[Guest post by DRJ]

According to a report in the Times of India, Pakistan faces a domestic crisis after the Pakistani Supreme Court annulled an amnesty ruling that had resolved claims of graft and corruption in President Zardari’s government. Zardari and members of his government have vowed to remain in office and fight the allegations.

Meanwhile, in what appears to be an unconfirmed report, the UK Guardian quotes a NATO officer’s claim that the United States has been conducting covert operations into the Pakistani tribal areas for years:

“A former Nato officer said the incursions, only one of which has been previously reported, occurred between 2003 and 2008, involved helicopter-borne elite soldiers stealing across the border at night, and were never declared to the Pakistani government.

“The Pakistanis were kept entirely in the dark about it. It was one of those things we wouldn’t confirm officially with them,” said the source, who had detailed knowledge of the operations.

Such operations are a matter of sensitivity in Pakistan. While public opinion has grudgingly tolerated CIA-led drone strikes in the tribal areas, any hint of American “boots on the ground” is greeted with virulent condemnation.

After the only publicly acknowledged special forces raid in September 2008, Pakistan’s foreign office condemned it as “a grave provocation” while the military threatened retaliatory action.”

I don’t know if this report is true but it comes at a sensitive time for the Pakistani government. Maybe that’s the point.

— DRJ