Pakistan Hails Move to Shut Guantanamo

It appears that President Obama has been successful at improving relations with our greatest ally in fighting terrorism: Pakistan. The same country that has successfully crushed all remnants of al Qaeda and related terrorist groups within its borders has become the moral role model for our new administration.

By VOA News 24 January 2009

'Camp Justice' sign near the high-security courtroom in Guantanamo, Cuba, 08 Dec 2008

Pakistan says it supports U.S. President Barack Obama's order to close the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba within one year.

A Foreign Ministry statement Saturday says the decision to shut the center adds, what it calls, "the much needed moral dimension in dealing with terrorism."

According to a list compiled by the Washington Post, there are currently six Pakistani nationals being held at Guantanamo. They include top suspects accused of planning the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Meantime, Malaysia' prime minister, Abdullah Ahman Badawi, says his government is seeking permission to meet with two Malaysians held at Guantanamo, and to have them serve their sentences in their home country. He also praised the decision to shut the facility.

Some U.S. lawmakers have voiced concerns that shutting Guantanamo may allow some dangerous detainees to be set free.

The U.S. Defense Department says as many as 61 former Guantanamo prisoners have returned to terrorism. On Friday, U.S. security officials confirmed that a man released from the facility in late 2007 has become the deputy leader of al-Qaida's branch in Yemen.

Mr. Obama has ordered a review of all 245 detainees at the center, to decide how to prosecute those that may have committed crimes.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.