Al Qaeda operates with impunity in Pakistan, says US Congress

Despite the military action taken by the Pakistani Army against the terrorist groups, the US remains concerned that Al Qaeda operates with impunity in Pakistani territory, a Congressional report has said.

'Al Qaeda and Affiliates: Historical Perspective, Global Presence, and Implications for US Policy' was released by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) for US lawmakers on February 5.

'US officials remain concerned that Al Qaeda terrorists operate with impunity on Pakistani territory, and that the group appears to have increased its influence among the myriad militant groups operating along the Pak-Afghan border, as well as in the densely populated Punjab province,' the report said.

'Al Qaeda forces that fled Afghanistan with their Taliban supporters remain active in Pakistan and reportedly have extensive, mutually supportive links with indigenous Pakistani terrorist groups that conduct anti-Western and anti-India attacks,' the report said.Noting that Al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden and his lieutenant, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahri, are believed to be hiding in northwestern Pakistan, along with most other senior operatives, the report said.

Al Qaeda leaders have issued statements encouraging Pakistani Muslims to 'resist' the American 'occupiers' in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to fight against Pakistan's 'US-allied politicians and officers.'

Al Qaeda is widely believed to maintain camps in western Pakistan where foreign extremists receive training in terrorist operations, it said. "By one account, up to 150 Westerners went to western Pakistan to receive terrorism training in 2009. As pressure has mounted on Al Qaeda in western Pakistan in the latter half of 2009, these camps may have become smaller and more mobile," the CRS said.

The death of Al Qaeda-allied Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, assumed to be caused by a US-launched missile, was a notable success, but a flurry of lethal suicide bomb attacks on urban Pakistani targets have demonstrated the resiliency of militant groups, the report said.'Moreover, some analysts worry that successful drone operations are driving Al Qaeda fighters into Pakistani cities where they will be harder to target, while also exacerbating already significant anti-American sentiments among the Pakistani people.At the same time, the Pakistan Army appears hesitant to expand its ground offensive operation into northern tribal agencies to which Al Qaeda and other militant leaders are believed to have fled, and which may allow Al Qaeda to continue using the rugged region as a base of operations," the CRS said.