Pak supporting anti-India terrorists: WikiLeaks

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The storm created by whistle blower website WikiLeaks is not going calm down very soon, as the 2.5 lakh-odd confidential documents released by the site has become a treasure trove of news for the media world over.

The WikiLeaks documents say that Pakistan's Army and ISI are covertly sponsoring four militant groups, including the Taliban and Mumbai attackers Lashkar-e-Taiba, and will not abandon these groups for any amount of money from the US.

Citing a secret review written by an American envoy to Islamabad, a Guardian report that Pakistan had received more than USD 16 billion in American aid since 2001, but "there is no chance that Pakistan will view enhanced assistance... as sufficient compensation for abandoning support to these groups".

US diplomats harassed in Pakistan

WikiLeaks also said that Pakistan's security services harassed US diplomats in Islamabad, delayed visas, clogged customs clearance and sabotaged security contracts as punishment for American support for Pakistan's civilian government and India's nuclear programme, suggest leaked US diplomatic cables.

In a briefing to FBI director Robert Mueller ahead of a visit to Pakistan, US embassy officials in Pakistan sketched out a difficult relationship, said media reports citing one of over 250,000 documents leaked by whistle blower website WikiLeaks.

In a secret Feb 22, 2010 cable, US diplomats told Mueller that "while we have had major successes in our military and law enforcement cooperation with Pakistan, cooperation has frequently been hampered by suspicion in Pakistan's military and intelligence establishment about US intentions and objectives".

"Among other things, the Pakistanis believe that we have favoured India over Pakistan-most notably, by approving civil-nuclear cooperation with India-and that we aim to dismantle Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, which, in light of their conventional military disadvantage vis-a-vis India, they consider critical to their national security.

"The military and intelligence establishment is also concerned that we are working with Pakistan's civilian leadership to limit the military's prerogative in determining Pakistan's national security policies.

"As a result of these concerns, the military and intelligence establishment has taken steps since Spring 2009 to hamper the operations of the Embassy."

Turning to the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, it said: "Pakistan's prosecution of the seven suspects it arrested in the Mumbai case-i.e., XXXXXXXXXXXX and terrorism financiers XXXXXXXXXXXX-is proceeding, though at a slow pace."

"The government has continually reassured us that the prosecutors will win convictions against all the defendants after a trial lasting several months, though it has a stronger case against the five LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) operatives than against the two terrorism financers."

Noting that in October 2009, a Pakistani court had quashed all remaining cases against Hafiz Saeed, the head of LeT alias Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), US officials told Mueller: "The government has repeatedly told us that it would need much more evidence of Saeed's direct involvement in the Mumbai attacks to move forward with Mumbai-related charges against him."

Pakistani officials, they said, had also informed the FBI that it would be difficult to introduce evidence related to a key plotter Pakistani American David Coleman Headley "in the government's prosecution of the Mumbai defendants, including because Headley's statements to US authorities would be treated as hearsay with little evidentiary value in court".

It also said American and British diplomats fear Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme could lead to fissile material falling into the hands of terrorists or a devastating nuclear exchange with India.

The leaked cables contain warnings that Pakistan is rapidly building its nuclear stockpile despite the country's growing instability and "pending economic catastrophe".

According to the documents, US diplomats in Islamabad were told Pakistan was working on producing smaller, tactical nuclear weapons that could be used on the battlefield against Indian troops.

However, Pakistan dismissed fears over the safety of its nuclear weapons, and said that the fears over the nation's nuclear weapons are misplaced.

(With inputs from IANS)