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Pak takes Osama’s
threat seriously
WSN Network
ISLAMABAD: Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s call for Pakistanis to
rise up against their US-allied military leader has struck a chord
among an angry, extremist minority but resonated little among the
wider public and was dismissed by the government as “ridiculous.’’
Still, it could
feed into growing debate over whether Pakistan is sacrificing its
own stability by supporting Washington’s unpopular war on terror.
The Al Qaeda
chief’s audio message, released on Thursday, urged Pakistanis to
wage a jihad or holy war against Gen Pervez Musharraf, whose
decision to send troops into the Red Mosque in the capital and
against Islamic militants at the Afghan border has stoked an
insurgency.
The government on
Friday dismissed the idea that many in Pakistan would respond to the
latest call to arms.
“If Osama bin
Laden has spoken to the people and urged them to rise, and the
people were really following him, they would have done so much
earlier,’’ said army spokesman Maj-Gen Waheed Arshad. “He doesn’t
have much following here.’’
Presidential
spokesman Rashid Qureshi said the government wanted to avoid giving
bin Laden any more publicity. ‘’I think a response to such
ridiculous rhetoric is just dignifying it. We don’t want to do
that.’’ But a Pakistani intelligence official said the authorities
had to take the statement seriously -- a similar message from Al
Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri preceded twin attempts on Gen
Musharraf’s life in December 2003.
26
September, 2007
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