Dadullah Claim On Ubl Unreliable Usg

Program: “Today With Kamran Khan”

Karachi Geo News television in Urdu at 1800 GMT on 25 April relays live from its Karachi studio regularly scheduled “Today with Kamran Khan” program. Noted Pakistan journalist Kamran Khan reviews, discusses, and analyzes major day-to-day developments with government ministers and officials, opposition leaders and noted analysts . . .

Segment V

Kamran Khan says the “most reliable” Taliban Commander Mulla Dadullah has made a “startling revelation” in an Al-Jazeera TV interview that the suicide attack at the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan targeted US Vice President Dick Cheney and it was “planned and supervised by Usama Bin Ladin himself.” Khan says this is for the first time in last few years that the report has come about Usama Bin Ladin’s operational activity from a “credible source” as Mullah Dadullah is considered close to Al-Qa’ida and he is the top most commander of Taliban.

Kamran Khan establishes telephonic contact in Peshawar with Rahimullah Yusufzai, prominent Afghan affairs analyst, and asks him how “//credible//” is Mulla Dadullah’s claim. Yusufzai says when the Bagram suicide attack took place, a Taliban spokesman had then claimed that “the Taliban have carried out the suicide attack.” Yusufzai adds that the Taliban at that time did not say that the attack was carried out by Al-Qa’ida or supervised by Usama Bin Ladin. Yusufzai says the attack took place about 2 months ago and Dadullah’s claim has come after a long period. Yusufzai thinks that if the attack was supervised by Usama Bin Ladin, he would have claimed it “right away” because it was a big success that the Bagram airbase was attacked, which caused a “big //embarrassment//” to the United States. Continuing, Yusufzai says Dadullah himself has now become a “controversial” figure among the Taliban ranks because of his recent activities, including “beheading” people. Yusufzai says so it is not right to describe Dadullah as “credible” and “important” Taliban leader. Yusufzai believes that Dadullah has made the claim under a “//strategy//” to “//mislead//” the United States and the NATO. Yusufzai thinks that Usama Bin Ladin is “alive, but non-functional and it is not possible for him to plan or supervise Al-Qa’ida activities.” Yusufzai says according to his information, Al-Qa’ida does not have enough volunteers and cadres that it could plan attacks like one on Bagram airbase. Yusufzai adds that most of the suicide attacks in Afghanistan are being carried out by Taliban.

(Description of Source: Karachi Geo News TV in Urdu — 24-hour satellite news TV channel owned by Pakistan’s Jang publishing group).