Thursday 30 September 2010

New York Times reports on Pak Army executions

The New York Times has today followed up my story of Pakistani soldiers executing six militants, published here on Monday (see below). The article by Jane Perlez says that American officials - presumably from the CIA - and retired US and Pakistani military officers said the video "appeared to be credible". One said "There are things you can fake, and things you can't fake. You can't fake this." Perlez's article notes that CIA director Leon Panetta, who was in Islamabad on Wednesday, was expected to raise the subject with General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, head of the ISI.
The Pakistani Army has denied that its soldiers were involved, saying that the video is a fake. However, the soldiers are wearing Pakistan Army uniforms and appear to be using G-3 rifles, which are standard issue and rarely used by militants.
When I posted the video I was unable to hear any dialogue, but Perlez reports that before opening fire, one of the soldiers asks his commander "One by one or together?" The commander replies, "Together".

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