Musharraf Dumps Hundreds of al Qaeda Operatives Back in Afghanistan

General Pervez Musharraf . CNN Photo

11 June: The biggest refugee repatriation operation in the world underway now is the cover for Pakistan's mass-export of al Qaeda operatives back to where they came from — Afghanistan. General Pervez Musharraf gave the remaining estimated 400,000 Afghan refugees remaining in the country until June 30 to leave the country or face expulsion.

Most live along Pakistan's northwestern border regions of North and South Waziristan, which are also the sanctuaries of hundreds of al-Qaeda linked terrorists and Taliban, many buried among these Afghan refugees. Among them are foreign terrorists from Afghanistan, Chechnya and Uzbekistan

DEBKAfile's correspondent quotes diplomatic sources in the capital as referring to the belief of US intelligence agents that al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives who took shelter in Pakistan as refugees are now regrouping and moving back into Afghanistan. They pose fresh dangers to the Karzai government's stability in Kabul. American military strength in Afghanistan is not nearly large enough to deal with any major influx.

According to Guenet Guebre-Christos, United Nations High Commission for Refugees Representative in Pakistan, 1,861,412 Afghan refugees live in the North West Frontier Province, 783,545 in Baluchistan, 136,780 in Sindh, 207,754 in Punjab, 44,637 in Islamabad and 13,097 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Northern Areas. The UNHCR urges them not to return immediately, since they face attacks and hunger. Six to seven million Afghanis are reported to live on the brink of starvation. Returnees receive assistance package of a travel grant of US $3 to $30 per person and another $12 per capita to re-establish themselves in their homeland. UNHCR staff cannot distinguish between a genuine Afghan refugee and a terror operative trying to cross over to Afghanistan to escape arrest or join the assaults on coalition forces and the Kabul government. Many refugees are caught in the crossfire of Pakistani military action.

DEBKAfile's correspondent quotes diplomatic sources in the capital as referring to the belief of US intelligence agents that al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives who took shelter in Pakistan as refugees are now regrouping and moving back into Afghanistan. They pose fresh dangers to the Karzai government's stability in Kabul. American military strength in Afghanistan is not nearly large enough to deal with any major influx.

According to Guenet Guebre-Christos, United Nations High Commission for Refugees Representative in Pakistan, 1,861,412 Afghan refugees live in the North West Frontier Province, 783,545 in Baluchistan, 136,780 in Sindh, 207,754 in Punjab, 44,637 in Islamabad and 13,097 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Northern Areas. The UNHCR urges them not to return immediately, since they face attacks and hunger. Six to seven million Afghanis are reported to live on the brink of starvation. Returnees receive assistance package of a travel grant of US $3 to $30 per person and another $12 per capita to re-establish themselves in their homeland. UNHCR staff cannot distinguish between a genuine Afghan refugee and a terror operative trying to cross over to Afghanistan to escape arrest or join the assaults on coalition forces and the Kabul government. Many refugees are caught in the crossfire of Pakistani military action.