Pakistani Army ran Muslim extremist training camps: Anti-terrorist expert

Paris, Nov.14 : The Pakistani Army ran training camps for a Muslim extremist group, at least until recently, with the acceptance of the US Central Intelligence Agency, according to France's foremost anti-terrorist expert.

Jean-Louis Bruguière, who retired in 2007 after 15 years as chief investigating judge for counter-terrorism, reached this conclusion after interrogating a French militant who had been trained by Lashkar-e-Taiba and arrested in Australia in 2003.

In a book in his counter-terrorism years, The Times quotes Bruguière, as saying that Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was set up to fight India over disputed Kashmir territory, had become part of the international Islamic network of al-Qaeda.

Willy Brigitte, the suspect, told Bruguière, that the Pakistani military were running the Lashkar-e-Taiba training camp where he spent two and a half months in 2001-02.

Along with two Britons and two Americans, Brigitte was driven in a 4x4 through army roadblocks to the high-altitude camp where Pakistani regular army officers were training more than 2,000 men, he said.

--ANI