More inner conflict from our friend and ally. “Flier Circulates Seeking Musharraf’s Death,” from AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan – A pamphlet purportedly from
Osama bin Laden circulated among border tribesmen Sunday, saying the al-Qaida chief was praying for the assassination of Pakistan’s president and calling him a “slave” of President Bush.Some doubts were cast on the statement’s authenticity, but it follows a spurt of high-profile militant messages and highlights simmering tensions between Pakistani forces and the insurgents they are battling along the Pakistan-Afghan border.
It also came a day after a top U.S. counterterrorism official said that parts of Pakistan are a “safe haven” for militants and Islamabad needs to do more to clamp down on al-Qaida. Islamabad dismissed the assertion that it was not doing enough as “absurd.”
The pamphlet was distributed by militants in Mir Ali, a town in the North Waziristan tribal region. The text said it was reaching out to tribesmen living in the area whose homes were destroyed during recent Pakistani military operations for “American pleasure.”
It begins with a paragraph in Arabic mentioning bin Laden’s name. It then says in Urdu, Pakistan’s primary language: “(A) new message by Sheikh Osama bin Mohammed bin Laden to Muslims about the atrocities by the Pakistani army on the tribes of Waziristan, the bloodshed and destruction of their homes.”
Then it singled out the U.S. president and his and Pakistani counterpart, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
“I pray to God … that Bush, Pervez and his army meet the fate that they deserve, and give someone among the lions of God the opportunity to kill this slave of Bush in Pakistan,” the pamphlet said….
Henry Crumpton, the U.S. ambassador in charge of counterterrorism, lauded Pakistan Saturday for arresting “hundreds and hundreds” of al-Qaida figures but said it needed to do more.
Crumpton said U.S. officials continue to believe that bin Laden is somewhere along the Afghan-Pakistani border, and was more likely to be on the Pakistani side.
Sultan, the Pakistani army spokesman, dismissed Crumpton’s assertion that Islamabad was not doing enough.
“No one has conveyed this thing to Pakistan, and if someone claims so, it is absurd,” he told reporters in Afghanistan.
Yes. The jihadists have no support within Pakistan. None whatsoever. Everybody loves Musharraf. What’s that? That flier? Why, it’s obviously the work of…Zionists!