Americans Dressed as Afghans Caught With Illegal Weapons and Explosives

ISLAMABAD – FOUR American citizens were caught red-handed by Capital Police in the early hours of Tuesday for photographing sensitive buildings. All four were dressed in traditional Afghan outfits and were found to be in possession of illegal weapons and explosives
According to details, police personnel deployed here at Nawaz Chowk, sector F-8, intercepted two suspicious vehicles in the early hours of Tuesday. During the search, police recovered weapons from their custody. The riders of these vehicles were found to be American citizens. They were all dressed as Afghans.
The number plates on both vehicles (IDM 2030 & LG 501) were found to be fake. The police personnel called for backup when the Americans refused to allow them to search the car. High Ranking Capital Police officials reached the site within minutes and had the vehicles searched, recovering 2 M-16A1 rifles, 2 handguns and 2 hand-grenades.
The police held the American citizens in custody for an hour before the Interior Ministry interefered and had them released without charge even as preliminary investigation was being carried out.

Interior Ministry Covering Up For US Mercenaries And Terrorists

October 28, 2009 In 2005, Iraqi Police arrested and locked up TWO British operatives in Basra who were dressed in local Arab gear, shooting at innocent civilians in a busy market with automatic rifles and driving a vehicle laden with explosives, intended to go off in the middle of the busy market. British tanks tore into the prison and rescued both these men. In Pakistan, it seems all the Americans need to do is make a call to the Interior Ministry and have their terrorists released.

PKKH Editorial
There have been several incidents during the last few months of foreigners carrying illegal arms in the federal capital. Some foreigners were found not only carrying illegal weapons, but also threatening, harassing and frightening the public in Islamabad. The law enforcement agencies have been particularly efficient in tightening security measures around the city as a response to citizen complaints.
In the most recent incident, four American nationals who were disguised as Afghans were caught with illegal arms on Tuesday at a posh sector of Islamabad inhabited mostly by senior Pakistani diplomats and politicians. The police personnel intercepted two suspicious vehicles and recovered illegal weapons from in posession of the Americans in both vehicles.
The Americans were also seen taking photographs of buildings around the area while some videos of sensitive locations in Islamabad were also found with them. During the preliminary investigation, the Americans falsely claimed that they were US Marines – and were taken to the police station for further investigation. After the personal intervention of those high up in the Interior Ministry, the Americans were allowed to leave without being charged. Some sources disclose that the US Embassy officials intervened in the matter by contacting higher-ups of Pakistan’s Interior Ministry and had the culprits freed.
The Interior ministry, when approached for comments on this story, affirmed once again that there existed no law in Pakistan that might allow any foreigner or diplomat, including Americans, to move on busy roads of federal capital with illegal arms.
It was not the first incident of such kind in the Federal Capital where foreigners were picked up by police for posession of illegal arms. It has become almost a norm that police intercepts foreigners violating national laws including posession of illegal weapons, and are freed after Pakistani “influentials” come to their rescue.
Some days ago, police officials deployed at a security check post in Islamabad stopped two Dutch personnel and recovered sophisticated weapons including hand grenades, bombs, and sophisticated guns from their custody. The police lodged a formal complaint, however, no action was initiated on directions of Interior Ministry and the matter was hushed.
William Ven and Tomas Smith were the two Dutch men caught roaming around with sophisticated weapons, bombs and hand grenades in a blue BMW, registered number of which was IDL 4191. Sources on the condition of anonymity reveal that both officials were working for the notorious Blackwater Co. (Xe) and were almost certainly out on an assassination mission, target of which is still unknown. Sunny Christopher, a U.S. embassy official who was following the blue BMW was out there to provide cover.
Before the security agencies could confirm their connection with Blackwater (Xe), the interior ministry again came to their rescue and saying that the men were ‘Dutch embassy officials’ – which appears to be an attempt to cover up Blackwater’s questionable activities on the media. During the past few weeks the local media had been particularly vocal on the Blackwater issue and this incident would have further fueled calls for action against the various US-linked private security companies operating on Pakistan soil involved in suspicious activities. What’s not so surprising is that no probe was done with the alleged ‘Dutch diplomats’ and no explanation or apology was offered.
Both dutch men were released a while later after the U.S. embassy intervened, and were put on the next flight out of Islamabad immediately.
What is particularly alarming is that such incidents continue to occur in the nation’s very own capital city while government in their attempts to temporarily ‘settle’ the matter issues hollow statements. Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik, has stated on many occasions that no foreigner would be allowed to carry illegal arms. “The violators would be dealt with an iron hand,” he adds.
However the Americans have relentlessly continue to violate the the law of the land and no iron hand strikes – and in fact the violators are given a safe passage each time.

