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Pakistan Denounces ABC News Report on Backing Iran Radicals
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ShareApril 05, 2007 3:54 PM
The Pakistani government had sharp words Wednesday for an ABC News report detailing U.S. and Pakistani support for an Iranian tribal militant group working to destabilize its country's government.
Calling the report "tendentious" and an "absurd and sinister insinuation," Pakistan's Foreign Office said the Pakistani government "will never allow its territory for carrying out acts of terrorism and violence against any country."
"We condemn any attempt to create misgivings between the two brotherly countries," the statement read.
THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS
The story, citing Pakistani and U.S. intelligence sources, said the Iranian guerrilla group known as "Jundullah" operates out of the Baluchistan province of Pakistan with the advice and encouragement of American officials and has taken responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of several Iranian officials. The report appeared on ABC News' The Blotter, "World News" and "Nightline" earlier this week.
For its part, the Iranian government appeared to embrace ABC News' reporting that the United States was backing anti-government forces in its country. "There is no doubt in our minds that the United States spares no effort to put pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran," said Gholamali Haddadadel, speaker of the Iranian parliament, on Thursday, in response to the story.
But he too played down the notion of any involvement by its neighbor, Pakistan, in the U.S. effort. "We don't have any reason to believe that the military establishment in Pakistan is also supporting such militants groups," Haddadadel said via an interpreter, according to Reuters.
On Thursday, a spokesman for the Pakistani military also disputed the ABC News report in an interview with ABC News. "It is totally untrue to say our intelligence agencies have anything to do with Jundullah," said General Wahid Arshad, Pakistan's chief military spokesman. "We know of the man (Jundullah leader Abd el Malik Regi) quoted in your story, and he is nothing more than a criminal and a drug dealer."
But according to ABC News consultant Alexis Debat, who just returned from the region, Pakistani intelligence recently facilitated the payment of $1.3 million by Iran to Jundullah to obtain the release of kidnapped Iranian border guards, "They (the Iranians) are escorted by Pakistani intelligence into Pakistan to meet with Jundullah officials and probably Regi himself to make the exchange to give the money and get the hostages back. So Pakistani intelligence in many ways is involved in that."
ABC News stands by its reporting on this story.
April 5, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (11)
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Pakistan's Foreign Office said the Pakistani government "will never allow its territory for carrying out acts of terrorism and violence against any country."
Ha Ha lmao...are they SURE?
Posted by: Jazz | Apr 5, 2007 4:21:40 PM
I find these news profoundly disturbing, specially after having fought a “war on terrorism” for more than six years now without a clear objective. Now we face the clear truth that we are supporting terrorism too. It is a shame being a citizen of this country in moments like this. Who is the terrorist state now? And while all this shameless act was being perpetrated we curtailed our own liberties with stupid laws like the Patriot Act and violated Human rights in our own cellars, claiming it was all for the “greater good” All this has to stop now.
Posted by: Ricky | Apr 5, 2007 6:26:43 PM
I find these news profoundly disturbing, specially after having fought a “war on terrorism” for more than six years now without a clear objective. Now we face the clear truth that we are supporting terrorism too. It is a shame being a citizen of this country in moments like this. Who is the terrorist state now? And while all this shameless act was being perpetrated we curtailed our own liberties with stupid laws like the Patriot Act and violated Human rights in our own cellars, claiming it was all for the “greater good” All of this has to stop now.
Posted by: Ricky | Apr 5, 2007 6:29:01 PM
This is an absurd story, first place these types of attacks have been occuring in Iran for years. The primary reason is Iran has a well documented history of brutally supressing its Sunni minorities. People need to read more than this networks coverage. Most of the news on this site is both poorly sourced and months old. Get off sites like this one which is biased and read some of the indigeous papers from the area in question.
Posted by: Pog | Apr 5, 2007 8:24:28 PM
I fear Rosie O donnell with THE bomb more than I fear Iran with THE bomb
Posted by: airmanc5 | Apr 5, 2007 9:48:55 PM
This shouldn't surprise anyone. Ever since World War II the U.S. Government has seen fit to do whatever the heck it wants to do. It only complains when people use the same tactics back at them. If this is truly confirmed, then Bush has further proven that he and the rest of the government are hypocrites and only want more power.
Posted by: Steve | Apr 5, 2007 10:08:33 PM
Pakistan "will never allow its territory to be used for militants against Iran" in much the same way as Pakistan's own ISI did not for years fund the Taliban for years. In the same way that it hasn't promoted militants for decades, going back to the jihad against the Soviets. They could at least pretend to be a little bit honest.
Posted by: Mike | Apr 6, 2007 2:11:57 AM
Once again we see the tyrannical, secret, unconstitutional, criminal CIA's corrupt military-industrial Vice Empire engineering yet another new terror threat with which to bankrupt our nation and enslave us in abject fear and corporate military tyranny.
If there is even one shred of truth to this story, Bill Gates should be immediately arrested and tried for high treason, and the entire CIA mafia leadership with him. It is bad enough that they deliberately engineered "Al Queada" to replace their lucrative "Red Menace" with to enable the squandering of trillions of dollars on useless valueless and purposeless weapons of mass destruction by the secret criminal Pentagon Oligarchs who have turned Ne0-British America into an enslaved prison for its people and a pariah among nations.
Posted by: Phil Stracke | Apr 6, 2007 11:42:46 AM
Phil, are you REALLY "enslaved in abject fear"? lol That is THE DUMBEST thing I've read all day...
..."secret criminal Pentagon Oligarchs who have turned Ne0-British America into an enslaved prison for its people" Duuude! Lay of the LSD, man. You're crackin' me UP, DUDE!
Posted by: Jazz | Apr 6, 2007 2:13:20 PM
"Pakistan Denounces ABC News Report on Backing Iran Radicals"
Well, really. What would anyone expect them to say?
Posted by: Zach | Apr 7, 2007 1:35:55 AM
there was a show on American-government sponsored Persian VOA , and they had an interview with the leader of this group. They called him again and again very favorably "the leader for Iranian people's resistance!" So there is no doubt American government is beyond this. Now this man has admitted to indiscriminately kidnapping and killing civilians, and I think this is what is called terrorism (I beg Mr. Cheney to correct me if it is not terrorism, but "democratization!"). What would you make of it if an Iranian sponsored TV stations interviews Bin Ladan, calling him the beloved leader of american resistance!
Posted by: bamdad | Apr 9, 2007 11:25:23 AM
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