A LEAKED NATO report based on thousands of Taliban prisoner interrogations has concluded the Afghan insurgency is poised to regain control of the country with backing from Pakistan as Western forces prepare to withdraw.
The so-called State of the Taliban report, compiled by US forces at Bagram air base outside Kabul, where more than 3000 Taliban prisoners are held, paints a worrying picture of an insurgency biding its time, and rebuilding its Afghan power base by stealth.
The document, which reinforces suspicions of Pakistani collusion with the Taliban, was angrily dismissed by Islamabad yesterday as "frivolous".
Publication of the classified report, leaked to London's The Times and the BBC, coincides uncomfortably with Pakistan's efforts to restore relations with its Western neighbour.
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was due to meet her Afghan counterpart in Kabul yesterday, and President Hamid Karzai is scheduled to visit Islamabad this month.
"This is frivolous, to put it mildly," Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said of the report. "We are committed to non-interference in Afghanistan and expect all other states to strictly adhere to this principle. We are also committed to an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process."
The comment was a thinly-veiled dig at the US, which has upset both the Pakistan and Afghan governments in recent weeks by pursuing bilateral peace talks with Taliban commanders in Qatar.
A spokesman for NATO forces in Kabul said yesterday the document "may provide some level of representative sampling of Taliban opinions and ideals, but clearly should not be used as any interpretation of campaign progress".
Pakistan has consistently denied accusations it provides support and training for Afghan Taliban forces and safe haven for its leadership as insurance against India's growing regional influence in Afghanistan and over the Afghan government.
But the report finds Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency is actively colluding with the Taliban in attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan.
"ISI officers tout the need for continued jihad and expulsion of foreign invaders from Afghanistan," concluded the report's authors, based on some 27,000 interrogations of more than 4000 Taliban and al-Qa'ida detainees.
Many Taliban prisoners reportedly talked of a network of Pakistani spies and interlocutors who provided advice to Taliban forces.
While there was no evidence the Pakistani state was arming the Afghan Taliban, prisoners said weapons such as advanced explosives, mines and suicide vests came from ISI-sponsored Punjab militant groups based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
Crucially, the report dismisses suggestions that rogue elements of the ISI might be providing support for the insurgency independently of the agency's leadership or the government.
Rather, it finds the Pakistan government "remains intimately involved" with the Taliban. "ISI is thoroughly aware of Taliban activities and the whereabouts of all senior Taliban personnel. Senior Taliban leaders meet regularly with ISI personnel, who advise on strategy and relay any pertinent concerns of the government of Pakistan," it said.
The report cites examples of increased Taliban influence in areas where NATO forces have withdrawn, and says there has been unprecedented interest in the past year in joining the Taliban.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
The so-called State of the Taliban report, compiled by US forces at Bagram air base outside Kabul, where more than 3000 Taliban prisoners are held, paints a worrying picture of an insurgency biding its time, and rebuilding its Afghan power base by stealth.
The document, which reinforces suspicions of Pakistani collusion with the Taliban, was angrily dismissed by Islamabad yesterday as "frivolous".
Publication of the classified report, leaked to London's The Times and the BBC, coincides uncomfortably with Pakistan's efforts to restore relations with its Western neighbour.
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was due to meet her Afghan counterpart in Kabul yesterday, and President Hamid Karzai is scheduled to visit Islamabad this month.
"This is frivolous, to put it mildly," Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said of the report. "We are committed to non-interference in Afghanistan and expect all other states to strictly adhere to this principle. We are also committed to an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process."
The comment was a thinly-veiled dig at the US, which has upset both the Pakistan and Afghan governments in recent weeks by pursuing bilateral peace talks with Taliban commanders in Qatar.
A spokesman for NATO forces in Kabul said yesterday the document "may provide some level of representative sampling of Taliban opinions and ideals, but clearly should not be used as any interpretation of campaign progress".
Pakistan has consistently denied accusations it provides support and training for Afghan Taliban forces and safe haven for its leadership as insurance against India's growing regional influence in Afghanistan and over the Afghan government.
But the report finds Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency is actively colluding with the Taliban in attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan.
"ISI officers tout the need for continued jihad and expulsion of foreign invaders from Afghanistan," concluded the report's authors, based on some 27,000 interrogations of more than 4000 Taliban and al-Qa'ida detainees.
Many Taliban prisoners reportedly talked of a network of Pakistani spies and interlocutors who provided advice to Taliban forces.
While there was no evidence the Pakistani state was arming the Afghan Taliban, prisoners said weapons such as advanced explosives, mines and suicide vests came from ISI-sponsored Punjab militant groups based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
Crucially, the report dismisses suggestions that rogue elements of the ISI might be providing support for the insurgency independently of the agency's leadership or the government.
Rather, it finds the Pakistan government "remains intimately involved" with the Taliban. "ISI is thoroughly aware of Taliban activities and the whereabouts of all senior Taliban personnel. Senior Taliban leaders meet regularly with ISI personnel, who advise on strategy and relay any pertinent concerns of the government of Pakistan," it said.
The report cites examples of increased Taliban influence in areas where NATO forces have withdrawn, and says there has been unprecedented interest in the past year in joining the Taliban.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/