Pakistani Journalist Attacked and Tortured By U.S. Ally in War On Terror

From The New York Times.

An investigative reporter for a major Pakistani newspaper was on his way home from dinner here on a recent night when men in black commando garb stopped his car, blindfolded him and drove him to a house on the outskirts of town.

There, he says, he was beaten and stripped naked. His head and eyebrows were shaved, and he was videotaped in humiliating positions by assailants who he and other journalists believe were affiliated with the country’s powerful spy agency.

At one point, while he lay face down on the floor with his hands cuffed behind him, his captors made clear why he had been singled out for punishment: for writing against the government. “If you can’t avoid rape,” one taunted him, “enjoy it.”

The reporter, Umar Cheema, 34, had written several articles for The News that were critical of the Pakistani Army in the months preceding the attack.

His ordeal was not uncommon for a journalist or politician who crossed the interests of the military and intelligence agencies, the centers of power even in the current era of civilian government, reporters and politicians said.

What makes his case different is that Mr. Cheema has spoken out about it, describing in graphic detail what happened in the early hours of Sept. 4, something rare in a country where victims who suspect that their brutal treatment was at the hands of government agents often choose, out of fear, to keep quiet.

“I have suspicions and every journalist has suspicions that all fingers point to the ISI,” Mr. Cheema said, using the acronym for the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, the institution that the C.I.A. works with closely in Pakistan to hunt militants. The ISI is an integral part of the Pakistani Army; its head, Gen. Shuja Ahmed Pasha, reports to the army chief of staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani...

Times Square Bomber Had Pakistani Army, U.S. Embassy Connections

A Pakistani Army Major, as well as a caterer for the U.S. embassy in Pakistan, have been arrested in connection with the investigation into the Times Square Bomber according to the New York Times.

Additionally, the Air Force officer father of Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square Bomber, also knew the arrested Army Major personally.

Mr. Shahzad is the son of a retired senior Pakistani Air Force officer, and it appeared that the arrested army major was an acquaintance of Mr. Shahzad’s father, according to a British terrorism expert, Sajjan Gohel, who is familiar with the investigation into the Times Square bombing.

The major may have helped Mr. Shahzad get in touch with the Pakistani Taliban and may have helped him travel to North Waziristan, Mr. Gohel said.

It is also stated in the article that "the nation’s premier spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, is in charge of the investigation of the case, Pakistani officials have said."

The ISI itself has often been mentioned in connection with the 9/11 Hijackers, the Taliban and also Al-Qaeda which was originally created by both them and the CIA to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. Mahmood Ahmed, Ex-Director of the ISI, has also been accused of funneling money to Mohammed Atta in connection with the 9/11 terror plot.

So what's the conundrum we are left with here? A 9/11 terror connected spy agency with close ties to the CIA is investigating the possible Pakistani Army and U.S. Embassy connections of the Times Square Bomber, who is accused of working in collusion with the Taliban, who were supported by the ISI itself.

Welcome to the so-called War on Terror.