 

RED ALERT : Nabbed with illegal arms again

ISLAMABAD – Once again, 4 American nationals were caught red-handed by Capital Police in the wee hours of Tuesday when they were carrying weapons publicly. However, they managed to secure release and continue their journey to a mysterious destination, sources informed.
According to details, police personnel deployed here at Nawaz Chowk, sector F-8, intercepted two suspicious vehicles in the wee hours of Tuesday. During the search, police recovered weapons from their custody. The riders of these vehicles were found, once again, to be American nationals.
To the surprise of many, the Americans were allowed to go along with their arms after an anonymous call that the officer in command at police picket received at the same time when preliminary investigation were being carried out from the foreigners.
Though it is not clear who asked the police to let the Americans go, sources revealed that US Embassy officials came into action swiftly and got their nationals freed after contacting high-ups of Pakistan’s Interior Ministry.
When contacted, Foreign Office spokesman told TheNation that there existed no law in Pakistan that might allow any foreigner or diplomat, including Americans, to move on busy roads of capital with illegal arms.
Talking to TheNation, the Spokesperson of US Embassy Richard Snelsire said he was unaware about the incident.
Following Tuesday’s incident, a wave of anger, fear and uncertainty has been felt across the federal capital. It was not the first incident of such kind in the Federal Capital wherein foreigners were nabbed by police for keeping illegal arms. It has been observed that in a number of incidents police intercepted foreigners including American diplomats cruising busy roads of Islamabad carrying sophisticated arms and let them free after interception of ‘hidden hands’.
Some days ago, police officials deployed at a picket intercepted two Dutch diplomats and recovered sophisticated weapons including hand grenades from their possession. The police lodged a formal complaint, however, no such action was initiated in repeated cases of US diplomats and nationals who were allowed to go.
Following the incident, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik also stated that no foreigner would be allowed to carry illegal arms with him/her. “The violators would be dealt with an iron hand,” he added.
However, Americans were found violating the law of the land and to the surprise of the Minister himself, violators were given a safe passage every time.

source : http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/28-Oct-2009/Nabbed-with-illegal-arms-again

Blackwater arms warehouse in Capital?

ISLAMABAD – Kestral Logistics, a warehouse located in the industrial area of Sector I-9/3, and involved in arms trading, is working as the subcontractor of US security company, Xe Worldwide (Blackwater), TheNation has learnt.
The sources claimed that the company had arms deals with Blackwater and was importing heavy arms as well as ammunition for the US company for its ongoing illicit operations in Pakistan.
The sources said that Kestral Logistics was also involved in importing sensitive monitoring instruments for Blackwater, which had been installed at Sihala by the said security company to monitor activities of Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Kahuta, as well as to keep an eye on the nuclear assets of Pakistan.
It has been learnt that Col (Retd) Shahid Latif and Mujahid, who run Kestral Logistics, manage weapons and such type of sensitive instruments for Blackwater with the support of US Embassy.
This scribe visited the industrial area himself and the suspicious activities of the warehouse employees made it quite evident that the company was involved in some extra-legal business. The warehouse has high walls, barbed wires and no signboard outside the boundary wall, making the activities of the house more doubtful.
Heavy security of the building was also witnessed as scores of security guards were deployed inside and on the main gate of the building. It is pertinent to mention here that even the people working in plainclothes inside the building were equipped with sophisticated weapons.
When the warehouse in charge was asked what kind of business they were running inside the building, he refused to answer, saying “I am not authorised to answer such type of questions” The people of the area were ignorant of the activities of the company and were also curious to know that what type of business activities were being done inside the building?
It is surprising that when the local police was contacted to know that if they had any information about the business activities of the company, the police was also unaware about that.
Habit Khan, additional SHO of Industrial Area Police Station said that the police was already conducting a survey about the complete details of business activities of all the warehouses of that area but he had no information about such activities of any warehouse involved in weapons’ trading business so far.
source : http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/20-Oct-2009/Blackwater-arms-warehouse-in-Capital

Special Report: US Embassy Personnel Caught Spying On Pakistani Nukes

Special Report

Saturday, 24 October 2009.

WWW.AHMEDQURAISHI.COM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Pakistani authorities have enough evidence that implicates US diplomats and trainers in spying on Kahuta, one of the prime nuclear facilities in the country.

