Pakistan Denies Al-Qaeda Presence

By Asif Farooqi, IOL Pakistan Correspondent

ISLAMABAD, August 19 (IslamOnline) - The government of Pakistan denied Monday, August 19, there were any Al-Qaeda member on its soil, snubbing a U.S. general’s claims that there were more Al-Qaeda members in Pakistan than in Afghanistan.

Lt. General Dan McNeil, commander of the coalition forces in Afghanistan was quoted in some media reports as saying that most of Al-Qaeda members had fled to Pakistan and that the task to eliminate Al-Qaeda was getting more complicated as the permission to undertake combat operations against the enemy in Pakistan was not forthcoming.

“The general to whom this statement is attributed does not live in this country and has no knowledge of the situation on the ground here,” Aziz Ahmed Khan, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said here Monday August 19.

Khan said Pakistan Interior Minister, Moinuddin Haider, who is monitoring the border situation with Afghanistan, has already denied the presence of any Al-Qaeda members in Pakistan.

“Our Interior Minister’s claim is more authenticated as he knows the situation on the ground more than anyone else who is not living in this country,” he added.

Pakistan flatly refused Monday to provide security to the foreign election observer’s teams in the country or to offer them a formal invitation or to sign an agreement for observing the October elections.

“There is no need for extra security measures for these observers as adequate security arrangements are already in place for the general elections,” a foreign office spokesman said in answer to a question about providing security to the European Union election observers as requested by them.

The E.U. delegation, which arrived in the country to monitor the October election, too would need a formal invitation to observe the polls.

“The statement by the government that it welcomes foreign observers for the election process is enough and there is no need to issue a formal invitation or to sign a memorandum of understanding to that effect,” Aziz told reporters while answering a host of questions about the latest controversy between the government and E.U. observers on the issues relating to the security and the conduct of their work in the country.

Head of the 167-member E.U. delegation which arrived in Pakistan early this month to observe the October elections, had observed that the government was reluctant to offer adequate security arrangements for the delegation. John Cushanahan requested the government to issue a formal invitation for poll observance and proposed an MOU for this purpose.

The foreign office spokesman, however, made it clear to the newsmen that none of these demands were to be met by the government.

“Normal security arrangements made for the general elections are adequate and there is no need to provide extra security for such a large number of people who would be coming to Pakistan to observe elections,” Khan said.

Since January this year, 59 people have been killed in terrorist attacks in Pakistan mainly targeting foreign nationals.

The foreign office spokesman also said there was no need for E.U. observers to receive a formal invitation as they have come of their own accord and the government acceded to that.

The government, through a statement early this year, had invited foreign observers to come to Pakistan and watch the crucial general elections planned for October. “Such a statement from a country is enough as invitation. We don’t need to issue a separate invitation to everyone,” Khan told reporters.

Khan observed that some of the press statements attributed to the delegation amounted to the interference by them in the domestic Pakistani affairs. “But later the delegation clarified their position and now that issue is resolved,” he added.

Khan questioned the E.U. delegation as to why it did not go to Indian-held Kashmir for polls monitoring and chose to come to Pakistan and then ask for redressing such issues like invitation of extra security.