Pakistan: The Spider Group and free access given to CIA, FBI

ISLAMABAD: Following some unbelievable concessions offered to the Americans by Islamabad after 9/11, Pakistan is today home to one of the biggest networks of CIA and FBI outside the US.

While generally the governments both at the Centre and in the Punjab are soft on the issue of Raymond Davis amid reports that the double murderer would be bailed out to please Washington, some Pakistani authorities present an extremely gloomy picture if corrective measures are not immediately taken.

The US embassy spokesperson when approached on Thursday with a questionnaire for the US version on issues focused in this story, she responded on Friday with a statement, “The United States respects the laws of Pakistan and international laws. We do not comment on matters of security.”

While the Americans are reluctant to talk on sensitive issues threatening the sovereignty of Pakistan, the sources said that the kind of free hand that has been given to the Americans in Pakistan after 9/11 is unbelievable.

“We have no idea how many foreign as well as local agents of CIA and FBI are operating within the territorial limits of Pakistan,” an official source said, warning that the American agents are spread all over.

Not only General Musharraf had allowed the CIA and FBI to hire local agents in Pakistan in the garb of so-called war on terror but the Americans were also free to move in and move out without any check. “At times we did not know who is coming and who is going, and what is brought in and what it taken out,” the source said.

One unbelievable concession that the American “officials” and “diplomats” including the likes of double murderer Davis, have been enjoying after 9/11 but withdrawn only in October 2009 on the instructions of the Defence Ministry, was the facility of unchecked arrivals and departures with no scrutiny of their luggage at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) in Islamabad.

Gammon Gate of the BBIA, which was basically meant for food catering services and had a direct outside airport link without passing through immigration and customs checks, was specified for the US officials and for the UN officials too. This special facility allowed the Americans to have unchecked arrivals and departures to and from the Islamabad Airport.

The facility was massively misused and there were reports of even unauthorised and undeclared import of sensitive material and equipment, including weapons. This fact had raised serious alarm bells ringing among the Pakistani authorities and forced them to withdraw the facility but after a lot of damage was already done.

A CAA order, issued on the subject in 2009, did concede that the customs and immigration authorities having no arrangements/staff to check the movement and crew and other foreigners, etc. “The equipment related to aeroplane, the crew and their personal luggage also passes through this gate. During checking, US vehicles and the luggage they carry to and from apron area are not properly searched\checked by the ASF staff deputed to control the entry\exit at the Gammon Gate,” a document said, adding in view of this, use of the Gammon Gate by foreigners should be stopped forthwith as it was a serious security hazard.

Meanwhile defence authorities in Pakistan are also in the knowledge of this phenomenal spread in the American spy agencies’ network after 9/11.

Even an American newspaper, The Washington Times, reported a few years back that the FBI had organised some former Pakistani army officers and others into a band known as the “Spider Group” to local Taliban and al-Qaeda fugitives hiding in tribal areas along the Afghanistan border.

Quoting a federal law-enforcement official in Washington, the report said the move marked an attempt by the FBI to develop a “free flow of information” to US agents who previously had worked under some restriction with Pakistan’s official Inter-Services Intelligence.

The Spider Group, the report said, was also asked to recruit locals in Pakistan’s tribal areas, where hundreds of wanted “terrorists” are allegedly holed up under the patronage of tribal chiefs. Members of the Spider Group include a mix of Muslim and Christian retired army and intelligence officers and have been trained and equipped by the FBI.

It has also been reported in the media that a spymaster of one of the country’s intelligence agency had informed the Interior Ministry that a provincial head of a private security agency besides others were spying for the CIA. The security agency was contacted and the said official was removed. It was also reported that a large number of the private security agencies personnel are doing espionage for the American intelligence agencies.

A local journalist Azaz Syed had revealed a few years back that once he had approached the legal section of the US embassy in Islamabad after reading an advertisement in an international publication for the recruitment of FBI agents for South Asia. He said that for the purpose of doing an investigative story, he had offered himself for FBI services to spy on Taliban in exchange of information from the US embassy but the diplomat interviewing him was interested in the civil bureaucracy and was not ready to give any information. “I was told that I would get assignments relating to civil bureaucracy and in return would be paid well,” Syed was quoted to have said.

