Stating that the Al Qaida was able to establish an unprecedented safe haven along the Pakistan-Afghan border in the past 18 months, the Central Intelligence Agency chief has warned that the situation there presented a clear danger to the two nations, as also to the United States. General Micheal Hayden termed the 2006 peace deal between Pakistan government and the pro-Taliban tribals in North Waziristan as absolutely disastrous.
'Shock, confusion, and paralysis reigned.' 'Pakistan was caught in a most embarrassing situation. It could neither claim credit for the operation nor admit to a dismal intelligence failure and lack of army preparedness.'
The US Vice-President, Dick Cheney, has said that a part of Pakistan has become a safe haven for terrorists organisations like Al Qaeda and the Taliban and this would be one of the main challenges for the incoming Obama Administration.
Major Syed Moiz Abbas Shah, 37, was killed on Tuesday in a clash with the Taliban militants in the Sararogha area of South Waziristan near the Afghan border, according to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the army.
"What they are doing is that they're putting lives on the line and resources into the fight. So they're fighting it. We have made it clear that we will support them as they request," he said.
Disapproving of US' reliance on President Pervez Musharraf in the war against terror, presidential hopeful Barack Obama, who raised a storm by suggesting unilateral action against Al Qaeda in Pakistan, has vowed to go after the terror network there.
Under the name Irhabi 007 -- combining the James Bond reference with the Arabic for terrorist -- he worked with al Qaeda leaders in Iraq and came up with a way to convert often gruesome videos into a form that could be put onto the Web.
the report said India's counterterrorism efforts were 'hampered by its outdated and overburdened law enforcement and legal systems.'
'Pakistan is uncomfortable with the Indian presence in Afghanistan. They want the Taliban to ensure that there is no Indian presence in Afghanistan.'
'Pakistan wanted India out of Afghanistan to which again the Taliban told Pakistan to take a walk.' 'Six months after they came back to power in 2021 India was back in Afghanistan at the request of the Taliban.' 'The Taliban realised that India has no agenda of its own in Afghanistan.'
The Al Qaeda's second in command, Abu Yahya al-Libi, was the main target of the United States drone strike that killed 15 militants in Pakistan's lawless Northwest on Monday and US officials said they were "optimistic" the Libyan had not survived
The Al Qaeda network is plotting a terrorist strike in Britain to inflict mass casualties similar to the newsroom massacre at the satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 people, Britain's spy chief has warned.
The White House has outrightly refused to negotiate with Al Qaeda for the release of its citizen, who was kidnapped by the terrorist outfit in Pakistan last year.
Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is warning that the situation on the sub-continent has turned "grave" as it appears that open warfare is about to break out between Pakistan and the United States, The European Union Times reports.
The United States of America sought Pakistan's help in 1998 to prevent Osama bin Laden from launching an Al Qaeda attack against it, with then President Bill Clinton asking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to personally use his influence to prevail over the Taliban in averting the imminent strike.
He said radical terror groups were enemies of Islam and urged clerics to 'cleanse' their religion of the taint of terrorism.
Aziz, 55, survived the blast, while his driver and seven others, including the bomber, were killed and over 30 others were injured.
"He (Zawahiri) and his organisation still threaten us. As we did both seek to capture and kill and succeed in killing bin Laden, we certainly do or will do the same thing with Zawahiri," Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told media persons at a Pentagon news conference.
In 2009, Al Qaeda's core in Pakistan remained the most formidable terrorist organisation targeting the US homeland and it has proven to be an adaptable and resilient terrorist group, the annual Country Reports on Terrorism released by the US Department of State of Thursday has said.
Zawahiri, who is shown wearing a black turban and white robe and speaking against a white background, said the video was to mark the fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
The 40-year-old blogger was attacked by four suspected Al Qaeda linked Islamists at their apartment
A top al-Qaeda operative, captured by US special forces in a secretive mission in Libya this month, pleaded not guilty to a charge of his involvement in the 1998 bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, in a New York court.
In a new audiotape Al Qaeda also criticised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to India.
There is no threat from either Al Qaeda or ISIS of a magnitude which the country cannot deal with, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said on Tuesday but asserted that security agencies were keeping a "very close watch".
Ahmed Javed Khwaja is the second Pakistani doctor to be arrested on suspicion of having links with the banned outfit.
The United States has increased security at all its major airports and railway stations, and has taken a number of measures, that include temporary closure of its 22 diplomatic missions, following a "very specific" Al Qaeda threat emanating from the Arabian Peninsula.
'It is high time that the 'war on terror' is removed from our diplomatic toolbox.' 'Certainly, our parliamentarians have no role in it,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Jamaat-ud-Dawah, the frontal organisation of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, which is blamed for the Mumbai attacks, has written to the United Nations claiming that it was not associated with the Al-Qaeda and Taliban and that the Security Council's sanctions on it were 'unjustified'.
US President-elect Barack Obama has said Al Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden, the most wanted terrorists of the world, are the number one threat to the United States of America.
The Associated Press, in a story widely reproduced in the US media, cites top US military commanders as saying that Pakistan's tribal areas are the new Ground Zero in the battle against global terrorism -- even more so than Iraq.
Reiterating the government's resolve that terrorists cannot be allowed to commit acts of terror from its soil, Musharraf said those harbouring terrorists would face stern action. He said the people of Pakistan are moderate and they reject extremism.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair braved an assassination threat from al-Qaeda and went ahead with the plans to attend the Queen's 2002 Golden Jubilee celebrations.
The White House has convened a top-priority meeting on Thursday to deal with new intelligence that suggests a group of Al Qaeda operatives is en route to the United States, or likely already in place.
Security has been increased in and around the ancient Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati in view of the Al-Qaeda threatening to spread its network to Assam.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, who has been appointed the Al Qaeda chief following the killing of Osama bin Laden, is probably hiding in Pakistan and can be nabbed by the Inter Services Intelligence if it "really wants" to do so, a top United States Senator has said.
Voicing America's resolve to wipe out "apocalyptic cult" like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, President Barack Obama today said safe havens for terrorists will not be tolerated and called on Muslims worldwide to reject those who "distort Islam, to preach intolerance, and promote violence."
The blame must be shared by the investigating agencies, the government of the day and the nation at large, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Sections in the US State Department and Pentagon have always felt more comfortable dealing with all powerful Pakistani generals instead of elected civilians, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The hijackers had demanded release of Azhar Masood in order to release the passengers of the plane.
