Pakistan News and Discussion-8

[Naresh]

<b>Sherpao denies coup attempt against Musharraf</b>

<b>ISLAMABAD – Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao Friday contradicted a report claiming that a coup attempt was made against President General Pervez Musharraf immediately after his return from visit to the United States.</b>

Sherpao was commenting on a report of Asia Times Online, which claimed that over 40 arrests had been made after the coup was foiled.

“It is totally baseless (report); the Musharraf government is very strong and faces no threat,” the interior minister told TheNation.

“Why there should be a coup, the baseless report is someone’s personal imagination,” he added.
Asia Times, an online magazine, had claimed in its report that some 40 Islamists were arrested by security agencies after the coup against President Musharraf was foiled.

“Most of those arrested are middle-ranking Pakistani Air Force officers, while the civilians arrested include a son of a serving army brigadier,” the report had claimed.

It further stated that the foiled plan was discovered through the naivety of an air force officer who this month used a cell phone to activate a high-tech rocket aimed at the President’s residence in Rawalpindi.

According to Asia Times Online sources, more arrests can be expected, both military and civilian.

Monitoring Desk adds: Asia Times Online in a report posted on its website has claimed that a plot to stage a coup against President Musharraf soon after his recent return from the US has been uncovered, resulting in the arrest of more than 40 people.

Most of those arrested are middle-ranking Pakistani Air Force officers, while civilian arrests include a son of a serving brigadier in the army. All of those arrested are Islamists, contacts in Rawalpindi, where the military is based, divulged to the online newspaper
.
The conspiracy was discovered through the naivety of an air force officer who this month used a cell phone to activate a high-tech rocket aimed at the president’s residence in Rawalpindi. The rocket was recovered, and its activating mechanism revealed the officer’s telephone number. His arrest led to the other arrests.

<b>Still in the US, Musharraf also claimed that former ISI officials were supporting the Taliban and he sent instructions to the director general of the ISI to check on top officials, including retired Lieutenant General Hamid Gul and retired Colonel Ameer Sultan (known as Colonel Imam). Gul is a former director general of the ISI and Ameer is considered as the founding father of the Taliban movement. He was Pakistan’s consul-general in Herat in western Afghanistan when the Taliban emerged in the mid-1990s. Musharraf also instructed that a list be compiled of all retired officers who had been involved in any significant intelligence operations and who were suspected of still being sympathetic towards the Taliban.</b>

As I see it all the Forty (or more) Conspirators have been Eliminated-Erased i.e. Sent to receive the rewards of 72 Virgins and 36 Boys!

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->