CNN report on al Qaeda camps baseless: ISPR

08 Aug, 2004

Inter-Services Public Relations, (ISPR) Director-General Major General Shaukat Sultan has said the CNN report on the presence of al Qaeda training camps at Pakistan's soil is totally baseless.
"This is a baseless report and I totally reject it", the ISPR DG told CNN.
It's not only the Pakistan that has rejected this report, he said, adding rather it has also been rejected by the US State Department.
He said the US State Department has stated: "Pakistan is doing a lot to root out the terrorism as well as the terrorist camps from Pakistani soil."
He said there are no training camps of any sort on Pakistan's soil; rather, there are few foreign elements present in the tribal areas and the Pakistani Forces are fighting them.
"We are securing their surrender or they will be eliminated", he said.
Major General Shaukat Sultan said as regards the proper camps, there are neither any camps in our knowledge nor they have been brought to our knowledge, adding the report must have been filed by those, who are not aware of the ground realities.
The report appears to be illogical because the areas which this report refers to are under the strict security surveillance of not only Pakistani Forces, but also the aerial surveillance of the coalition forces, he said.
"I don't think that there is a possibility of reactivation of any camp in that area"," he added.
Asked what in his opinion will be the definition of training camps for al Qaeda, the ISPR DG said such camps would include some kind of infrastructure where the people live and where the militant training is carried out, and they are armed and equipped over there.
There are no training camps of this kind on Pakistan's soil, he said, adding if at all there are foreign elements present, they are present at different hideouts, which are knocked out one after the other the moment their locations are confirmed.

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