ID :
37228
Thu, 12/25/2008 - 06:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/37228
The shortlink copeid
ISI had definite links with LeT: report
London, Dec 23 (PTI) Pakistan's Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) created Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and has definite
links with the terror group which has been involved in attacks
in Mumbai, The Times reported.
"ISI created Lashkar-e-Tayyeba which is no more under
its control. These jihadis were there in Jammu and Kashmir and
we supported them," the report quoted an unnamed senior ISI
official as saying.
"It's (LeT) a monster we created and now we can't get
it back in the bottle," the official told the daily commenting
on ISI's links with Lashkar.
The report was filed from Muridke in Pakistan, which
is the headquarters of the now banned Jamaat-Ud-Dawah.
The ISI had forged ties with jihadist groups
throughout the 1980s when the CIA used it to support the
Mujahidin against the Soviet Army in Afghanistan and when it
saw an opportunity in 1989 to weaken India by creating trouble
in Jammu and Kashmir the militants of the outfit were
infiltrated into India, the newspaper reported.
General Asad Durrani, ISI chief from 1990-92, denied
supporting LeT in his tenure, but admitted that Pakistan had
an interest in supporting such groups.
"Given Kashmir's history, we can't be expected to
remain uninterested," he added.
The ISI, the report said, officially severed links
with LeT in 2002 after the group attacked Indian Parliament,
but Indian and US intelligence believe that it maintained
covert support, probably through ex-ISI officers.
The Times correspondent, who visited a 75-acre complex
in Muridke, said that although the administrator Mohammed
Abbas denied any connection with the ISI, it was here (in
Muridke), in April 2001.
"Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, LeT's leader at the time,
called a meeting of his supporters in the complex of red-brick
buildings and neat lawns.
"Most of the visitors wore the obligatory long beards,
but among them was an elderly man with no beard, only a thin,
military-style moustache. He was Hamid Gul, the former head of
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency."
"Yes, I visited there. Retired army officers used to
go, too. They used to hold annual fixtures to raise funds and
motivate people," the daily quoted Gul as saying.
"Cleansing the ISI is America's dream, but this is
Pakistan's first line of defence. It keeps the country
united," Gul added. PTI CORR
NIK
NNNN
Intelligence (ISI) created Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and has definite
links with the terror group which has been involved in attacks
in Mumbai, The Times reported.
"ISI created Lashkar-e-Tayyeba which is no more under
its control. These jihadis were there in Jammu and Kashmir and
we supported them," the report quoted an unnamed senior ISI
official as saying.
"It's (LeT) a monster we created and now we can't get
it back in the bottle," the official told the daily commenting
on ISI's links with Lashkar.
The report was filed from Muridke in Pakistan, which
is the headquarters of the now banned Jamaat-Ud-Dawah.
The ISI had forged ties with jihadist groups
throughout the 1980s when the CIA used it to support the
Mujahidin against the Soviet Army in Afghanistan and when it
saw an opportunity in 1989 to weaken India by creating trouble
in Jammu and Kashmir the militants of the outfit were
infiltrated into India, the newspaper reported.
General Asad Durrani, ISI chief from 1990-92, denied
supporting LeT in his tenure, but admitted that Pakistan had
an interest in supporting such groups.
"Given Kashmir's history, we can't be expected to
remain uninterested," he added.
The ISI, the report said, officially severed links
with LeT in 2002 after the group attacked Indian Parliament,
but Indian and US intelligence believe that it maintained
covert support, probably through ex-ISI officers.
The Times correspondent, who visited a 75-acre complex
in Muridke, said that although the administrator Mohammed
Abbas denied any connection with the ISI, it was here (in
Muridke), in April 2001.
"Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, LeT's leader at the time,
called a meeting of his supporters in the complex of red-brick
buildings and neat lawns.
"Most of the visitors wore the obligatory long beards,
but among them was an elderly man with no beard, only a thin,
military-style moustache. He was Hamid Gul, the former head of
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency."
"Yes, I visited there. Retired army officers used to
go, too. They used to hold annual fixtures to raise funds and
motivate people," the daily quoted Gul as saying.
"Cleansing the ISI is America's dream, but this is
Pakistan's first line of defence. It keeps the country
united," Gul added. PTI CORR
NIK
NNNN
