CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS: PAKISTAN'S ISI IS ALLIED TO ISLAMIST WARLORD

THESE ARE FIGHTING WORDS, AND MAY MEAN THAT OBAMA HAS LOST PAKISTAN - IN ADDITION TO LOSING LEBANON, EGYPT, AND LIBYA.

CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEF OF STAFF, ADMIRAL Mullen: Pakistan's ISI spy agency has 'militant links'

The US military's top officer, Adm Mike Mullen, has accused Pakistan's spy agency of having links with militants targeting troops in Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had a "long-standing relationship" with a militant group run by Afghan insurgent Jalaluddin Haqqani.

The comments came as he held talks in Islamabad on Wednesday. Pakistani officials are also in the US for talks.

Pakistan routinely rejects charges of collusion with militants.

The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that US officials have in the past spoken anonymously or in circumspect terms about associations between the Pakistani establishment and insurgents.

But that with this blunt statement Adm Mullen has for the first time claimed a clear link between the two, our correspondent says.

We need to treat Pakistan - and Turkey - as enemies, not allies.

IMHO: WE SHOULD HAVE SUMMARILY EXECUTED EVERY AFGHAN WARLORD IN 2002. THIS WOULD HAVE SET THE RIGHT TONE.

AFGHAN TRIBES SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PERMITTED TO HAVE THEIR OWN ARMIES.

IN UNRELATED NEWS (HEH!): Pakistan Top Court Upholds Acquittals in Notorious Rape Case

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday upheld the acquittal of five of the six men accused in the gang rape of Mukhtar Mai, the resilient woman who had gained international recognition and emerged as a symbol of the voiceless and oppressed women in the country.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Shakirullah Jan, upheld a decision by the Lahore High Court and acquitted five of the accused, citing lack of evidence. The sixth is to complete a life sentence. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was not part of the bench.

Ms. Mukhtar was gang-raped in 2002 on the orders of the village council in Meerwala, a dusty farming village in the backwaters of Punjab Province. The case jolted the country and ignited international outrage.

The rape was a punishment for her younger brother’s alleged illicit relations with a woman from a rival tribe, the Mastoi. Later police investigations revealed that the boy had been molested by three Mastoi tribesmen, and that the accusation against him had been a cover-up.

Ms. Mukhtar became a cause célèbre among human rights activists after she spoke out against the crime and her ensuing legal struggle became a source of strength and inspiration for rape victims. She also set up two schools for boys and girls in her village.

“I am deeply upset by the decision of the Supreme Court,” she said by telephone from Meerwala. “Now I don’t have confidence in any court. But the court of God is bigger than any worldly court.”

Ms. Mukhtar also expressed concern for her safety. “The Supreme Court will be responsible if something happens to me or my family,” she said.