What is stunning for most Pakistanis is that elements in the elected government, and especially the Interior Ministry, appear to be facilitating the Americans despite protests from police and intelligence officials.

The issue brings into question, once again, the role of Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik.  A trail of internal ministry documents sharply bring Mr. Malik’s role into focus, especially in a case where his ministry appears to have permitted US defense contractors to conduct suspicious activities on Pakistani soil without informing Pakistani intelligence agencies.  Those activities have included allowing at least one US defense contractor to conduct a large scale recruitment of retired Pakistani military officers.

In 2003, the government of former president Pervez Musharraf allowed the Americans to establish a police training facility within the police college at Sihala, a few kilometers away from the Khan Research Laboratories, one of Pakistan’s premier nuclear research centers.

In a report titled, US Spying On Kahuta Since 2003, Pakistan’s The Nation newspaper revealed the following on Oct. 23:

Despite the fact that Americans have been permanently housed near Pakistani nuclear installations at Kahuta since 2003 in the guise of imparting training at the Police College Sihala, neither the military nor the PPP regime has dared to dislodge them.  According to reliable sources, the PPP government paid no attention at all to the hue and cry raised by senior police officials against the dubious movements and installation of the American trainers.  It has been learnt that some senior police officials have been continuously raising questions about the quality of training courses being offered by the Americans to the senior police recruits.  These officials say that Pakistani police trainers could impart much better training than that the Americans.  But the government turned a deaf ear to all these concerns of senior police officials and made no efforts to close the American training base allegedly involved in monitoring Pakistani nuclear activities.
Several senior police officials are asking, on condition of anonymity, that even if this training by the Americans was necessary, why had this very sensitive area been chosen and why this training has continued, risking the secrecy and sensitivity of nuclear installations of Pakistan. They were of the view that the Americans had no interest in the area except the intention to monitor the activities at the Khan Research Lab in Kahuta.

The Commandant Police Training College Sihala, Mr. Nasir Khan Durrani, wrote a letter on Aug. 15 to senior Pakistani police officers drawing their attention to the suspicious activities of American ‘trainers’ at Sihala.  Mr. Durrani is widely respected within the officer corps of Pakistan’s police service.  Some of his ideas, like Rescue 15, were implemented nationwide.

Durrani’s letter was not without basis.  In his report, titled, Agency wants survey of site to assess equipment, Mr. Ansar Abbasi, editor investigations at The News International, revealed that there was some evidence that radiation measurement equipment has been installed by the Americans at the training facility.  He reported that US diplomats have been caught making frequent visits to the facility, attempting at one point to get into the high security perimeter around Kahuta. Amazingly, someone from FIA, the interior minister’s former employer and a lead civilian spy agency, helped release the arrested American diplomats.

An excerpt from Mr. Abbasi’s report:

