Washington: Despite the military action
taken by the Pakistani Army against the terrorist groups, the
US remains concerned that al Qaeda operates with impunity in
Pakistan's territory, a Congressional report has said.
'Al Qaeda and Affiliates: Historical Perspective,
Global Presence, and Implications for US Policy' was released
by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) for US lawmakers
on February 5.
"US officials remain concerned that al Qaeda
terrorists operate with impunity on Pakistani territory, and
that the group appears to have increased its influence among
the myriad militant groups operating along the Pak-Afghan
border, as well as in the densely populated Punjab province,"
the report said.
"Al Qaeda forces that fled Afghanistan with their
Taliban supporters remain active in Pakistan and reportedly
have extensive, mutually supportive links with indigenous
Pakistani terrorist groups that conduct anti-Western and
anti-India attacks," the report said.
Noting that al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden and his
lieutenant, Egyptian terrorist Ayman al-Zawahri, are believed
to be hiding in northwestern Pakistan, along with most other
senior operatives, the report said.
Al Qaeda leaders have issued statements encouraging
Pakistani Muslims to "resist" the American "occupiers" in
Pakistan (and Afghanistan), and to fight against Pakistan's
"US-allied politicians and officers."
Al Qaeda is widely believed to maintain camps in
western Pakistan where foreign extremists receive training in
terrorist operations, it said.
"By one account, up to 150 Westerners went to western
Pakistan to receive terrorism training in 2009.
As pressure has mounted on Al Qaeda in western
Pakistan in the latter half of 2009, these camps may have
become smaller and more mobile," the CRS said.
The August 2009 death of al Qaeda-allied Pakistani
Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, assumed to be caused by a
US-launched missile, was a notable success, but a flurry of
lethal suicide bomb attacks on urban Pakistani targets have
demonstrated the resiliency of militant groups, the report
said.
"Moreover, some analysts worry that successful drone
operations are driving al Qaeda fighters into Pakistani cities
where they will be harder to target, while also exacerbating
already significant anti-American sentiments among the
Pakistani people.
At the same time, the Pakistan Army appears hesitant
to expand its ground offensive operation into northern tribal
agencies to which al Qaeda and other militant leaders are
believed to have fled, and which may allow al Qaeda to
continue using the rugged region as a base of operations," the
CRS said.
PTI