Jeddah : The killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan has strengthened "our resolve to fight the menace of terrorism with renewed vigor," said visiting Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Bin Laden was killed in United States military operation in Abbottabad on May 2, 2011.
Speaking to Arab News, Malik admitted: “It was an intelligence failure. Sometimes it happens, but I assure our allies that he was not being protected by any government agency.” He said 9/11 also happened due to intelligence failure. “Not only 9/11, I can cite dozens of other incidents the world over in which spy agencies failed to see terrorists’ designs, which led to attacks. That does not meanthat those agencies protected terrorists.”
He ruled out the possibility of anyone, either from political leadership or from military top brass, stepping down for the “intelligence failure. Why would anyone resign? How many people resigned after 9/11 in the US? No heads will roll in Pakistan in the aftermath of Bin Laden’s killing in Abbottabad,”he said, adding: “This is not the time for blame game but rather to be introspective, to find out the holes and plug them.”
He denied reports that ISI chief Shuja Pasha was in the US to meet his counterpart “No way. I assure you Shuja Pasha is in Pakistan doing his duty.” He said there was a trust deficit between the US and Pakistan which sometimes fuels theories. “Let me ask those who are blaming us for Bin Laden’s presencein our country one simple question: Who created Bin Laden and sent him to fight Russians? We never invited him to Pakistan. He went there with hundreds of other Arab fighters to wage a jihad against Russian forces, and the world knows who supported those jihadists,” he added. During Russian occupation of Afghanistan, the US intelligence agency CIA reportedly supported and funded jihadists.
Asked about fate of Bin Laden’s family members detained from Abbottabad compound, Malik said: “They are in our custody, but I will not reveal their whereabouts and will also not share with the media their exact number.”
About whereabouts of Indian suspect in 1992 Mumbai bomb blasts, Dawood Ibrahim, Malik denied having any information. On what would be Pakistan’s reaction if India also carried out an operation similar to that of the US on Pakistani soil to take out Dawood, Malik said: “We will give India a befitting reply.”
He said Pakistan has been "a victim of terrorism and not a promoter of it. We have suffered more than any country due to terrorism. Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed by Al-Qaeda. But due toa sustained fight we have been able to contain it considerably. The incidents of suicide attacks have come down."
He said extensive investigation has been ordered to find out about the truth behind Abbottabad’s operation. “Although we were not informed about the operation by the US, it was our input that led Americans to that house who finally tracked down Bin Laden and killed him.”
Malik met Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Saturday in Riyadh. It was attended by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Chief of General Intelligence Prince Muqrin, Secretary-General National Security Council Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, Minister of State & Commander of National Guard Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah, Adviser to the King, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah & Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Abdulaziz Al-Ghadeer. The two sides discussed security-related issues, pledged to stand by each other in times of need, agreed to continue consulting and coordinating with each other on every major development. “I also handed over a letter from President Asif Ali Zardari to King Abdullah and extended an invitation to him to visit Islamabad soon. The king accepted the invitation,” Malik said. PPI