Pakistani authorities suspect that Americans involved in training of the Punjab Police at the Sihala Police College may have been involved in espionage near the Kahuta nuclear site located close by. However, US diplomats strongly deny this.
A credible government source said at least one Pakistani security agency has clearly indicated in its report submitted to the government that the Americans might have installed radiation detection devices at their Anti-Terrorism Assistance Programme (ATAP) camp situated in the college to monitor activities in the Kahuta nuclear site.
“Concerned authorities may be asked for a joint survey of the ATAP Camp by incorporating technical experts to assess if any interception equipment to detect radioactive rays has been installed or not,” the report said.
The report also revealed that following US pressure, the Ministry of Interior vide its letter number 1/41/2003-Police dated June 29 also granted a no objection certificate (NoC) for import of explosive material by the office of the ATAP.
Like the case of Inter-Risk, now banned, the Interior Ministry issued the NoC for the import of explosives without getting any security clearance from the intelligence agencies.
Interestingly, initially the Interior Ministry decided to issue the NoC but it was subject to clearance by two intelligence agencies — the ISI and the IB — which sought clarification about the quantity and type of explosive and detail of courses.
Consequently, the Sihala College administration was approached, which sought details from the ATAP camp. But instead of providing the details, Robert A Clark and Bob of the ATAP Camp contacted the US embassy, which used its influence and managed to get the NoC bypassing the rules.
The ATAP base camp is located just nine kilometres away from the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) and housed within the premises of the Sihala college but even the commandant of the college is not allowed to go there. Of late, the US embassy wanted additional space apparently for training purposes but the Punjab government refused to oblige the Americans.
Top authorities in the Punjab government also confirmed to The News that US Ambassador Anne Patterson not only personally met Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif but also wrote to him requesting for additional space at the Sihala college.
They offered additional training to the Punjab Police in the field of firearms and raids. “But we politely refused to offer any additional space,” the source confided to The News, admitting that serious questions are being raised about the presence and conduct of US trainers already present at the Sihala college. A senior spokesman for the Punjab, when approached, confirmed this.
Interestingly, in the last several months no training course for the police officials has been conducted by the ATAP at the college, but American’s presence is well pronounced. Commander of the police academy Nasir Khan Durrani also formally wrote to the top authorities in the Punjab to express his concerns over the activities of the ATAP officials.
Sources also said that US embassy officials were also found visiting the camp quite regularly. They revealed that two Americans working at the Sihala ATAP Camp along with four other Americans of the US embassy were intercepted near Kahuta in July 2009 by security officials of the KRL.
They were detained for 2-3 hours as they could not satisfy the KRL security personnel regarding their visit to the sensitive region.
However, a retired assistant director of the FIA, working with Americans at the ATAP Camp, was sent to take them back who, introducing himself as an FIA officer, freed the Americans and took them back to the camp. The sources disclosed that those Americans along with Pakistani staff riding on 4×4 vehicle, tried to trespass into the restricted area of Kahuta.
The Interior Ministry spokesman was not available to offer any comment on suspected spying of the country’s nuclear programme by Americans or to explain why the Interior Ministry issued an NoC to the Americans for the import of explosive material without getting clearance from security agencies.
The Interior Ministry spokesman, Rashid Mazari, never returns any call from The News. He was contacted by different staffers of The News Investigative Wing during recent weeks but he never responded.

The suspicions of Mr. Durrani, Commandant Police Training College Sihala, turn out to be legitimate.  Mr. Durrani might have expected to be rewarded for keeping a vigil on the country’s vital interests.  To his surprise, instead of a citation, Mr. Durrani was reprimanded by the Federal Interior Ministry.

On Oct. 22, The Nation published a report whose title, Rehman Malik Defends US interests, warns Durrani, said it all.

Excerpt:

The Interior Ministry is browbeating the Commandant Police Training College Sihala as to why he has written a letter to the Punjab, Inspector General of Police (IGP), expressing his concerns over the presence of US security officials in the premises of the institute, the sources told TheNation.
Sources privy to the developments said that the Ministry was annoyed with Nasir Khan Durrani, Commandant Police Training College Sihala as to why he had written a letter to IGP seeking clarification from the Interior Ministry and Foreign Office about the terms and conditions of US security officials’ presence as well as the duration of their stay in the college premises.
The sources said that the Ministry had expressed its displeasure over the action of Commandant and in its reply to the IGP it was stated that the matter could have been discussed verbally and there was no need to write about it.
According to Ministry sources, the Interior Minister, Rehman Malik in his harsh reply to the IGP made it clear that US security officials would not be relocated from the centre and directed him to hush up the matter and stop propagating against it, otherwise Durrani would have to face the music.
The Ministry was also critical of leakage of such sensitive and confidential information to media and directed the IGP to keep secrecy of such sensitive matters in the larger interest of the state, the sources further disclosed.
Nasir Khan Durrani had written a letter to IGP on 15th of August that on the concurrence of Interior Ministry, US security officials were using the site which was part of the college and now it had become a “no go” area for the college administration.
In the letter, it was also said that high explosive material was stored within the premises of the site under the possession of US personnel, which was a security risk for the trainees of the college.
It is pertinent to mention here that Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) are only a few kilometres away from the Sihala College and it is suspected that Americans had installed sensitive monitoring equipments to monitor the activities of KRL.
The spokesman and Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ministry were contacted for comments; the spokesman was not available for comments while PRO replied that he was admitted in the hospital and thus unable to comment on the issue.

The US Embassy in Islamabad, under a new policy of aggressively countering what it alleges to be ‘anti-Americanism’, responded to these accusations but conveniently kept silent on the alarming incident of the arrest of US diplomats in July as they tried to survey the area around Kahuta.

