Commanders back Musharraf

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, SEPT. 14. Within hours of the U.S. making known the list of things it expected Islamabad to do in helping it track down the culprits of Tuesday's terrorist attacks, the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, today secured the support of the entire top military brass to extend fullest cooperation to Washington.

An emergency meeting of the Corps Commanders, presided over by Gen. Musharraf at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, unanimously condemned the acts of terrorism on the U.S. and made a number of recommendations for consideration by the Cabinet and the National Security Council.

The meeting was preceded by a telephone call from the U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. Colin Powell, to Gen. Musharraf. Mr. Powell is believed to have sought the co-operation of the military regime on three specific points - consent to use its air space in the event of the U.S. deciding to launch strikes on Afghanistan; sealing of its border with Afghanistan and exchange of information about Osama Bin Laden and his followers.

An official spokesman of the Pakistan Government did not refer to the specific points made by Mr. Powell. He noted that they exchanged views and held positive discussion on the situation arising out of Tuesday's attacks. Gen. Musharraf reiterated that his country was opposed to terrorism and would not ``hesitate to join any effort to eliminate the evil''.

A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate said the conference was attended by all Corps Commanders and Principal Staff Officers of the Pakistan Army. ``The participants were unanimous in condemning the acts of terrorism and the resultant human tragedy. A number of recommendations were made, which would be put up to the Cabinet and the National Security Council meeting for consideration''.

Though it did not give any details of the recommendations, it is presumed that they pertained to the points raised by Mr. Powell. Indications are that the Cabinet and the National Security Council would meet tomorrow to take a view on the outcome of the meeting.

It is believed that the military regime has conveyed to Washington that while it could consider use of its air space for any possible action against Afghanistan, it cannot afford to allow use of its soil for landing of ground troops. The view of senior functionaries of Musharraf Government is that allowing its soil could lead to a serious backlash within the country.

The military regime does not appear to have given a reply to the specific demands made by the Bush administration. Indications are that it might take some time for it to get its act together vis-a-vis the Taliban regime. The U.S. officials here believe that it would take some time before it could initiate any concrete action in the region.

It can be safely said that with the endorsement of the basic position taken by Gen. Musharraf on cooperation sought by the U.S., the military Government has secured the support of the most powerful institution in the country.

Militants swear by Taliban

That does not mean it would be an easy task for Gen. Musharraf to fulfil the requests made known by the Bush administration, particularly given the opposition by the religious groups and the militant outfits to any support to the U.S. against the Taliban regime.

This was evident from a statement issued by the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Taking the lead on behalf of the ``jehadi'' outfits, a Lashkar spokesman issued a statement expressing grave concern over Gen. Musharraf's offer to the U.S. for cooperation in action against terrorists following the suicide attacks in the U.S.

The spokesman not only characterised the statement of Gen. Musharraf as ``interference in the internal affairs of a foreign power'' but also announced that the ``jehadi'' outfits would stand solidly behind the Taliban.

High drama

There was high drama and tension in the air throughout the day in Islamabad following the developments in the last 24 hours. It began early in the day with the authorities deciding to close down the Islamabad airport from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. Official cited ``security reasons'', but doubts continue to linger about the actual intentions.

Speculation was that during the closure, some planes landed with ``hardware equipment''. As if all this was not enough, a small Jordanian aircraft made an emergency landing at the Islamabad international airport in the afternoon. It is reported that there were six Jordanians aboard the plane who were being investigated.

Meanwhile, the Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan held a press conference to release a brief statement by the Taliban supremo, Mullah Mohammad Omar. It not only ruled out involvement of Osama bin Laden in the attacks on the U.S. but also hinted about an international effort to defame him and the Taliban.

Musharraf cancels visit

PTI reports:

Gen. Musharraf cancelled his New York visit in view of the postponement of the U.N. General Assembly and his meeting there with the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, will not take place.

The Press Secretary to the President, Maj. Gen. Rashid Qureshi, told PTI here that the U.N. meeting itself has been postponed and therefore Gen. Musharraf will not be going to New York.

Taliban warns of revenge

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