tribal areas," Debat said.
Pakistan signs pact with pro-Taliban militants
Agencies
Miranshah: Pro Taliban militants and the Pakistani government signed a peace deal on Tuesday, according to Pakistani negotiators.
The militants said they would stop attacks in Pakistan and across the Afghan border on the condition that the Pakistani government stop air and ground operations in the Waziristan region and dismantle newly built checkposts.
People arrested during military operations will also be released under the agreement and confiscated property, including weapons, would be returned.
"The agreement will pave the way for permanent peace in the region," said Malik Shahzada, a member of a tribal council that has been overseeing negotiations with the rebels.
The ceasefire was signed on a dusty football ground at a college in Miranshah, the main town of the North Waziristan region.
Tribal council members, most in turbans and with long beards, watched as a Pakistani army commander, Major General Azhar Ali Shah, embraced representatives of the militants after the pact was signed.
Many Al Qaeda militants and Taliban members fled to Waziristan after US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in Afghanistan in late 2001. Hundreds of Pakistani troops and militants were killed in the region as the government attempted to push its authority into semi-autonomous tribal lands on the Afghan border as part of efforts in the US-led war on terrorism.
The peace agreement means that there will be no more free movement for tribes to enter into Afghanistan.
"Except for trade, people will not be allowed to go to Afghanistan to launch attacks," (Bosh's note: which is a complete joke and completely unenforceable now that the Pakistani government's checkpoints will be removed) said Nek Zaman, a member of the tribal council who is also a member of the Pakistani parliament.
Agencies
Miranshah: Pro Taliban militants and the Pakistani government signed a peace deal on Tuesday, according to Pakistani negotiators.
The militants said they would stop attacks in Pakistan and across the Afghan border on the condition that the Pakistani government stop air and ground operations in the Waziristan region and dismantle newly built checkposts.
People arrested during military operations will also be released under the agreement and confiscated property, including weapons, would be returned.
"The agreement will pave the way for permanent peace in the region," said Malik Shahzada, a member of a tribal council that has been overseeing negotiations with the rebels.
The ceasefire was signed on a dusty football ground at a college in Miranshah, the main town of the North Waziristan region.
Tribal council members, most in turbans and with long beards, watched as a Pakistani army commander, Major General Azhar Ali Shah, embraced representatives of the militants after the pact was signed.
Many Al Qaeda militants and Taliban members fled to Waziristan after US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in Afghanistan in late 2001. Hundreds of Pakistani troops and militants were killed in the region as the government attempted to push its authority into semi-autonomous tribal lands on the Afghan border as part of efforts in the US-led war on terrorism.
The peace agreement means that there will be no more free movement for tribes to enter into Afghanistan.
"Except for trade, people will not be allowed to go to Afghanistan to launch attacks," (Bosh's note: which is a complete joke and completely unenforceable now that the Pakistani government's checkpoints will be removed) said Nek Zaman, a member of the tribal council who is also a member of the Pakistani parliament.
Dumbass.
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