Evidence is piling up that the present ‘elected’ government in Islamabad is racing against time to plant enough Americans inside Pakistan to counter the Pakistani military and the country’s strong intelligence setup. [See the video US Terror In Pakistan]

On Oct. 20, The Nation ran a story titled, Blackwater arms warehouse in Capital? . The report began as follows:

Kestral Logistics, a warehouse located in the industrial area of Sector I-9/3, and involved in arms trading, is working as the subcontractor of US security company, Xe Worldwide (Blackwater), TheNation has learnt. The sources claimed that the company had arms deals with Blackwater and was importing heavy arms as well as ammunition for the US company for its ongoing illicit operations in Pakistan. The sources said that Kestral Logistics was also involved in importing sensitive monitoring instruments for Blackwater, which had been installed at Sihala by the said security company to monitor activities of Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Kahuta, as well as to keep an eye on the nuclear assets of Pakistan.

Kestral is run by a former Pakistani military officer.  Another officer was arrested last month and his license cancelled after his security firm imported illegal weapons into the country with the help of the US Embassy in Islamabad.

The US public opinion is told that anti-Americanism is on the rise in Pakistan but US government officials and the US media keeps mum on these suspicious activities inside Pakistan that are feeding the sudden rise in opposition to American presence.

No one is demanding severing ties with Washington.  We need them and they need us.  The question is: Why can’t Pakistan conduct its business with the United States on the basis of respect, non-interference, and mutual benefit.  That is much better than the client-state model that former president Musharraf and the current pro-American Pakistani democrats are pursuing.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: American Militia Outpost In Islamabad

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: See How Americans Are Setting Up Secret Military Outposts Just Outside The Pakistani Capital

This is a secret training center 40 kilometers from Islamabad [see the video], set up by a private US security firm.  It is camouflaged by a billboard that reads, ‘Automobile repair workshop’.  US military and government are using this facility to recruit and train retired Pakistani military officers. They are used to create private militias and to spy on the Pakistani military.  In recent weeks, a large number of plainclothes armed Americans have spread terror on the streets of the federal Pakistani capital, allowed by the pro-US ‘democratic’ government to enter the country without the knowledge of the concerned security authorities. 

40 km from Islamabad is this secret training facility set up by the US embassy & private security firms that recruit retired Pakistani officers to create militias and spy on the Pakistani military and ISI. The pro-US ‘democratic’ government has issues scores of visas to US mercenaries to enter Pakistan without informing security officials. This is how Pakistan is being turned into Iraq and Afghanistan.

By Ahmed Quraishi

Thursday, 8 October 2009.

WWW.AHMEDQURAISHI.COM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Some thirty kilometers from the heart of the Pakistani capital is a creepy structure that stands in the middle of an industrial estate.  The billboard outside says it is an ‘auto repair shop’.  But no workshop in the area – and there are plenty – is quite like this one: high walls that block the view to the inside, military-style barbed wires surrounding adorning the high walls, a security tower, the kind you find at the headquarters of a police service or an intelligence agency.

On the way to Rawat, ask people about such a place and mention the words ‘Americans’, ‘private’, and ‘military training’ and you will be surprised that most know about it but are quiet.

It is claimed that the structure had something to do with the US defense contractor DynCorp.  The US ambassador sought a special permission from the Interior Ministry to allow this company to provide ’security services’ anywhere in Pakistan.  The owner of a Pakistani security firm, retired Capt. Ali Zaidi, who is a partner of DynCorp, was arrested this week after a huge cache of illegal weapons were found stashed in his offices in the heart of the high-security zone in the federal capital.  Mr. Zaidi and the American security firm were reportedly recruiting retired Pakistani military officers to work for the US military, in what is tantamount to creating an indirect US military presence inside Pakistan.

This eerie structure that I visited today along with a television crew to get a sense of the place is reportedly one of those places where military training was imparted to the Pakistani recruits.  But the place appeared pretty much in the hands of the people representing the American security firm, as the US diplomat arrogantly insisted in front of Pakistani reporters. This happens despite the arrest of Mr. Zaidi and the controversy over whether the Interior Ministry cancelled DynCorp’s and its Pakistani partner’s license [Ministry says it did and US diplomat Gerald Fierestein insisted in a press conference on Thursday that it did not].

When approaching the building, people in the area said we need to be careful because, according to this account, a group of TV journalists was harassed by persons coming out of the building a few days ago and that they tried to snatch the cameras and drag the journalists inside.  ‘It’s good you told us before going there,’ one of the people in the area said, as my team and I prepared to head for the creepy building.  ‘At least we’ll know if you disappeared mysteriously.’

As I left after satisfying my curiosity, I felt sorry because here we are, in late 2009, witnessing the early signs of what appears to be a repeat of what I personally saw in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, and then in Afghanistan from 2004 and until now.  And despite all the warnings of scores of concerned Pakistanis, here we are watching the American mess, corruption and strategic failure rearing its head in the heart of Pakistan.

