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Protesters oppose Pakistan spy agency's 'meddling' in Afghanistan
Hundreds of supporters of Canada's peace-building efforts in Afghanistan rallied in Toronto Saturday to oppose what they call the "long-standing meddling" of Pakistan's powerful spy agency.
"The Afghan community in Ontario organized this rally to protest and condemn the Pakistani Army and the ISI (Inter-services Intelligence) for its continuing support to al-Qaida, to the Taliban and to other terrorist groups," said Babur Mawladin, president of the Canada Afghanistan Solidarity Committee, in a statement.
"The ISI supports the ongoing violence in Afghanistan by providing sanctuary and other forms of support to terrorists who then enter Afghanistan from Pakistan to carry out suicide bombings and other acts of violence."
More than 500 people from all over Ontario, the 34-year-old said, converged on Queen's Park bearing the flags of Canada and Afghanistan and listened to speakers in Farsi and English.
"We wanted to raise awareness and we wanted to raise our voice to say: Behind these terrorist groups, there is another organization which is called ISI," Mawladin said. "And they are providing funding (and) support and they even co-ordinate and facilitate Taliban and al-Qaida operations inside Afghanistan."
He said protesters also spoke of their frustration with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, whom they called the spy agency's "puppet."
The group then issued a declaration, calling on the United Nations Security Council to enforce a resolution regarding the need for non-interference by neighbouring countries, specifically Pakistan and Iran.
The event follows on the heels of a U.S. admiral's accusation that parts of the Pakistani government sanctioned the killing of a Pakistani journalist.
Syed Saleem Shahzad, who worked for Asia Times Online, vanished from Islamabad in late May. His body, apparently tortured, was discovered in a canal two days later.
His death prompted speculation of involvement by the spy agency, though that has not been confirmed.
Mawladin also listed terrorist groups he said were known to operate from Pakistan, including a Taliban organization.
He noted the attack two weeks ago at the Kabul Intercontinental Hotel, which left 10 civilians, two policemen and all nine assailants dead. A U.S.-led military coalition has blamed it on a Pakistan-based terrorist group, the Haqqani network.
Also in May, the Pakistani military was criticized for not detecting the U.S. commando team that descended upon Osama bin Laden's compound in the northern city of Abbottabad.
Experts said the U.S. raid had frustrated some within the Pakistani military and intelligence circles, as Pakistanis were later arrested for supplying the CIA with information on the successful bid to get bin Laden.
The New York Times later reported that the cellphone used by bin Laden's courier appeared to show he was helped by Pakistani militants, the Harakat-ul-Mujahideen, who have been linked to the ISI. The Pakistani military rejected the story.
The spy agency has also long been suspected of being involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which killed more than 100 people and wounded about 350 others. U.S. prosecutors named three ISI agents as co-conspirators.
© Copyright (c) Postmedia News
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/can...477/story.html
Hundreds of supporters of Canada's peace-building efforts in Afghanistan rallied in Toronto Saturday to oppose what they call the "long-standing meddling" of Pakistan's powerful spy agency.
"The Afghan community in Ontario organized this rally to protest and condemn the Pakistani Army and the ISI (Inter-services Intelligence) for its continuing support to al-Qaida, to the Taliban and to other terrorist groups," said Babur Mawladin, president of the Canada Afghanistan Solidarity Committee, in a statement.
"The ISI supports the ongoing violence in Afghanistan by providing sanctuary and other forms of support to terrorists who then enter Afghanistan from Pakistan to carry out suicide bombings and other acts of violence."
More than 500 people from all over Ontario, the 34-year-old said, converged on Queen's Park bearing the flags of Canada and Afghanistan and listened to speakers in Farsi and English.
"We wanted to raise awareness and we wanted to raise our voice to say: Behind these terrorist groups, there is another organization which is called ISI," Mawladin said. "And they are providing funding (and) support and they even co-ordinate and facilitate Taliban and al-Qaida operations inside Afghanistan."
He said protesters also spoke of their frustration with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, whom they called the spy agency's "puppet."
The group then issued a declaration, calling on the United Nations Security Council to enforce a resolution regarding the need for non-interference by neighbouring countries, specifically Pakistan and Iran.
The event follows on the heels of a U.S. admiral's accusation that parts of the Pakistani government sanctioned the killing of a Pakistani journalist.
Syed Saleem Shahzad, who worked for Asia Times Online, vanished from Islamabad in late May. His body, apparently tortured, was discovered in a canal two days later.
His death prompted speculation of involvement by the spy agency, though that has not been confirmed.
Mawladin also listed terrorist groups he said were known to operate from Pakistan, including a Taliban organization.
He noted the attack two weeks ago at the Kabul Intercontinental Hotel, which left 10 civilians, two policemen and all nine assailants dead. A U.S.-led military coalition has blamed it on a Pakistan-based terrorist group, the Haqqani network.
Also in May, the Pakistani military was criticized for not detecting the U.S. commando team that descended upon Osama bin Laden's compound in the northern city of Abbottabad.
Experts said the U.S. raid had frustrated some within the Pakistani military and intelligence circles, as Pakistanis were later arrested for supplying the CIA with information on the successful bid to get bin Laden.
The New York Times later reported that the cellphone used by bin Laden's courier appeared to show he was helped by Pakistani militants, the Harakat-ul-Mujahideen, who have been linked to the ISI. The Pakistani military rejected the story.
The spy agency has also long been suspected of being involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which killed more than 100 people and wounded about 350 others. U.S. prosecutors named three ISI agents as co-conspirators.
© Copyright (c) Postmedia News
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/can...477/story.html
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