UK Terror Plot - the Uzbek Connection
Politics and Society, Uzbekistan4 Comments
Whilst quickly browsing Craig Murray’s website a comment by Mr Murray on the recent terror-plot brouhaha caught my eye:
‘By chance, were I still in post I would have been seeing the papers in this case as one of the suspects is an Uzbek.’
As this story from Scotland on Sunday reveals, the arrest of a low-level Uzbek militant by Pakistani special forces was the trigger for further arrests which ultimately led to the shutdown of Britain’s leading airports last week.
You don’t need to have read either of Jason Burke’s excellent books to realise the key role played by Pakistan in the ‘war on terror’, namely as the host for a panoply of militant Islamists, not all of whom are acting in league and not all of whom take their lead from al-Qaida and Osama Bin Laden.
However, it suits many different parties to believe that is indeed the case, although the Pakistani government’s non-existent control of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and Tribal areas make it a welcome haven for Islamists on the run.
Certainly the Tashkent Government has been seeking closer cooperation with Islamabad on the issue of Uzbek militants allegedly hiding out in Pakistan.
However, it seems Uzbeks have a habit of snitching on their fellow Islamists, as this May 2005 story from Registan demonstrates:
The Pakistani intelligence official said it was difficult to get captured Uzbeks to talk about Yuldash, “but it was a lot easier to grill them for clues about the Arabs and their possible hideouts. They felt far less loyalty.�
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Not so surprising. Ask any Central Asian who has been to the Middle East how well they were treated by their coreligionists, and you can understand the desire to tell tales.
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[...] UK Terror Plot - the Uzbek ConnectionNeweurasia.net, Europe - Aug 15, 2006 By chance, were I still in post I would have been seeing the papers in this case as one of the suspects is an Uzbek. . As this … [...]
[...] “I am afraid you cannot take this onboard, Sir.” You must be kidding me. I just spent 20 pounds on a book that, despite arousing some controversy in the UK, should not be banned onboard a flight to Germany. I understand that the terror plot (which coincidentally seems to have an Uzbek dimension) makes for some overwrought nerves. [...]
[...] UK Terror Plot - the Uzbek Connection Neweurasia.net, Europe - Aug 15, 2006 different parties to believe that is indeed the case, although the Pakistani government s non-existent control of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and [...]