This report was published by The Nation of Pakistan.

Driving Zionist Agenda: Corrupt Feudal Politicians Push Pakistan To The Edge

Pushing Pak Military To Revolt?

The Kerry-Lugar-Berman Big Bribe will go into the usual pockets.  In return, the ‘democratic’ Pakistani government is permitting Washington to secretly create a small mercenary army inside Pakistan.  Arrogant US diplomats and complicit politicians in government are pushing the Pakistani military to the point of revolt.

By Eric S. Margolis
Thursday, 22 October 2009.
WWW.AHMEDQURAISHI.COM

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Official Washington watches in mounting alarm and confusion as Pakistan spins out of control.

The US-led war in Afghanistan has now poured over into Pakistan, bringing that nation of 167 million close to civil war.

Bombings and shootings are rocking Pakistan’s northwest regions, including a brazen attack on army HQ in Rawalpindi and repeated bombings of Lahore and Peshawar. Pakistan’s army has launched a major offensive against rebellious Pashtun tribes in South Waziristan.

Meanwhile, the weak, deeply unpopular government of Asif Zardari that was engineered into power by the US faces an increasingly rancorous confrontation with its own military. Like the proverbial bull in the china shop, the Obama administration and US Congress chose this explosive time to try to impose yet another layer of American control over Pakistan – just as Nobel peace prize winner Barack Obama appears likely to send thousands more US troops to Afghanistan.

Tragically, US policy in the Muslim world continues to be driven by imperial arrogance, profound ignorance, and special interest groups. The current Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill approved by Congress and signed by Obama is ham-fisted dollar diplomacy at its worst.

Pakistan, bankrupted by corruption and feudal landlords, is being offered US$7.5 billion over five years. Washington claims there are no strings attached. Except, of course, that the US wants to build a mammoth new embassy for 1,000 personnel in Islamabad, the second largest after its giant fortress-embassy in Baghdad. New diplomatic personnel are needed, claims Washington, to monitor the US$7.5 billion in aid. So a small army of US mercenaries is being brought in to protect US “interests”. New US military bases will open. Most of the billions in new aid will go right into the pockets of the pro-western ruling establishment, about 1% of the population. Washington has been also demanding veto power over promotions in Pakistan’s armed forces and intelligence agency, ISI. This crude attempt to take control of Pakistan’s proud, 617,000-man military and intelligence service has enraged its armed forces. It’s all part of Washington’s “Afpak” strategy to clamp tighter control over restive Pakistan and make use its armed forces and intelligence agents in Afghanistan. The other key US objective is seizing control of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, the cornerstone of its national defence against much more powerful India. Welcome, Pakistan, to the American Raj. However, 90% of Pakistanis oppose the US-led war in Afghanistan, and see Taliban and its allies as national resistance to western occupation. Alarmingly, violent attacks on Pakistan’s government are coming not only from once autonomous Pashtun tribes (wrongly called “Taliban”) in Northwest Frontier Province, but, increasingly, in the biggest province, Punjab. Recently, the US Ambassador in Islamabad, in a fit of imperial arrogance, actually called for air attacks on Pashtun leaders in Quetta, capital of Pakistan’s restive Baluchistan province. Washington does not even bother to ask the Islamabad government’s permission to launch air attacks inside Pakistan, only informing it afterwards.

The Kerry-Lugar-Berman Big Bribe comes as many irate Pakistanis accuse President Asif Ali Zardari’s government of being American hirelings. Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, has been dogged for decades by corruption charges. Washington seems unaware of the fury its crude, counter-productive policies have whipped up in Pakistan. The Obama administration listens to Washington-based pro-Israel neo-conservatives, military hawks, and “experts” who tell it what it wants to hear, not the facts. Pakistan’s military, the nation’s premier institution, is being pushed to the point of revolt. Against the backdrop of bombings and shootings come rumours the heads of Pakistan’s armed forces and intelligence may be replaced. Pakistanis are calling for the removal of the Zardari regime’s strongman, Interior Minister Rehman Malik. The possibility of a military coup against the Zardari regime grows. But Pakistan is dependent on US money, and fears India. Can its generals afford to break with patron Washington?

Eric S. Margolis is a contributing editor to the Toronto Sun chain of newspapers, writing mainly about the Middle East and South Asia. This column is originally titled, Pakistan joins the American Raj.