The US Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) — the spy military aircraft — are yet another source of concern for many here. The UAVs were allowed to do the espionage in tribal areas of Pakistan for “specific jobs” only but since the UAVs are not caught by the radars so these spy planes have also crossed their limits a number of times. Initially the Pakistan Air Force had objected not to allow surveillance to these US UAVs but Musharraf had decided otherwise because of US insistence that this was a must apparently to track down so-called al-Qaeda targets.

The present regime instead of curbing the “free for all” situation here for the Americans, not only allowed extraordinary laxity in visa issuance for the Americans without security check but also obliged them risking our own security.

While some of the reflection of how the Interior Ministry under Rehman Malik had served the US was given in The News’ Wednesday report - “A policy which has brought sheer disaster” — the volume of actual favours given to the Americans is far more.

After former US Ambassador Anne Peterson’s letter to Malik requesting for the issuance of prohibited bore licences for Dyne Corp’s local partner Inter-Risk, officials of the US embassy met the State Minister for Interior Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi and later formally wrote to him setting clear deadlines for the issuance of licences in three parts. The interior minister acted accordingly as per the wishes of the US embassy.

Gerald M Feierstein, Charge d’Affaires and interim, US embassy in Islamabad, had written to Tasneem Qureshi on May 7, 2009 stating, “......I would like to request the issuance of 134 prohibited bore (pb) licences on behalf to Inter-Risk (Pvt) Ltd to accomplish this security goal. 50 pb licences are needed as quickly as possible and an additional 50 pb licences will be needed in June 2009. The remaining 34 licences will be needed in July 2009.”

Within a week following this letter, Personal Secretary (PS) to State Minister for Interior Tasneem Qureshi wrote a “Top Priority” directive on minister’s behalf ordering Section Officer (PB), Ministry of Interior: “The Minister of State for Interior has been pleased to approve Fifty (50) PB arms licence in favour of M/S, Inter-Risk (Private) Limited. 

“2. Arm Section may issue the licenses under intimation to this office by 20-5-2009.”

While the state minister issued strict direction for the issuance of 50 pb licences to Inter-Risk by May 20, 2009, the deputy commissioner Islamabad received an official communication from office of the district coordination officer/political agent FR Bannu the same day. The letter’s subject was “Confirmation/Verification of Weapon Gift” and it read as: “The enclosed certificates (consisting 50 nos) for gift of weapon, gifted by Malik Khanzada Khan Wazir Daryoba Agency FR Bannu duly verified by the undersigned for further necessary action.”

These apparently gifted weapons were provided to the Inter-Risk by the US embassy. However, the Government of Pakistan did not know from where these weapons were coming. 

The US embassy spokesperson Courtney Beale was sent by The News on Thursday the following questionnaire: 

1. Is it a fact that Pakistan today is home to one of the biggest CIA-FBI networks after General Musharraf had allowed the American intelligence agencies to hire their local agents apparently to follow Taliban and al-Qaeda? 

2. Are the US drones involved in spying of Pakistan’s strategic sites?

3. Do you agree that the US officials and diplomats have been misusing the concessions offered to them at Pakistani airports particularly at Islamabad airport where instead of passing through normal checks they were allowed to come and go through Gammon Gate? The facility was withdrawn in October 2009 after the Pakistani authorities found it having misused. Misuse means unchecked arrival and departure of individuals and material. Yours comments please.

4. What do you say about the pressure having been exerted by the US embassy on the Pakistani Interior Ministry to issue prohibited bore licences to Dynacorp’s local partner Inter Risk? It became a major scandal over a year ago. Will you please also confirm from where the weapons came, which were given to Inter-Risk.

In response to these questions, Courtney’s brief response was: “The United States respects the laws of Pakistan and international law. We do not comment on matters of security.”

 

By Ansar Abbasi
Saturday, February 05, 2011